CPA Canada split from Ontario, Quebec groups becomes official

The organizations representing chartered professional accountants in Quebec and Ontario are officially split from CPA Canada.

The split, which took effect Friday, was announced in June 2023, and raised questions about the future role of the national organization for CPAs in Quebec and Ontario.

Affected CPAs still need to be members of their respective provincial regulatory bodies but will have the option to become CPA Canada members.

The provincial and territorial CPA organizations regulate and enforce the accounting profession while CPA Canada is responsible for standards, and co-ordinates education and the exam taken across the country.

In November, CPA Canada said it had reached agreements with its Ontario and Quebec counterparts on education, exams and standard-setting for the accounting profession.

The future of the education and exam program was one of the biggest questions from CPAs as the split — which the organizations attributed to governance disagreements — loomed during an 18-month withdrawal period.

The new agreement on education preserves the current pathway for students, CPA Canada said in November, while the organizations have also agreed to binding terms on standard-setting, ensuring continued funding as well as access for Ontario and Quebec CPAs to the CPA Canada handbook.

Geneviève Mottard, president and CEO of the Quebec CPA Order, said the new agreements position her organization “to respond more effectively and efficiently to the issues shaping the profession while focusing our resources on our core mission.

“Today we begin to work differently with CPA Canada,” she said in a statement.

CPA Ontario president and CEO Carol Wilding echoed the sentiment, saying the new structure will allow the organization to “respond faster and more innovatively to the forces reshaping the CPA profession.”

CPA Canada CEO Pamela Steer said in a statement that thousands of CPAs in Ontario and Quebec have already joined the national organization.

“We have worked diligently to create a seamless path for CPAs in Ontario and Quebec to stay part of CPA Canada and enjoy the exclusive guidance, resources and benefits only a national body can provide,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press