CPA Full Form- Chartered Professional Accountant

What is CPA? The full form of CPA is Chartered Professional Accountant. The following three bodies came together to form CPA Canada, or Chartered Professional Accountant Canada, a professional education program: CMA Canada (Society of Management Accountants of Canada), CIGA (Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants)  & CGA-Canada (Certified General Accountants of Canada. It is a title granted to certified public accountants and leads to a plethora of business or public accounting prospects. These people can also assume more senior roles in management inside organizations, such controllers or chief financial officers (CFOs). a dependable financial counselor who assists people, companies, and other organizations in setting and achieving their financial objectives. CPAs can assist with any of these objectives, including saving for a new house, starting a new business, or organizing a multibillion dollar merger. Although managing income taxes is the profession that most people associate CPAs with, these experts can also specialize in bookkeeping, auditing, information technology, managerial accounting, and other areas. Chartered Accountant (CA) from ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) is one of numerous other comparable credentials in nations that do not offer CPA. 

CPA Eligibility Criteria

The following qualifications must be met in order to apply for the CPA Canada exam:

• A bachelor's degree from any accredited Canadian university in a related discipline
• Have signed up for the CPA PEP. 
• Possess thirty months of relevant experience in accounting
• Completed four educational programs while working a full-time job.
• Has passed the three-day Uniform Evaluation (UE) test
• You will need to demonstrate that you have at least eight years of work experience in areas linked to CPA technical competency if you do not hold a bachelor's degree in the relevant discipline.

How to Become a CPA in  Canada

These are the several routes one can take in Canada to become a Certified Public Accountant:

For New Students: If a student meets the prerequisite learning standard outlined in the CPA Competency Map, they are directly qualified to enroll in the CPA PEP (CPA Professional Education Program) after receiving an undergraduate degree in accounting. The CPA PEP is a two-year, part-time accounting curriculum consisting of six modules for working professionals: two core modules, two electives, one integrative module for the capstone, and a mode for preparing for the capstone exam. 

Let's say you are an international applicant who does not hold an accounting bachelor's degree. If so, doing CPA PREP (CPA Preparatory Courses) is required to increase your understanding of finance and other related subjects. Compared to CPA PEP, the 14-module CPA PREP course is considerably more flexible; applicants must finish the courses that they require. 

As an alternative, you may have worked in any of the following capacities for at least eight years:

• Audit and Assurance
• Financial Reporting
• Management Accounting
• Finance and Taxation
• Strategy and Governance 

For Transitioning Student: When you applied for the course, you would be placed in the appropriate CPA PEP program level if you had finished either of the CA, CMA, or CGA programs in part prior to their merger with Canada CPA. 

For Accounting Professionals: You can go smoothly from being a CA, CGA, or CMA to a CPA if you completed any of these before September 2015. To discuss the procedure for taking the CPA exam, all you need to do is get in touch with your local CPA organization. These professionals can obtain the CPA certification by passing the CPA Canada final exam alone, and they are exempt from participating in CPA PEP, Capstone 1, and Capstone 2.

In Conclusion, Depending on their preferences, a CPA professional can work in a variety of finance-related sectors, including accounting, taxation, and more. They have the option to take on the management of organizational accounts, carry out audits and provide financial reports for customers, or maintain asset, liability, and tax records on behalf of their clients. After passing the CPA exam, you can launch your own business or work for the government, private companies, non-profit organizations, or individuals.