Alym Amlani, CPA, CA, is a professional magician turned CPA turned award-winning business professor who turns complexity into clarity by blending cognitive science, storytelling, and technology. For 15 years he has taught accounting, information systems, and data analytics at the UBC Sauder School of Business, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and Langara College, designing learning experiences that spark curiosity, sustain attention, and make complex subjects engaging and memorable.
His teaching has been recognized with KPU’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2025), the UBC DAP Teaching Excellence Award, and “Best of the Teaching Professor Conference” honors (2020 and 2024). His books include ChatGPT Ate My Homework: What Educators Need to Know About Generative AI (Canadian, U.S., and Brazilian editions), Information Systems for Accountants (Kendall Hunt), and International Business Growth Strategies for Emerging Markets (Routledge). Two more are coming from Routledge: Business Analytics: From Data to Decision, with Paul Davis, available December 7, 2026, and Small Business Venture Capital, with Carlos Missirian and Paul Davis.
His perspective draws on the analytical precision of a CPA at Deloitte, an auditor background that shapes how he thinks about evidence, controls, and judgment; strategic consulting for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee; and Science of Magic research into how attention, perception, and memory shape learning. He helps educators navigate AI in the classroom, turning cognitive science into practical, field-tested teaching strategies. His talks, workshops, and courses blend data, humor, and insight. His teaching philosophy: “Magic inspires wonder and wonder inspires curiosity. When students are curious, they are motivated to learn.”
