CPA auditor designation
PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY
PERMIT
Do you want to obtain a public accountancy permit and be authorized to sign audit or review engagement reports once your CPA permit has been issued? Below you will find all the education, examination and practical experience requirements you must satisfy during the CPA qualification process so that the Order can issue your public accountancy permit in accordance with the Regulation respecting the public accountancy permit of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec.
Requirements for the current program
ending in December 2028 at the latest
See at a glance the essential information about the public accountancy permit
Learn more >
Practical experience: explanatory sheets
for the auditor and the auditor limited to review engagements (the documents are in French only)
Public accountancy permit
limited to review engagements
You can choose the path leading to a public accountancy permit limited to review engagements. This permit allows holders to issue review engagement reports exclusively and use the “CPA auditor” designation, provided that it is followed by “limited to review engagements.”
Education + Examination
+ Practical Experience
Public Accountancy Permit
EDUCATION AND
COMMON FINAL EXAMINATION (CFE)
Education and examination requirements:
CPA AUDITOR
CPA AUDITOR LIMITED TO REVIEW ENGAGEMENTS
CPA EDUCATION
PROGRAM 1
Successfully complete the taxation and assurance modules/courses.
DAY 2 OF
THE FINAL COMMON EXAMINATION 2
Select and successfully complete the assurance role AND receive a pass standing for depth in financial reporting.
You did not meet the requirement regarding the Financial reporting during the CFE? Learn more on the public accountancy examination.
1 Two education options are available to you: the university graduate program or the national program delivered by the Order.
2 Learn more on the Common Final Examination (CFE).
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
Practical experience requirements depending on the type of permit:
CPA AUDITOR
TRAINING
ENVIRONMENT
Complete the entire 24-month period of practical experience in a pre-approved program in audit that will enable you to develop in-depth competencies in financial reporting and in audit and assurance
BILLABLE
HOURS
24 months of practical experience at a firm recognized by the Order, where you have accumulated 1,250 hours in assurance of historical financial information, including 625 hours in audit of general-purpose financial statements for various types of clients operating in diverse industries.
GUIDANCE
Be guided throughout the period of practical experience by a CPA mentor who holds a public accountancy permit.
CPA AUDITOR LIMITED TO REVIEW ENGAGEMENTS
TRAINING
ENVIRONMENT
Complete the entire 24-month period of practical experience in a pre-approved program in review engagement or audit that will enable you to develop in-depth competencies in financial reporting and breadth competencies in assurance.
BILLABLE
HOURS
24 months of practical experience at a firm recognized by the Order, where you have accumulated 1,250 hours in assurance of historical financial information, including 625 hours in assurance of general-purpose financial statements for various types of clients operating in diverse industries.
GUIDANCE
Be guided throughout the period of practical experience by a CPA mentor who holds a public accountancy permit that may be limited to review engagements.New professional program
Requirements for the new program
beginning in 2027
Under the new CPA Professional Program, obtaining a public accounting permit that authorizes the use of the CPA auditor designation requires meeting specific education, examination, and practical experience requirements.
education + examination + practical experience
Public accountancy permit
Requirements vary depending on the designation you wish to obtain, either:
- CPA auditor
- CPA auditor limited to review engagements
Education and Professional final exam
CPA AUDITOR
CPA AUDITOR LIMITED TO REVIEW ENGAGEMENTS
CPA PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM1
If you are enrolled in the program offered by the Order, you must select the Core module that includes both the Common and the Public Accounting components.
If you are enrolled in a graduate-level university program, you must choose the program or courses offered by your university that lead to the CPA auditor designation.
EXAMINATION
In addition to Parts 2 and 3, you must successfully complete the “Public Accountancy” version of Part 1 of the Professional Final Exam.
Practical experience
CPA AUDITOR
TRAINING
ENVIRONMENT
Complete 24 months of practical experience at an audit firm where you can work toward and achieve learning objectives in financial reporting and assurance.
BILLABLE
HOURS
Complete 24 months of practical experience including 1,250 hours providing assurance on historical financial information, of which 625 hours must be spent in audit of general-purpose financial statements for different types of clients in various industries (these 625 hours are not required to obtain the CPA auditor limited to review engagements designation).
GUIDANCE
Be under the guidance of a CPA mentor who holds a public accountancy permit.
CPA AUDITOR LIMITED TO REVIEW ENGAGEMENTS
TRAINING
ENVIRONEMENT
Complete 24 months of practical experience at an audit firm where you can work toward and achieve learning objectives in financial reporting and assurance.
BILLABLE
HOURS
Complete 24 months of practical experience including 1,250 hours providing assurance on historical financial information, of which 625 hours must be spent in assurance of general-purpose financial statements for different types of clients in various industries (these 625 hours are not required to obtain the CPA auditor limited to review engagements designation).
GUIDANCE
Be under the guidance of a CPA mentor who holds a public accountancy permit that can be limited to review engagements.
For candidates for the practice of the profession, the 24-month period of practical experience in audit or review egagement in an accredited public accountancy training environment represents an accelerated path to obtaining the public accountancy permit as soon as the CPA permit is issued. However, any relevant experience in a firm that meets the requirements of the Regulation respecting the public accountancy permit of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec can also lead to obtaining this permit. To this end, you will be able to submit a request for evaluation to the public accountancy committee once you are a CPA member.
1 To obtain a public accountancy permit upon issuance of the CPA permit, the firm must be accredited as a public accountancy training environment by the Order. The firm and all CPAs working there must not have been subject to any qualified opinion regarding the hiring of future CPAs from the Order’s professional inspection committee.