How the program works

The CPA National Program delivered by the Order, in cooperation with two university partners, is a 12- to 24-month program offered online on a part-time basis.

This program allows you to complete your professional training at your own pace while working full-time and to obtain the training needed to sit for the Common Final Examination (CFE). However, if you opt for the national program, you must be disciplined and available evenings and weekends.

Modules

The core and elective modules include an online component and a two-day interactive workshop which you are required to attend.

Online learning

You will access the online content via D2L, the CPA Canada learning management system. Within D2L, you will find the weekly online activities, resources, and other material that you will use during the Professional Education Program. Each week you will complete assignments that will be submitted via D2L to your facilitator.

You should expect to spend between 13 and 17 hours per module each week to complete the online learning activities, which include the following:

• Immersive case: One interactive case flows through each module and provides real-world professional experience. Different characters within the immersive case will outline the related weekly assignments. Your facilitator will provide detailed feedback.
• Practice cases: One stand-alone case (similar to those on the module examination) is assigned each week, requiring submission. At least two practice cases will be selected for peer review.
• Objective-format questions: Weekly questions for practice and review, often in the form of multiple-choice, will be available. 
• CPA Canada Learning eBook: Weekly access to the learning eBook, a knowledge repository of chapters to assist in the development of technical and enabling competencies.

Learn more on the modules content >

Interactive workshops

All workshops in the National Program run for two days from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There is a two-day orientation workshop before the start of Core 1. Then, once per module, you will gather with other candidates for a two-day workshop run by a session leader.

Eligibility to write the national examination

A national examination is mandatory at the end of each module, except for Capstone 2.

To be eligible to write the national module examination, you must submit a minimum number of assignments as established for the module and attend the workshop. Note that submitted assignments demonstrating little or no effort will be considered incomplete

If you do not attend the workshop and do not complete the required make-up assignment, you will not be permitted to write the module-end examination. This counts as a loss of examination attempt and you will be required to re-take the module to be allowed to write the examination.

Consult the National examinations section for more details > 

Module prerequisites

* Core 1 and Core 2 are completed simultaneously in the accelerated path.
** Successful completion of the first elective module is not a prerequisite for the second module.

For more information on the modules, see the CPA Competency Map.

Support team

Within each module, there will be at least two people helping you develop your CPA competencies: a facilitator and a session leader.

Facilitator: In each module, candidates are grouped with a cohort of candidates and a CPA facilitator. The facilitator is a coach, meant to provide you with support and to assess your level of competency based on assignments.

The facilitator is the person who will review your assignments, similar to how a manager or supervisor reviews work. When providing feedback, the facilitator will usually ask questions designed to guide your approach, rather than providing a “right answer”. Just like in the workplace, there are often many approaches you can take while completing assignments, and it will be up to you to decide which approach is best, based on the information presented and what is being asked.

Even though the facilitator will provide coaching throughout the module, he or she does not decide whether you succeed in a module.

Session leader: This is the person who guides the two-day workshop during the module. 

Important dates

Consult the module and exam calendar >