The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

New CPA Professional Program eligibility requirements effective January 1, 2027

CPA Ontario is responsible for protecting the public by ensuring our members meet the highest standards of integrity and expertise. This includes regulating the practice and professional conduct of individuals as CPAs providing services to clients in Ontario. Applicants to CPA Ontario should be either residing in, moving to or in the process of immigrating to Ontario.

Eligibility requirements for this category are:

• Be a member in good standing of CIMA.
• Having a recognized university degree from a degree-granting institution in addition to the successful completion of the CIMA program.
• Have been admitted to CIMA by writing and passing all the assessments of the CIMA Program and not by virtue of another agreement with a third party. Exemptions from the full CIMA program may be accepted only if granted by CIMA through an academic accreditation of a post-secondary program.  Experience exemptions are not eligible under this MOU.
• Meet the work experience requirement (see “Experience Requirement” section below for details).

An applicant, who has completed/passed the Management Case Study while a Resident of Canada must provide proof of having obtained either:

• a university degree from a degree-granting institution of higher education outside of Canada as a result of having attended the institution in person, outside of Canada, for classroom instruction on a full-time basis; or
• at least three (3) years of full-time practical experience in accounting outside of Canada

New CPA Professional Program requirements

Students registered in this pathway are required to successfully complete the following requirements in the CPA Professional Program:

• Professional Final Exam Part 1
• Professional Final Exam Part 2
• Professional Readiness Module*
• Professional Final Exam Part 3

^{*The Professional Readiness Module is the final CPA Professional Program module and exam. It is a five-day, in-person module that takes place in Toronto, Ontario, three times per year.}

Students are strongly encouraged, but not required, to gain core knowledge of Canadian tax, Canadian law and Canadian Accounting Standards for Private Enterprise.

All students are allowed three attempts to pass each examination and module. After three failed attempts, students are de-registered. If eligible to re-register, students previously registered in the CIMA MOU category are no longer eligible for any exemptions pursuant to this agreement.

Experience requirements

Candidates applying to register under the MOU category will have their complete application reviewed by the Registrar to determine if they meet the experience exemption criteria set out in the MOU.

Students registered under this category are eligible for an exemption from the work experience requirement at registration stage if they have more than two years of post-designation experience.

In accordance with the MOU, this assessment can only be completed at the time of registration.

If you do not meet the above criteria you will be required to submit a detailed assessment of your experience on My Portal post-registration by completing the Work Experience Report.

Professional Education Program (PEP) requirements

Students registered in this pathway are required to successfully complete Days 2 and 3 of the Common Final Examination (CFE) and meet the experience requirement to become members of CPA Ontario. All students are allowed three attempts to pass the CFE. After three failed attempts, students are de-registered. If eligible to re-register, students previously registered in the CIMA MOU category are no longer eligible for any exemptions pursuant to this agreement. 

Students are strongly encouraged, but not required, to gain core knowledge of Canadian tax, Canadian law and Canadian Accounting Standards for Private Enterprise, and to complete Capstone 2 in preparation for days 2 and 3 of the CFE.

PEP Practical Experience requirements

Students registered under this category may meet the practical experience requirements at registration stage if they can provide evidence of more than two years post-designation experience.

If you do not meet the above criteria you will be required to submit a detailed description of your experience on My Portal post-registration by completing the Practical Experience for International Accountants form.

All experience must have been gained as a member or student of CIMA.

Required documents

All documents can be uploaded through your online application in My Portal, except where originals are required. In order to apply for student registration, you will need:

Proof of I.D.

If the name on your document is different than your legal name document, you must also provide a proof of legal name change document or a marriage certificate.

• Proof of identity (please provide a copy of one):
  • birth certificate or equivalent government-issued documentation
  • passport
  • both sides of a Canadian citizenship certificate card
  • both sides of a Permanent Resident card, or landed immigrant papers
  • Canadian driver’s license
  • Nexus identification card

Letter of Good Standing (LGS) and Transcripts

• Provide a letter of good standing (LGS) from CIMA on letterhead certifying your membership in good standing and that you completed the qualifying examinations. This documentation must be sent to CPA Ontario directly via email from [email protected].
• Provide a CIMA transcript showing the exams completed, dates of completion, and results. This documentation must be sent to CPA Ontario directly via email from [email protected].

LGS from all other accounting bodies (if applicable)

• Original letter(s) of good standing from all other professional accounting bodies in which you hold membership.

Residency documents

The following documents are required for proof of residency:

• You must provide a memorandum prepared on a supplementary sheet outlining, in sufficient detail, your residency pattern at the time of writing the exams - the memorandum must also provide clarification as to whether you maintained a home or mailing address in Canada at the time of writing the normal qualifying examination(s)
• Documentation showing the date you first landed in Canada or memorandum stating that you have not yet landed in Canada
• Documentation showing the year you first filed a Canadian Income Tax Return (if applicable)
• Copy of Canadian Customs and Immigration Landing Documents (if applicable)
• Copy of Canadian visas held (if applicable)
• Copy of passport page(s) containing immigration stamp(s) to support Canadian entry/exit dates and/or residency pattern at the time of writing the normal qualifying examination(s)

Please compile these documents into one PDF attachment and upload into the application.

