Professional education, examination and practical experience
Have you submitted an Application for recognition in view of obtaining a public accountancy permit [PDF] to the Order, to obtain either the CPA auditor or the CPA auditor limited to review engagements designation? The Public accountancy committee will evaluate your file to determine whether you meet the professional education, examination and practical experience requirements or their equivalent. If you do not, the committee will inform you of the measures you need to take to meet them.
Find out more
The Public accountancy committee’s evaluation criteria for the recognition of professional education, examination and practical experience are defined in the Lignes directrices relatives aux conditions d’octroi du permis de comptabilité publique aux membres de l'Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec.
Professional education*
* The professional education and examination requirements to obtain the public accountancy permit and the public accountancy permit limited to review engagements are the same.
The committee will determine whether it can grant you full or partial recognition of equivalence for your taxation and assurance education. It will decide if you need to take refresher training and successfully complete the preparatory module for the Post Designation Public Accounting (PDPA) Program examination.
This module covers the technical competencies (including assurance, tax, financial reporting, finance, and strategy and governance) required to obtain the public accountancy permit (CPA auditor designation) and the public accountancy permit limited to review engagements (CPA auditor limited to review engagements designation).
An eight-week study schedule is suggested. The self-study activities, which have no submissions or face-to-face workshops, require an average of 15 hours a week. They include the following:
The Learning eBook is organized by competency area. Some of the chapters cover technical areas of the CPA Competency Map. These chapters include questions and exercises.
The library provides access to the CPA Canada Handbook collection, Federal Income Tax Collection and Canadian Professional Engagement Manual, so you can consult the assurance, taxation and financial reporting standards in effect.
You can use the sample cases to practise, and a Board of Examiners document will help you better prepare for the examination.
Use the board to talk to other candidates enrolled in the module.
Public accountancy examination*
* The professional education and examination requirements to obtain the public accountancy permit and the public accountancy permit limited to review engagements are the same.
The committee will also evaluate whether you need to pass the PDPA examination or could qualify for recognition of your prior learning and professional experience.
This four-and-a-half-hour national examination consists of 60 multiple-choice questions and a case study testing the required technical competencies for both the public accountancy permit and the public accountancy permit limited to review engagements. Refer to the examination blueprint for the competency area weightings.
You must use the security software to write the CPA Canada public accountancy examination.
You have up to three attempts to pass the examination.
Professional experience and training period
The committee will evaluate your professional experience and the training period you completed as a candidate to determine if you meet the requirements. The committee could order you to complete an additional training period to meet all the criteria for obtaining a permit.
Refer to the table below to see the requirements you must meet depending on whether you wish to obtain a public accountancy permit allowing you to issue audit reports or a public accountancy permit limited to review engagements.
Audit and assurance
Assurance
Questions?
If you have any questions, email us at permisdecomptabilitepublique@cpaquebec.ca.