Students interested in qualifying as a CPA must complete the Canadian CPA Certification program, which includes: (1) prerequisite education, (2) the CPA Professional Education Program (PEP), (3) the Common Final Examination (CFE), and (4) practical experience.
(1) Prerequisite education:
To satisfy the requirements for prerequisite education, students must complete an undergraduate degree and cover specific topic areas. The specific topic areas requirement can be satisfied by completing a set of courses (the prerequisite courses). Find out more about CPA requirements here.
To qualify, students must obtain an overall average of 70% in the courses and a minimum grade of 60% in each course.
As an alternative, students with an undergraduate degree who did not complete all of the prerequisite courses can complete certain modules of the 12-module CPA Pre-Requisite Education Program (PREP). Each missing Ivey prerequisite course can be covered by taking the related module (see the linked document above).
Details of the CPA PREP can be found at: https://www.cpaontario.ca/become-a-cpa/complete-your-designation/cpa-preparatory-courses.
(2) CPA Professional Education Program (PEP):
The nationally-developed, regionally-delivered, CPA PEP is a graduate-level program. It can be completed part-time over two years, while students work full time at relevant employment.
If students complete the Ivey Graduate Diploma in Accounting, they will be exempt from CPA PEP Modules 1-4 (Core 1 & Core 2, and Elective 1 & Elective 2).
(3) Common Final Examination (CFE):
The CFE evaluates candidates on the competencies defined in the Competency Map.
The CFE is a national three-day examination. Day 1 will be a 4-hour examination based on the case from the Capstone 1 module. Day 2 will be a comprehensive case examination that will allow candidates to choose an Assurance, Performance Management, Taxation or Finance role. Public Accounting candidates must take the Assurance role. Day 3 will be a 4-hour examination based on a series of 3-4 shorter multi-subject cases.
To be successful, candidates must demonstrate Breadth in all six core competency areas of Financial Reporting, Strategy and Governance, Management Accounting, Audit and Assurance, Finance, and Taxation. Further, Depth must be demonstrated in two core competency areas that must be Financial Reporting or Management Accounting plus one other core competency area. Public Accounting candidates must demonstrate depth in Financial Reporting and Assurance.
(4) Practical Experience:
Candidates must complete a term of relevant practical experience that is a minimum of 30 months of paid employment during which candidates demonstrate that they have acquired the professional knowledge, skills, values, ethics and attitudes necessary of a CPA. The minimum 30-month term includes allowances for time off for vacations, studying and illness.
Two different routes will be available: (1) Pre-Approved Program and (2) Experience Verification. Pre-Approved Programs have training positions that have been pre-approved by the profession. These programs have been designed to provide candidates with the necessary skills and experience within the 30-month period.
Experience Verification requires candidates to demonstrate that they have obtained the necessary relevant experience at their employer of choice. Candidates must complete detailed experience reports that are assessed by the profession at key milestones. Supervisors review and attest to the accuracy of the experience reports.
Both routes include the follow five common elements: (1) Experience, (2) Supervision, (3) Experience reports and self-assessments, (4) CPA Mentorship and (5) Assessment by the profession.
For more detailed information on practical experience, see https://www.cpaontario.ca/students/practical-experience.