Understanding Assessments FAQ

Answer for applicant types: Canadian degree, International (non-Canadian) degree
You will receive an email notification when your Transcript Assessment results are available. To view your assessment results, log into My CPA Portal and click on PROGRAM ADMISSION and then TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT. 

Answer for applicant type: International Designation (IFAC Member)
When your assessment is completed, you will receive an email with your Academic Bridging Results. The Academic Bridging Results will explain your standing and provide information about which CPA PEP modules you will be required to take and which CPA PEP challenge exams, if any, you are eligible to attempt. It will also provide information about Experience Bridging and additional information and resources. You will also receive a second email indicating that your Assessment is completed and can be viewed from within your My CPA profile by logging into My CPA Portal and clicking on PROGRAM ADMISSION and then TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT. 

Answer for applicant type: Mature Status
When your assessment is completed, you will receive an email from the Transcript Assessment team indicating how many years of your experience were recognized and whether your experience meets the requirements for you to apply as a Mature applicant. You will receive a second email indicating that your Transcript Assessment is complete and the results are available in your My CPA profile. To view detailed assessment results, log into My CPA portal and click on PROGRAM ADMISSION then TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT. 

They will be indicated within your completed transcript assessment. All outstanding requirements that must be satisfied to be PEP eligible, including prerequisite courses that you still need to complete, will be highlighted in red. See Understanding your Transcript Assessment Results Guide for more information to help you thoroughly understand your assessment results.

If a possible error was made or you disagree with the transcript assessment result, please contact the Transcript Assessment team by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6003.

Re-assessment Process and Challenge Exams
Whether your completed transcript assessment indicates a course you took does not meet the 10-year currency of education requirement, or you have taken a course or courses that were not assessed, and you believe that they should have received credit as a core or non-core course, there are options to have your assessment re-assessed. There are opportunities to re-assess for partial exemption (challenge exams granted) in some situations or possibly even full exemption (full credit granted) in other situations. See Re-assessment Processes and Challenge Exams for more information.

Whether your completed transcript assessment indicates a course you took does not meet the 10-year currency of education requirement, or you have taken a course or courses that were not assessed, and you believe that they should have received credit as a core or non-core course, there are options to have your assessment re-assessed. There are opportunities to re-assess for partial exemption (challenge exams granted) in some situations or possibly even full exemption (full credit granted) in other situations. See Re-assessment Processes and Challenge Exams for more information.

Eligibility for a challenge exam will be included in your CPA transcript assessment results.  

If you were granted a challenge exam for a prerequisite course and plan to take the course through CPA preparatory courses:

1. You must apply for admission to CPA preparatory courses
2. Pay the annual student fee
3. Register to pay for the challenge exam

For more information about challenge exams granted for prerequisite courses, please view the Challenge Exam FAQ for preparatory courses. 

If you were granted a challenge exam for a CPA PEP module:

1. You must apply for admission to CPA PEP
2. Pay the initial registration fee and the annual candidate fee 
3. Register to pay for the challenge exam
   Note: Cost for a PEP module challenge exam is the same cost as the Module Examination Re-write Fee.

If you have an eligibility status of PEP Ineligible or PEP Conditional Core 1, you will see outstanding requirements for entry into CPA PEP highlighted in red in your assessment results.

Update your transcript assessment as requirements are completed:

For requirements completed outside CPAWSB: Have the appropriate official transcripts/documents submitted to CPAWSB after completing the requirement. You will receive a confirmation email when the documents have arrived and again after your transcript assessment has been updated.

If you take CPA preparatory courses: Your transcript assessment will be updated after the marks are released for the session in which the course was taken. Processing updates may take a few weeks due to the volume of successful course completions. You will receive an email once your transcript assessment has been updated. No action is required from you.

There is no additional fee to update your completed transcript assessment provided updates are made before the assessment expiry date (one year from the assessment completion date), regardless of how many updates are made.

If your transcript assessment expires before you are ready to submit a CPA PEP or CPA preparatory course admission application, you will need to request and pay for a new assessment and submit any updated documentation.

When two courses are listed as required for one prerequisite, students are strongly encouraged to complete both courses at the same post-secondary institution or complete the prerequisite through CPA preparatory courses. 

CPAWSB recognizes prerequisite courses completed at post-secondary institutions based on how programs map courses to the CPA Competency Map and CPA Knowledge Supplement. If your complete courses for one prerequisite at different post-secondary institutions, you will likely be required to take a challenge exam for the equivalent preparatory course or submit course outlines so that we can determine whether the required content has been met for possible full exemption. There is no guarantee that an exemption can be granted. If you have further questions, contact the Transcript Assessment team by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6003.

Whether taken as a CPA preparatory course or an equivalent course at a post-secondary institution, at least one core course in each of the CPA competency areas (Financial Reporting, Strategy and Governance, Management Accounting, Audit and Assurance, Finance, and Taxation) must have been taken within the 10 years preceding admission to CPA PEP (approval date of your admission application for CPA PEP). Admission to CPA preparatory courses does not qualify. The currency of your education will be reviewed when you apply to CPA PEP. For more information, see the 10-Year Currency of Education requirement.

For re-admission, you will be required to request and pay for a new transcript assessment. You must meet the entrance requirements in place when you reapply to CPA PEP. These requirements may have changed from when your first assessment was initially completed. You may also have core courses that will not receive credit if they no longer meet the 10-Year Currency of Education requirement.