IMMIGRATION RELATED QUERIES.

You can refer to the below link as a starting point:
Government of Canada Immigration & Citizenship – www.cic.gc.ca/english

Who is eligible to claim exemption under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)?
Indian and Pakistan Chartered Accountants (CAs) who are members of the related
Institute of Chartered Accountants having a valid Membership Number and in good
standing (aspiring registrants have to obtain a Letter of Good Standing from ICAI) are
eligible to claim exemption under the respected MoU.

Semi qualified Chartered Accountants or CA students are not covered under the MoU and will
have to go through the entire process of CPA Ontario.
What do I need to do to qualify for admission if I register under the MOU pathway?

General Membership Criteria
This agreement applies to members in good standing who have gained membership in ICAI or one of the Canadian Provincial CPA bodies by meeting the education, examination, and practical experience requirements of ICAI or the Canadian Provincial CPA bodies respectively. Members in good standing of a Canadian Provincial CPA body covered by this agreement include members designated as CPA; CPA, CGA; CPA, CMA; and CPA, CA. This agreement does not automatically apply to individuals who have gained membership of ICAI or the Canadian Provincial CPA bodies through another agreement with a third party.

Joining a Canadian Provincial CPA Body
ICAI members meeting the general membership criteria will be eligible for membership in a Canadian Provincial CPA Body subject to:
a. Passing the final examination (the CPA Profession’s Common Final Examination (CFE));
and
b. Meeting the practical experience requirements (term, depth, breadth, and progression) of the Canadian CPA profession. Applicants with a recognized university degree and 2 years post-designation experience and applicants without a recognized university degree and 5 years post-designation experience will be admitted without a review of their practical experience. This is post qualification experience therefore, it does not include the period of articled training. Applicants with less than the specified post-designation experience will be subject to a review of their practical experience obtained pre- and post-designation. All relevant experience must have been gained as a member or student of ICAI. A candidate being a proprietor or a partner in a partnership firm of a licensed public practice is also considered as experience.

Just book-keeping or working in any other non-accounting (e.g. as a cashier/working in retail stores, etc.) capacity, may not be considered as experience. It has to be relevant accounting experience in terms of CPA, which is reviewed on a case to case basis. ICAI members preparing to sit the CFE are encouraged to attend Capstone 1 and Capstone 2 of the CPA Professional Education Program (even though both are optional) as both these modules are used to prepare candidates for writing the CFE. The CFE also assumes a core level of knowledge of Canadian tax, Canadian law, and Canadian Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises.

How are the practical experience requirements assessed?

Experience requirement is assessed from the below if it is as per the requirement of 2/5 years as mentioned in Ques No. 2 of this section:
1. Letter of Good Standing and
2. Resume 

If CPA Ontario has any questions with regards to experience as stated in the resume they will follow up via e-mail. 

What if the post qualification experience is less than 2 years / 5 years as required?

If a candidate has less than 2 years / 5 years of post-qualification experience a detailed experience assessment is required to be done in which candidates have to provide paperwork for competencies achieved under all of the former/current employers. For each employer a separate form is required. CPAO will determine if a candidate has 30 months of relevant experience as prescribed in CPAO’s internal procedures.

For example, if you have 15 years of experience you can provide and support as much or as little as you want but you need to fulfil the 30 months of competency requirements. We would recommend that the candidates add their articleship training experience as well so that CPAO can assess if this experience meets the competency requirements.

Detailed experience assessment is taken up by the CPA Ontario after completion of registration as student and is not done immediately or at the time of registration. A candidate can pass the CFE but if they do not meet the experience requirements, the candidate’s CPA membership will not be conferred till the time they fulfil these requirements. 

If CPA Ontario has not yet assessed your experience after your student registration, you will be required to submit your Resume and the completed ICAI MOU change request form.

What happens if your detailed assessment is rejected by CPAO’s experience assessing department?

If CPA Ontario deems a candidate’s experience assessment as rejected or requires more experience, the candidate needs to undergo the stated experience duration and submit the detailed experience assessment again.

It does not stop the candidate from giving CFE but might delay the timing in becoming a member. 

How much time does it take to assess the experience?