Original WES ICAP Report

• Original World Education Services (WES) credential evaluation report through their International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP) for your University Degree(s). This must be provided electronically to CPA Ontario via Access WES, their secure online delivery system. To ensure CPA Ontario can view your WES report online, please add us as a recipient. To add us as a recipient you must enter ‘Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario’ in the Institution or Company field on the WES site – do not manually add our address details as it will not be recognized in Access WES and we will not have access to your report.

Detailed chronological resume

• Detailed chronological resume listing all work experience and education history.

For more information on how to access your records, please see our Access to Records Policy.

Alternative documentation

In extraordinary circumstances where required documents are not obtainable for reasons beyond their control, applicants can take steps to explore acceptable alternative documentation. Requests to consider alternative documents are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please see CPA Ontario’s policy on this matter for details.

Parallel Processing

You can submit your documentation in any order and complete your application if you have not yet gathered all of your documents at the time of applying. Third-party documents, such as letters of good standing can be sent after your application has been submitted.

How to apply

Please note that registration to become a CPA Ontario student for the new CPA Professional Program opens in January 2027.

1. Review the required documents section below before starting your application. Gather everything you need before applying to help avoid delays.
2. Create a My Portal account or sign in to your existing account. If you previously registered with a provincial or territorial accounting body, or with the accounting body in Bermuda (PTB), contact our team for instructions on applying with your previous ID number.
3. In the "Tell Us More About Yourself" section, use the drop-down menus. Individuals applying as Internationally Trained Accountants must select the following answers
   • I want to…Use my designation from another accounting body to register to become a CPA Ontario member
   • I am a… Member in an accounting body outside of Canada not previously registered with CPA Ontario
   • I would like to… Register as a Student for advanced standing based on my international accounting designation. (MoU, IFAC, etc.)
4. Complete the online application for CPA Ontario student registration.
   • Upload documents through the online application form, except where originals are required.
   • Have your accounting-body membership ID, admission date and exam completion dates ready. Also gather any other information the Registrar should consider when assessing your application.

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Membership & Licensure for New CPA Professional Program

It is important to know that in Ontario, membership and licensure are separate and distinct processes. Audit, assurance, and other services requiring licensure are not part of this agreement. CIMA members are required to meet further requirements to gain access to these rights.

In Ontario a public accounting licence is required for members in certain circumstances. You may apply for a public accounting licence after your admission to membership by completing an application, paying a prescribed fee and fulfilling additional requirements above and beyond membership requirements in order to obtain and maintain a public accounting licence. For more information on public accounting in Ontario and when a licence is required, please visit the public accounting section of our website.

Students who register under the MOU pathway who intend to seek a public accounting licence are required to successfully complete the Core Licensure Module (full module and exam) prior to writing the Professional Final Exam Part 1. Students who elect not to complete this module would be required to successfully complete an approved course in Canadian business law and a CPA Ontario bridging program.

Membership & Licensure for CPA Certification Program (PEP)

It is important to know that in Ontario, membership and licensure are separate and distinct processes. Audit, assurance, and other services requiring licensure are not part of this agreement. CIMA members are required to meet further requirements to gain access to these rights.

In Ontario a public accounting licence is required for members in certain circumstances. You may apply for a public accounting licence after your admission to membership by completing an application, paying a prescribed fee and fulfilling additional requirements above and beyond membership requirements in order to obtain and maintain a public accounting licence. For more information on public accounting in Ontario, please visit the public accounting section of our website.

Students who register under the MOU pathway who intend to seek a public accounting licence are required to successfully complete the Assurance and Taxation modules (full module and exam) prior to writing the CFE. In addition, they are required to demonstrate depth of competency in Financial Reporting and Assurance on the CFE. Students who elect not to complete these two modules and/or do not demonstrate depth on the CFE would be required to successfully complete an approved course in Canadian business law and a CPA Ontario bridging program.

Appeal rights

An applicant who is refused admission with CPA Ontario for a reason other than good character or credibility, or whose admission is made subject to terms and conditions, may appeal the decision to the Admission and Registration Committee. The parties to an appeal are the applicant and the Registrar. The appeal shall be conducted in accordance with Regulation 6-1: Admission and Registration Committee. The decision of the committee is final.

In circumstances where an applicant does not provide evidence of good character or a credibility assessment is required, the Registrar shall refer the matter to an oral hearing before the Admission and Registration Committee. The parties to the hearing are the applicant and the Registrar. An applicant may appeal an order of the Admission and Registration Committee to the Appeal Committee. The decision of the Appeal Committee is final.

Decisions relating to exemption from the prescribed practical experience requirement are eligible for review. Reviews of these decisions may take place upon request and if additional or new information is provided.