The Chartered Accountant course is one of the most difficult courses in the world. But once you complete it, you become a specialized professional who is one of the best paid in the world. And when you have the CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) certification, it’s a cherry on the cake. Your reach becomes international and a plethora of international opportunities open up. The CPA course in Canada will give you that opportunity.
CPA Course In Canada
The CPA course in Canada is a program that came into being after the amalgamation of three separate organizations namely the ‘Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, ‘Certified General Accounts of Canada’, and ‘Society of Management Accountants of Canada’.
The CPA Course in Canada tests an individual’s knowledge holistically and has worldwide recognition. If you are a student who wants to make a career in accounting and wants to know about the CPA Course in Canada for Indian students, you have come to the right page. Let us learn more.
Components of CPA Course in Canada
The CPA Course in Canada has three components and each component gets you ready for the other. They are:
- CPA Prep (Preparatory Course)
- CPA PEP (Professional Education Program)
- CFE (Common Final Examination)
CPA Prep
CPA Prep is for those candidates who either do not have a graduation degree in the field of accounting or don’t fulfill certain requirements of the CPA Competency Map. This course is designed in such a way that it will give you all the basic knowledge required in the accounting profession. It consists of 14 modules which you need to complete. It is quite flexibly designed. So, you won’t face many problems.
Is there an alternative?
An alternative to this is that you can also have a minimum of 8 years of working experience in the fields of finance, taxation, financial reporting, auditing, and management accounting.
CPA PEP
CPA PEP stands for CPA Professional Education Program. You can directly enter this program if you have the requisites of the CPA Competency Map or have completed the CPA Prep courses successfully. This is a 2-year-long part-time accounting program. It contains 6 modules which comprise 2 Core modules, 2 Elective modules, and 2 Capstone modules. Capstone 1 leads to the preparation of the CPA CFE Day 1 exam. The Professional Education Program is designed in a part-time manner. You’ll be mandatorily required to have practical work experience alongside the program.
Is professional experience necessary?
Simply clearing all the courses, modules and exams won’t get you CPA Canada certified. Along with that, you must have 30 months of minimum professional hands-on experience. It makes you qualified to become a CPA. This is just to ensure that only mugging up does not happen and individuals get experience on the ground.
What are the other requirements?
Other essential requirements are 4 years or 3-year undergraduate or master’s degree. If that covers 120 credit hours, it would be enough but if not, the CPA prep course would suffice. It will also benefit you if you’ve had a good reputation record. Proof of English proficiency is generally not mandatory but you do need to have a proficiency of 8 out of 12 in the Canadian Language Benchmark.
CPA CFE
CFE stands for the Common Final Exam. It is a 3-day long continuous process with 1 exam each day. It tests your analytical and critical thinking abilities. There are four modules in CFE in which candidates are given scores from 0 to 99. You shall endeavor to get more than 75 marks. The four modules are auditing and attestation, business environment and concepts, financial accounting, and reporting and regulation.
CPA Time Duration
The time required to complete the CPA program is about 2.5 years. However, candidates get about 6 years to complete the program. They also get an extra year to get professional experience.
Cpa Program Fees
The program fee varies with your eligibility and the number of modules that you need to study. You can visit websites like CPA Ontario and CPA British Columbia that offer the CPA program and see their charges. As per the website of CPA British Columbia, the total cost of the CPA program for international students is $14,000. So, prepare for the finances accordingly.
Who runs the administration of the CPA Canada program?
The whole CPA course in Canada is offered and run by the regional CPA bodies across Canada under the umbrella of CPA Canada.
Cpa Salary
For any profession, the salary or pay generally varies with you being a fresher or an established professional. Things like your organization and place of work with the case at hand would also influence the salary. Nevertheless, according to the website of CPA Ontario, the salary of a CPA professional in Canada ranges from $130000 to $185000. As beginners also, CPA professionals get a salary of about $86000 which is more than most other professionals. Hence it is a program to go for if accounting interests you.
Universities Offering CPA Courses in Canada
The CPA course in Canada for Indian students can be a game changer, opening multiple doors to growth. Following are names of some of the universities that offer and run CPA Canada courses. You can check their websites out and apply according to your requirements and needs. The universities are:
- University of Saskatchewan
- Brock University
- McMaster University
- Queen’s University
- Western University
- Wilfrid Laurier University
- University of Toronto
- University of Waterloo
- York University
If you have made up your mind about becoming a CPA professional, reach out to us as soon as possible. We, at Admissify, have a very experienced team of counselors who will answer all your queries and give you a personalized experience. We will help you deal with all the requirements and even more!
Conclusion
The CPA course in Canada for Indian students is a great opportunity to make an international impact. It consists of 3 parts- CPA Prep, CPA PEP, and CFE. Along with that, a minimum of 30 months of working experience is mandatory. For students interested in accounting, this is one of the programs to opt for. It has global recognition and offers a very high salary.
FAQ
Can Indian students apply for CPA Canada?
Yes, the CPA course in Canada is available for Indian students. You just have to comply with their standards and complete all the requirements, courses, and exams in the CPA course.
Is CPA Prep Difficult?
CPA Prep is relatively simpler and is quite flexible. It has 14 modules that help you form the basics of accounting.
Is CPA Canada better than CPA USA?
Bothe CPA Canada and CPA USA have great quality standards and have international recognition. But CPA USA does have a much wider acceptance throughout the globe.
Gaurav Kandari is a seasoned study abroad consultant with over 5 years of experience, specializing in guiding students to the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia. An avid traveler, he draws on his global adventures to enrich his consulting, providing invaluable insights to aspiring scholars.
