Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA; ) is the
professional designation which united the three Canadian accounting designations that previously existed:
:*
Chartered Accountant (
CA),
:*
Certified General Accountant (
CGA)
:*
Certified Management Accountant
Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is a professional certification credential in the management accounting and financial management fields. The certification signifies that the person possesses knowledge in the areas of financial planning, ana ...
(
CMA).
CPA Canada
Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) () is the national organization representing the Canadian accounting profession through the unification of the three largest accounting organizations: the Canadian Institute of Chartered ...
is the national organization that represents the profession, and the CPA designation has been in use by members of all constituent accounting bodies in the provinces, territories and
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
since 2014.
The legislative process for implementing the new designation began in
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
in May 2012, and was completed in the
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
and
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...
in January 2019.
CPA Competency Map
The CPA Competency Map lays the foundation for the CPA certification program, including education, accreditation, examinations, and practical experience requirements, and describes the knowledge, skills and proficiency levels you must achieve to become a Canadian CPA.
Technical Competencies
#
Financial Reporting
Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity.
Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to un ...
#
Management Accounting
In management accounting or managerial accounting, managers use accounting information in decision-making and to assist in the management and performance of their control functions.
Definition
One simple definition of management accounting is th ...
#
Strategy & Governance
#
Audit & Assurance
#
Corporate Finance
Corporate finance is an area of finance that deals with the sources of funding, and the capital structure of businesses, the actions that managers take to increase the Value investing, value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analy ...
#
Taxation
A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal person, legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to Pigouvian tax, regulate and reduce nega ...
Enabling Competencies (2020)
# Acting Ethically and Demonstrating Professional Values
# Leading
# Collaborating
# Managing Self
# Adding Value
# Solving Problems and Making Decisions
# Communicating
Former CFE Competency Map (2019):
#
Professional & Ethical Behaviour
#
Problem solving
Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...
&
Decision making
In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either ra ...
#
Written & Oral communications
# Self Management
#
Leadership
Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations.
"Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
&
Teamwork
Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in an effective and efficient way. Teamwork is seen within the framework of a team, which is a group of interdependent individuals who work toge ...
Background
Origin of name
"Chartered Professional Accountant" is borrowed from a similar but aborted Australian merger attempt in 1998. It has been registered as an EU
Community trademark by the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of December 2024, it has over 210,000 memb ...
. However, applications to register "CPA" as such were either withdrawn or refused.
History
For more than 100 years, Canada has seen several accounting designations, which eventually coalesced around the titles of "chartered accountant", "certified management accountant" and "certified general accountant". In time, it became increasingly harder to distinguish between them, as candidates in all bodies had to essentially meet the same requirements for entry. The
Government of Quebec
The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...
undertook a review which resulted in the goal of a merger under common regulations.
Registration as a Canadian trademark was originally sought by the ''Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec'' in September 2010, but the application lapsed. It was subsequently secured by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in August 2011.
In January 2012, ''A Framework for Uniting the Canadian Accounting Profession'' was issued by the following three organizations: the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), the Society of Management Accountants of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
(CMA Canada) and Certified General Accountants of Canada (CGA-Canada). This framework set out a proposal to unite members of the existing designations and their 40 national and provincial accounting bodies into the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada), employing a common CPA designation.
On October 1, 2014, the union of Canada's accounting profession became complete with the integration of the CGA-Canada and CPA Canada, placing all of Canada's recognized national accounting bodies under the singular CPA banner. The Canadian CPA designation has since grown to more than 210,000 members in Canada and around the world.
Reason for Canadian adoption
The move to adopt the CPA designation was the latest of a series of consolidating moves that has affected the Canadian accounting profession between 1880 and 2010, of which the last significant merger occurred between Canadian chartered accountants and certified public accountants in the 1960s. Several attempts were made to merge the CGAs and CMAs during the 1960s, as well as of all three bodies during the 1970s. A subsequent merger attempt between chartered accountants and certified management accountants occurred in 2004, being promoted by their leaders but failing to secure adequate membership support.
In 2011, all three main bodies agreed to work towards a merger that would see a new organization with 180,000 professional members and 10,000 candidates and registered students. This new accounting body would be one of the largest in the world. Proponents of the 2012 proposal to unite the profession under the CPA argued that it would strengthen the influence, relevance and contribution of the Canadian accounting profession with domestic and international stakeholders and serve the public interest through common codes of conduct, disciplinary systems and licensing regimes.
The guiding principles for the unification were expressed to be:
:* Evolution to a single designation over a 10-year transition period
:* Continued use of existing designations (used in combination with the CPA, e.g.:CPA, CGA)
:* Retention but no expansion of rights (ie, current
mutual recognition agreement
Mutual recognition occurs when two or more countries or other institutions recognize one another's decisions or policies, for example in the field of conformity assessment, professional qualifications or in relation to crime, criminal matters.
A m ...
s would be confined to legacy members concerned)
:* A uniform certification process for new members
:* Introduction of post-certification specialty programmes
:* Branding the CPA designation, with de-emphasis of legacy designations
:* Common code of conduct, regulations and the practice of
public accountancy
:* Merged operations and governance
Timeline
See also
*
Common Final Examination
*
Professional certification
Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply ''certification'' or ''qualification'', is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications ...
*
Professional certification in financial services
Following is a partial list of professional certifications in financial services, with an overview of the educational and continuing requirements for each; see and :Professional certification in finance for all articles.
As the field of finance ...
*
Registered Professional Accountant
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{Authority control
Canadian accounting associations
Accounting qualifications