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An audience listening to a speaker whose back is to the camera, with the focus on a woman wearing a turban.

PDPA Module

The PDPA module covers the technical knowledge required for public accounting registration, including tax, assurance, financial reporting, finance, and strategy and governance. It is mandatory for members seeking post-certification public accounting registration in jurisdictions with no tiered registration, and for audit and review registration in jurisdictions offering tiered registration.

It is a self-study module that consists of reading resources, practice problems, and multiple-choice questions covering the CPA Competency Map at the elective level.

The PDPA module is designed as a preparatory module and candidates must complete it to be eligible to write the PDPA examination.

Time Commitment

Expect to spend an average of 15 hours on each unit to complete the activities. This time estimate does not include review of prerequisite knowledge. You will need to consider your personal and work commitments (and level of familiarity with the technical topics) in developing a study schedule that works for you.

Self-Study

The PDPA module is a self-study and self-paced module. As such, there are no required submissions or minimum grade to become eligible to write the PDPA examination. You are provided with a suggested eight-unit study schedule that outlines the suggested activities to complete before the PDPA examination. The syllabus outlines the technical topic coverage over the eight units.

Facilitator Support

The module is monitored by a facilitator. Participants will be provided with an discussion board to ask the facilitator questions and communicate with other participants. Participants may submit their practice case responses to receive facilitator feedback. There is no face-to-face component of the module.

Learning Materials

Below is a summary of the learning materials for the PDPA module:

Learning Resource Explanation
CPA Canada Learning Library (eBooks)

eBooks for technical studying that include written instruction, examples, e-lessons on key technical topics, summary problems, and practice multiple choice questions, as applicable.

 

The eBooks are accessible within the technical review. The technical review is a technical study resource that contains diagnostic assessments, a personalized syllabus, adaptive reviews, and unit quizzes.
Webinars The webinars cover a variety of topics, including advice on answering objective-format questions, case planning, case writing, analyzing financial reporting issues, analyzing other competencies, debriefing, and preparing for the exam.
Practice cases

Practice cases to hone your case writing skills and apply technical knowledge in a time constrained scenario. 

 

Debrief materials include a solution, an annotated practice case that explains how to use and organize the facts in the case, and a feedback guide to self-assess performance. 

 

Note that practice case feedback guides are provided to assist with debriefing. They are not intended to mimic the marking guides used by the CPA Canada Evaluations group.
Practice cases The practice cases are provided to help participants practice their case-writing skills at the PEP elective level.
Retired exam case

A case that was included on a past module exam. You are strongly encouraged to write the case for practice under time-constrained exam conditions. 

 

Debrief materials include a solution, an annotated practice case that explains how to use and organize the facts in the case, and a feedback guide to self-assess performance. 

 

Note that the retired exam case feedback guide is provided to assist with debriefing. It is not intended to mimic the marking guides used by the CPA Canada Evaluations group.
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PDPA Examination

The PDPA examination consists of objective format questions testing the required technical knowledge for public accounting registration. See the PDPA Examination Blueprint for more information, including competencies covered.

Check out the PDPA Examination Blueprint