Admission Requirements For Entry Into CPA PEP

• Three or Four-year undergraduate or master’s degree in any area of study
  (Note: A three-year undergraduate degree is usually equivalent to 90 credit hours and master’s degrees are typically equivalent to 60 credit hours. They may meet the degree requirement but will likely not meet the 120 credit hour degree requirement. Additional post-secondary education will need to be submitted to meet the 120 credit hour requirement)
• Canadian or internationally-recognized degrees accepted

For International Degree and IFAC member applicant types, the Canadian degree equivalency requirements outlined above will be determined and verified by submitting a third-party evaluation report as outlined in the admission steps for both of these applicant types. We only accept degrees from post-secondary institutions recognized in the International Handbook of Universities World Higher Education Database (WHED) Portal or a similar service.

An applicant without a degree and with at least eight years of relevant, full-time experience in any of the CPA technical competency areas: Financial Reporting, Strategy and Governance (Performance Management), Management Accounting, Audit and Assurance, Finance, and Taxation may qualify for entry into CPA PEP with Mature Status. 

120-credit hours of post-secondary education:

• Can be fulfilled as part of a degree (four-year degree = 120-credit hours)
• Outstanding credit hours can be completed through
  • CPA preparatory courses
  • Additional post-secondary education

The 14 prerequisites are required, either through education academic prerequisites or CPA preparatory courses to be eligible for entry into CPA PEP.

All 14 prerequisite courses must be completed either as:

• Part of an undergraduate degree
• Additional prerequisite courses taken through either
  • CPA preparatory courses or  
  • A recognized post-secondary institution

Minimum grade requirements: 

• Each individual Non-core prerequisite course has a minimum passing grade requirement of 50 per cent.
• Each individual Core prerequisite course has a minimum passing grade requirement of 60 per cent.

Minimum GPA requirement:

• a minimum of 65 per cent is required for the overall combined average across all nine of the core prerequisites. 

These requirements must be met for admission to CPA PEP whether the prerequisite courses are taken as CPA preparatory courses or taken as equivalent courses at a post-secondary institution.

For the 14 prerequisite courses, at least one of the core courses within each competency area must meet the 10-Year Currency of Education requirement.

Admission Requirements for CPA Preparatory Courses.

In addition to the other admission requirements, all applicants are required under provincial legislation to establish that they are of good character and reputation. 

When completing an admission application, applicants are required to disclose any character concerns fully and candidly. Previous behaviour does not necessarily disqualify an applicant from enrollment in CPA PEP or admission to membership. However, supporting documentation is required to confirm that the situation has been addressed and the applicant is currently of good character. 

Although not an exhaustive list, the following are some scenarios that would require a ‘yes’ response:

• Previous mandatory withdrawal from CPA PEP for non-payment of dues or three unsuccessful attempts at a module or exam
• A finding of plagiarism during post-secondary studies or while registered in the CPA preparatory courses or CPA PEP
• A declaration of bankruptcy
• A criminal charge or conviction, including DUI or drug possession
• A pending allegation or charge under securities or tax legislation
• Being the defendant in a civil proceeding for fraud, misrepresentation, theft, or dishonesty 
• Involuntary removal from a professional body

Once a declaration of “yes” has been made to any good character questions, the CPAWSB Admission Services team will contact you for more information regarding the circumstances and request any supporting documents required to review your file. 

After all required documents are received, CPAWSB will provide them to the provincial registrar for review and a decision. Although not an exhaustive list, the following may be taken into consideration when reviewing character declarations:

• Relationship of the conduct in question to the CPA profession
• Seriousness of the conduct in question
• Circumstances underlying the conduct in question
• Age of the applicant at the time of the conduct in question
• Timing of the conduct in question
• Rehabilitative efforts and outcomes
• Testimonials from colleagues or friends
• Applicant’s candor in the program or membership admissions process
• Materiality of any omissions or misrepresentations
• Risk to the public of the applicant being enrolled as a CPA candidate or admitted as a CPA member
• Any other relevant factors

Applicants will be notified in writing regarding the decision of acceptance into CPA PEP. 

Until a decision has been reached on the character declaration, admission applications will not be approved, and applicants will not be eligible to register for modules. As this process can take some time to complete, please allow additional time and plan appropriately based on the session you would like to start CPA PEP modules.