CPA competency development
What skills are essential
to become a CPA
The practical experience period immerses you in a professional workplace where you will develop many competencies that will prepare you to face a variety of real-life situations. During this period, you will be assigned tasks that will help you acquire or enhance the technical and enabling competencies of CPAs. These are the competencies you must document in your practical experience reports that you will submit to your mentor and the Order.
Technical competencies
are divided into six areas
Financial reporting
- Needs and systems
- Accounting policies and transactions
- Financial report preparation
- Financial statement analysis
Management accounting
- Management reporting and management information system needs
- Planning, budgets and forecasts
- Cost / product / profitability management
- Organizational performance measurement / individual performance assessment
Audit and assurance
- Internal controls
- Internal and external audit requirements
- Internal audit projects and external assurance engagements (risk response and reporting)
Strategy and governance
- Governance / mission, vision, values and mandate
- Strategy preparation / implementation
- Enterprise risk management
Finance
- Financial analysis and planning
- Cash management
- Capital budgeting / evaluation / corporate finance
Taxation
- Income Tax Act and research
- Corporate and individual tax compliance
- Corporate and individual tax planning
Technical competencies
requirements
Each technical competency area is subdivided into three or four sub-areas. You must reach the required
There are three proficiency levels:
• Level 0: experience at an administrative level or involving office duties.
• Level 1: experience that is at a professional level but a lower level than that expected of a newly certified CPA. This can include experience with tasks that are routine in nature, of a low level of complexity and/or that require little autonomy.
• Level 2: experience level expected of a new certified CPA.
You do not have to demonstrate the required proficiency level for all technical competencies during the entire practical experience period.
Core competencies
You must achieve at least Level 1 proficiency in three Financial reporting and/or Management accounting core competency sub-areas.
Depth
You must achieve Level 1 or 2 proficiency in all the sub-areas of your chosen competency area.
Vous devez atteindre le niveau de maîtrise 2 dans au moins deux sous-domaines de compétences, et atteindre minimalement le niveau 1 dans les autres sous-domaines.
Breadth
You must achieve Level 1 or 2 proficiency in at least eight sub-areas of your chosen competency.
You must achieve Level 2 in at least four competency sub-areas, and at least Level 1 in the other four sub-areas.
Progression
During your practical experience period, your tasks must progressively involve more complex analytical, problem-solving and decision-making assignments. This means that you are expected to perform increasingly complex, less routine work and/or with increasing autonomy during the period. This progression will be demonstrated through your practical experience reports that you will submit twice per year.
Enabling
competencies
Enabling competencies are professional skills that you must develop during the practical experience period. These essential skills are involved in every aspect of a CPA’s work and enable you to take on tasks with a sense of ethics, competence and professionalism in a constantly changing environment. On that note, you must achieve Level 2 proficiency in all of these competencies by the end of the practical experience period. They are divided into five areas:
Professional and ethical behaviour
Autonomy
Problem-solving and decision-making
Teamwork and leadership
Communication
Questions
Not sure if your practice experience period meets the CPA competency requirements? Feel free to email us at stages@cpaquebec.ca to discuss the situation with our team. We will gladly assist you.