BIOGRAPHY

Following a successful career as a professional accountant, Leonard switched his career focus to become an educator. Leonard has been teaching with Mount Royal University since 2020 and transferred to a full-time faculty role in 2025. Prior to joining MRU, he was a full-time faculty instructor teaching in the business diploma and degree programs at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). He has been continuously nominated by his students for Instructor Excellence awards and was a recipient of CPA Alberta’s Early Achievement Award in 2023 for his voluntary service in shaping the next generation of accountants.

Leonard holds a Bachelor of Management in Accounting from the University of Lethbridge, a Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University, as well as the Chartered Professional Accountant and Certified Management Accountant designations from CPA Alberta. Leonard also serves as the Chair for the Calgary Chapter of CPA’s and his commitment to volunteering and networking has made him a familiar face within the Calgary accounting community.

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

CPA Alberta Early Achievement Award 2023

Teaching experience 

Financial Accounting Concepts

Financial Accounting Practices

Intermediate Accounting I

Intermediate Accounting II

Advanced Financial Accounting

Management Accounting I

Management Accounting II

Advanced Managerial Accounting

Accounting Theory

Advanced Topics in Accounting

RESEARCH AND SCHOLARLY WORK

Sample Publications and Major Contributions

D’Silva, L. & Johnston, S. (2025, June 11). Navigating, building, and supporting faculty and student capacity to engage work-integrated learning: Insights from a Capstone course. Presented at Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

D’Silva, L. & Johnston, S. (2025, May 13) Integrity-driven Assessments: Fostering Critical Thinking and Accountability through Work-Integrated Learning. Presented at Alberta Colleges and Institutes Faculties Association, Banff, Alberta.

Hoffert, T. & D’Silva, L. (2023, May 4). Including sustainability and ESG factors into Advanced Management Accounting courses. Presented at CPA Education Foundation Conference for Accounting Educators, Red Deer, Alberta.

D’Silva, L. (2019). Can Leadership Training Improve an Organization’s Performance? A Review of the Literature. Athabasca University Digital Thesis & Project Room. http://dtpr.lib.athabascau.ca/action/viewdtrdesc.php?cpk=1059&id=50690