Applicants to the CPA Western School of Business (CPAWSB) should be either residing in, moving to, or in the process of immigrating to Western Canada (BC, AB, SK, MB, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut).
To enter CPA PEP through the CIMA MOU entrance pathway, you need to meet the following admission requirements:
- An active member in good standing of CIMA.
- A recognized Canadian degree (3 or 4-year undergraduate degree or a Canadian Masters degree) or an Equivalent International degree
- For international education the 3rd-party evaluation report must indicate equivalency to at least a 3 or 4-year Canadian degree.
- Obtained the CIMA designation by writing and passing the eight (8) exams and not through a recognition agreement with another accountancy body. (The eight exams include E2 Managing Performance, P2 Advanced Management Accounting, F2 Advanced Financial Reporting, Management Case Study Exam, E3 Strategic Management, P3 Risk Management, F3 Financial Strategy, and the Strategic Case Study Exam.)
- Obtained the CIMA designation while being a non-resident of Canada. (If you were a resident of Canada at any time during the completion of the eight exams, you may still be eligible to enter CPA PEP through the CIMA MOU entrance pathway. Please contact PEP Admission Services by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6002 to discuss the details of your particular situation.)
Note: Applicants who received exceptions from CIMA exams due to their work experience or agreements with other designation groups will not qualify for the MOU path.
If you don’t meet the admission requirements, you may qualify for entry into CPA PEP through the IFAC Member entrance pathway.
Once your admission application is approved under the CIMA MOU pathway, you are exempt from all the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) modules and exempt from Day 1 of the CPA profession’s Common Final Examination (CFE*), but you are required to pass Day 2 and 3 of the CFE.
You are allowed three attempts to pass Day 2 and 3 of the CFE. If you exhaust all attempts, you will be withdrawn and will have to re-apply according to the current CPA requirements; and in this case, the CIMA MOU exemptions will no longer apply.
The CFE assumes a core level of knowledge of Canadian tax law, Canadian business law, and Canadian accounting standards for private entities. You may wish to enhance your knowledge in these subject areas before attempting the CFE.
The CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) Capstone 2 module helps prepare candidates for Day 2 and 3 of the CFE, so it is strongly recommended you complete Capstone 2 (completion of this module is not mandatory). As a CPA PEP candidate registered under the CIMA MOU, you are eligible to enroll in and complete this module prior to writing the CFE.
CPAWSB also offers CPA PEP Review Materials Modules (RMM) modules to provide candidates access to module content and related solution guides for self-study purposes to assist with exam preparations.
Please note that MOU pathways generally lead to certification only. The right to practice public accounting may require additional examination and/or experience requirements.
Experience Bridging verification will be completed after the academic bridging assessment is completed and after you have an approved PEP admission application. You will receive experience bridging forms and instructions once your admission application has been approved.
Applicants with over two years of qualified post-designation experience must provide evidence to the Practical Experience Review Committee (PERC) committee for review. If you do not meet the above criteria, you will have the option of doing a full work experience review.
Please note that MOU pathways generally lead to certification only. The right to practice public accounting may require additional examination and/or experience requirements.
Only Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, or persons who are otherwise lawfully permitted to work and study in Canada can enroll in the CPA certification program. If you are a temporary resident, you are required to hold a valid study permit to apply for admission to the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) or CPA preparatory courses and to maintain your enrollment with CPAWSB. For more details, please refer to the Residency, Study Permits and Language Advisory.
CPA education programs, including CPA preparatory courses and CPA PEP, require high English proficiency. Generally, anyone with CLB levels below 8 will need to spend additional time on their studies. For more information, please refer to the Residency, Study Permits and Language Advisory.
- Visit My CPA Portal and click on the Create a My CPA Profile link using a desktop or laptop with Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
- Enter your legal name when creating your profile.
- Select your residency status in Canada: Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident (of Canada), Temporary Resident (of Canada), or Foreign National.
- Enter all completed and in-progress post-secondary education and designation information, even if you don’t plan to submit documents for that education/designation history.
- Activate your profile by setting your password. You will receive instructions via email shortly after creating your profile.
Resources:
Important: Use the UPLOAD A DOCUMENT functionality within your profile only when submitting your legal name verification documentation with a CPA PEP admission application. Do not use it for submitting any other documents to CPAWSB as those documents will be deleted. When submitting other required documents, follow the directions provided in the admission process below and elsewhere on this page.
Questions?
Review the resources above and if you still have unanswered questions about creating, accessing, or navigating your profile, please contact an Admission Advisor by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001.
To submit a transcript assessment request:
- Log into My CPA Portal.
- Select PROGRAM ADMISSION.
- Select TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT.