CPA Ontario tries to do it at the earliest. Since it is done on case to case basis candidates who have registered for the CFE might be given priority and their assessment might be done earlier than the candidates whose experience assessment is not an immediate requirement. It may take anywhere between three to several months.

Am I eligible to take Capstone 2 without first taking Capstone 1?

Yes

What is the CPA model, detailed exam structure, and the registration process?

1. The New CA program will provide candidates with the CPA designation. Under the program, the candidate must demonstrate depth in Financial Reporting and Management Accounting. The candidate has an option to choose one elective of their choice out of the following: Assurance, Performance Management, Taxation or Finance. The candidate must demonstrate depth in this elective on Day 2 of CFE.
2. Register as a Student with CPA Ontario by submitting the following: – Relevant application forms (International Candidate Application Form, Form 6-1A for New CA) – Letter of Good Standing from ICAI which can be requested at the email address goodstanding@icai.in or online at https://appforms.icai.org/gsc/index.html Candidates must have a university degree recognized by ICAI. – Payment of student fees of C$819.25 including taxes. This amount is for the calendar year. However, if candidates register after June 30, they have to pay only the prorated amount of C$480.25 including taxes.

Proof of legal name (For females, if married name is different then with ICAI records, a marriage certificate is a legal document for proof of legal name on passport)
https://media.cpaontario.ca/become-a-cpa/pdfs/Proof-of-Legal-Name.pdf
– Chronological resume
– Letter of Good Standing from other bodies where candidates hold membership.

  3. Application should be submitted via email or regular mail. Information completed via affidavit and containing a notary or commissioner stamp, or seal must be submitted in original form by regular mail.
ITAregistration@cpaontario.ca.
CPA Ontario
130 King Street West, Suite 3400
PO Box 358, Toronto ON M5X 1E1
Attention: Registrar’s Office

  4. CPA Ontario takes about 8 to 12 weeks to get candidates registered once complete documentation has been submitted. Once registered, CPA Ontario will send candidates a confirmation email.

  5. Please see below link for the 2025 schedule: https://www.cpawsb.ca/cpa-pep/schedule

  6. In 2025, CFE will be held in May 2025. Registration for Capstone 1 will be in November 2024. Registration for Capstone 2 and CFE will be in April 2025.

Where on the website can we find the link and requirements for registration under the MOU and how do I apply?

Candidate must be a member in good standing of ICAI and have a university degree recognized by ICAI. A list of the documents required to apply for student registration can be found on CPA Ontario’s website at www.cpaontario.ca and by clicking on the below link:
https://www.cpaontario.ca/become-a-cpa/why-cpa/internationally-trainedaccountants/member-of-specified-accounting-body

Do I need to send my university transcripts?

No. CPA Ontario requires a letter from ICAI which confirms candidates are a member in good standing and that candidates have obtained a university degree recognized by ICAI. CPA Ontario does not require candidates’ university transcripts.

What is the difference between Legacy CA and CA? What documents are required for registration?

Please refer to point 8 (a) above.

What is the fee structure for CPA (may be subject to change)?

– The Student Registration Fee submitted with candidates’ application – fee is pro-rated depending on when candidates’ application is submitted:
 $904.00 (Jan 1 to June 30)
 $522.62 (July 1 to Dec 31)
Annual Student Fee = C$675 + 13% HST = C$762.75
Capstone 1 = C$1,325 + 13% HST = C$1,497.25 (optional under new MoU)
Capstone 2 = C$1,325 + 13% HST = C$1,497.25 (optional under new MoU)
CFE = C$1,700 + 13% HST = C$1,921
Please note that fees are subject to change and candidates should therefore refer to CPA Ontario website for the current fees.

What happens if I forget to pay my Annual Student Dues?

Students who do not pay the Annual Student Dues (ASD) are suspended. Students are deregistered if they do not apply for reinstatement by submitting all outstanding dues and penalties within 60 days.
For queries contact: itaregistration@cpaontario.ca

EXAMINATION RELATED QUERIES.

What is included in and what is the duration of the course/exam?

