Evelyn Jacks
Founder and President,
The Knowledge Bureau
By: Himani Ediriweera
Evelyn Jacks is the founder and president of The Knowledge Bureau, Canada’s leading national educational institute in the tax and financial services industry. This private post-secondary institute is influential in its focus on the highest standards in professional development for advisors who manage their clients’ wealth, training of their staff, as well as excellence in financial education for those clients. Close to 900 elite students are participating in The Knowledge Bureau’s designation programs and thousands more have started certificate and diploma programs.
Publishing more than a dozen books with Canada’s top financial writers through its publishing division, Knowledge Bureau Newsbooks, it has distinguished itself as Canada’s leading book publisher in financial education, championing Canadian financial authors with a passion for educating consumers of all ages.
Jacks is one of Canada’s most prolific national authors and publishers. She has now written over 48 books on the subject of personal taxation, co-authored an international title on business leadership and a ground-breaking book on the financial recovery. She has also been the curriculum director of over 100 certificate post-secondary courses on the subject of tax preparation and planning and business practices in providing wealth advisory services for the professional development of tax accountants and financial planners.
In addition, Jacks is a highly respected and influential news commentator and analyst on radio and television programs across the nation. She has written thousands of articles and analysis for numerous papers, most recently in The Toronto Star and for the Toronto Stock Exchange, which receives 1.5 Million unique visitors each month. She is a contributor to numerous national magazines, including Homemakers and Reader’s Digest, and appears regularly on CBC Newsworld, BNN, CJOB and other television and radio stations across Canada. In 2010 Jacks was invited to open the Toronto Stock Exchange to celebrate her column on the TMX Money Site.
Recognized in 1986 as the YM-YWCA “Business Woman of the Year” for her significant contributions to the community in establishing a national profile for tax preparation and tax planning services, Jacks has won numerous other awards. In 1997 she won Manitoba’s Entrepreneur of the Year award and the Rotman School of Business National Canadian Entrepreneur Award. In 1998 she was recognized with a Business Leadership Award by the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Jacks has also been celebrated as an Inspiring Woman by the Winnipeg Free Press in 2005.
Recently appointed by the Federal Finance Minister to the Task Force on Financial Literacy, which made its recommendations for a national strategy on Financial Literacy in early 2011, Jacks was previously appointed by the Premier of Manitoba as a commissioner for the Lower Tax Commission, under which she and her colleagues recommended changes to the provincial tax regime. She has also contributed on numerous public, private and charity boards.
Throughout her varied career, Evelyn Jacks has established a nationwide reputation as an award-winning entrepreneur, a consistently best-selling author, speaker, educator, and publisher in the tax & wealth management services. This year she was again celebrated with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Business Owners of Manitoba, Winnipeg Chapter.
Evelyn Jacks was a runner-up in our social media poll to select the woman to grace the cover of this special Top 25 Women of Influence™ issue! Congratulations!