- Click on the + ADD A TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT REQUEST button.
- Use the document checklist to determine which documents to submit for the assessment.
- Review your transcript assessment order.
- Click on the MAKE PAYMENT button.
See the transcript assessment fee on the CPA Program Costs and Fees webpage. This fee is non-refundable and subject to change.
Note: To ensure your documents are attached to your profile, request and pay for a transcript assessment before arranging for documents to be sent to CPAWSB.
Resources:
- Requesting a Transcript Assessment FAQ
- Using a Document Checklist - Video
- Using a Document Checklist - PDF
Questions?
Review the resources above and if you still have unanswered questions about requesting a transcript assessment or understanding how to use the document checklist, please contact an Admission Advisor by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001.
To help us confirm your CIMA membership and determine your eligibility for the day 2 and 3 writing of the CFE, please submit the following documents:
- Have a Letter of Good Standing and transcript/documentation of successful completion of the exams and assessments both submitted to us from CIMA confirming your membership.
- The Letter of Good Standing must include the following confirmations:
- Your active member status.
- Any disciplinary actions taken.
- The expiry date listed; if not specified, the letter will be valid for up to one year from the date of issuance.
- That your membership was earned through passing the qualifying examination of the accounting body, and not via affiliation or mutual recognition agreements.
- The Letter of Good Standing must include the following confirmations:
- Have an official third-party evaluation report of your non-Canadian education credentials (if you have a non-Canadian degree) submitted to us from the issuing organization. A basic assessment is adequate. This must be performed by a third-party evaluation service registered with the Alliance of Credential Evaluations Services of Canada (ACESC). The assessment is used to verify the Canadian equivalency of your international education credentials.
- Submit a detailed chronological resume listing all work experience and education history.
- Additional documentation may be required if you were a resident of Canada when you were writing any of the eight CIMA exams. If this applies to you, please contact PEP Admission Services by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6002 to discuss the details of your particular situation.)
How to submit documents to CPAWSB
If the institution offers digital official documents, please have them emailed directly to [email protected]. All official transcripts and documents may also be submitted by mail. They must be mailed in a sealed (unopened) envelope directly from the issuing institution to:
CPA Western School of Business
201, 1074 – 103A Street SW
Edmonton, Alberta, T6W 2P6
Note: Do not send documents to provincial CPA offices as this may result in significant delay in completing your transcript assessment. Documents in a language other than English require translation and must be submitted to CPAWSB by a certified translator.
When documents are received, you will be notified by email and your document checklist will be updated. Log into your My CPA profile and review the document checklist to see what has been updated. Once all required documents are received, you will also be notified by email, and your transcript assessment will begin. See Using the Document Checklist for more details.
Transcript assessments are typically completed within 10 business days after CPAWSB receives all required documents. You will receive an email notification when your Transcript Assessment results are available. You will also receive an email from PEP Admission Services that will contain your Academic Bridging Results and your next steps.
Note: If you don't meet the ICAP MOU eligibility requirements during the assessment, you will be assessed under a different applicant type if eligible. Any additional document requirements can be found on the respective applicant page.
Resources:
Questions?
Review the resources above. If you still have unanswered questions regarding the documents you are required to submit, or any additional questions about the admission process, please contact the PEP Admission Services team by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6002.
When your assessment is completed, you will receive an email with your Academic Bridging Results. The Academic Bridging Results will explain your standing and if you are eligible to enroll under the CIMA MOU entrance pathway. 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.
The transcript assessment should indicate your eligibility status as PEP Eligible. You may now proceed to step 5 and submit an admission application for CPA PEP when you are ready
Questions?
If you have questions about the transcript assessment and your Academic Bridging Results or regarding your next steps, please contact the PEP Admission Services team by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6002.
After you have received an email with your completed Academic Bridging Results and if it indicates you are qualified to enter CPA PEP using the CIMA MOU entrance pathway, you may proceed with submitting a CPA PEP admission application. Click on the link below for more information about when and how to submit an admission application for CPA PEP.
Note: Select International Designate - MOU as your registration category when completing the CPA PEP admission application as an applicant with an International Designation under an established MOU.
Submitting an admission application for CPA PEP
Once your PEP admission application is approved and registration opens for the next CFE offering, you can register for the CFE from your online portal.
Questions?
Click on the link above for more information about submitting an admission application for CPA PEP. If you have questions about submitting a CPA PEP admission application or starting CPA PEP as an International Designate under an established MOU, please contact the CPA Admission Services team by emailing [email protected] or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6002.
CFE and Practical Experience Requirement (PER)
Contact Us
For questions regarding documents to submit and evaluation of assessment, please email [email protected] or call 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6002.