Capstone 1 (Optional): 2-day module workshop that provides an introduction and 8 weeks of group activity that includes weekly deliverables (online) related to completing one business case and 1 group presentation of the case at the end of the module. The case provided under Capstone 1 is the base case for Day 1 of CFE. The Capstone 1 case may roll forward or remain the same in Day 1

Capstone 2 (Optional): 2-day module workshop that provides an introduction and 7 weeks of individual case writing at home and timely submission of the same online to CPA Ontario based on their calendar. It focuses on preparing students for entry into the profession by applying the competencies they have learned in complex and highly integrative cases. Feedback is received from markers for improvement. It is a preparation for the final examination in the CPA program (called the CFE- Common Final Examination)

CFE: 3 days of final exam. If candidates cannot pass all 3 days, candidates can pass Day 1 only or Day 2 and Day 3 together and appear in the next attempt for the one/ones not passed.

How are the Capstones / CFE marked and what is the passing criteria?

Video
https://youtu.be/d6IhrxFuW64 ……See my video

For each Assessment Opportunity, the candidate must be ranked in one of the following five levels:

• Not Addressed (NA) – The candidate does not address this assessment opportunity.
• Nominal Competence (NC) – The candidate does not attain the standard of reaching competence.
• Reaching Competence (RC) – Response satisfies the following criteria: Identifies or discusses a certain number of components for the assessment opportunity
• Competent (C)– Response satisfies the following criteria: Discusses a certain number of components for the assessment opportunity and conclusion
• Competent with Distinction (CD) – Response satisfies the following criteria: Discusses a certain number of components for the assessment opportunity and conclusion

Identify = Identifies the component(s) and attempts to discuss, but the discussion does not clearly explain why it is an important consideration in addressing the assessment opportunity and/or does not integrate specific case facts as support.
Discuss = Clearly explains why the component(s) is an important consideration in addressing the assessment opportunity and incorporates specific case facts to support the conclusion.

A combination of a certain “number” of Cs and RCs will determine if the candidate has passed the examination or not. This number is determined by CPA Canada for each examination. It varies from case-to-case and is not disclosed by CPA Canada.
What is the time between the Capstone modules and the CFE?

May exam – Capstone 1 begins in January, followed by Capstone 2 in April, and the CFE in May.
September exam – Capstone 1 begins in May, followed by Capstone 2 in July, and the CFE in September.
Completing these three (3) components therefore takes approximately 5 months.

What are the subjects/competencies/syllabus/portion/prospectus to be studied for the exam?

a. Financial Reporting – International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Accounting Standardsfor Private Enterprises (ASPE) i.e. Canadian GAAP, Not-for-profit Organization (NPO) Standards
b. Management Accounting
c. Assurance – Canadian Auditing Standards (CAS)
d. Taxation – Canadian Income Tax Act and Regulations
e. Finance
f. Strategy and Governance (Performance Management)

What are some tips to study for the CPA exam?

As student migrating from India and Pakistan had not taken any prior courses in CPA Canada, They require training and techniques to write the exam. Taxation is totally new and some accounting standard and format are also different Contact me at tutor.pep.cfe2122@gmail.com, cell : 16475056648, website www.cpacfe.com

What study materials/self-reading courses are available for CPA exam?

Exclusive book CFE Technical Guide Fifth Edition 2020 written by me is available at a cost of Canadian dollar 175.

Can I buy study materials for the CFE?

You can buy my book and if you take coaching, we will provide you all materials

Can CPA exam be given from outside of Canada?

CPA exam cannot be given from outside of Canada. However, registration process can be commenced from outside of Canada.

What exemptions are provided to Indian CAs for CPA?

Indian CAs are exempted from Core 1 and Core 2 modules and exams (similar to CPT), Elective 1 and Elective 2 modules and exams (similar to IPCC), Module Zero, and now (under the new MoU) Capstone 1, Capstone 2 modules.

What is the passing % of CPA exam?

CPA Ontario do not disclose the passing % of CPA exam

What are the due dates for registration? Where can I find a list of the module registration deadline dates?

Student Registration: No due date
Capstone 1: November (May exam) and February (September exam)
Capstone 2: February (May exam) and May (September exam)
CFE: February (May exam) and May (September exam)

What are the exam center locations?

In Ontario province – Toronto, Fort Frances, Hamilton, Kenora, Kingston,
Kitchener/Waterloo, London, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins, Windsor