If you are an eligible internationally trained accountant seeking to become a member of CPA Ontario through a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) or a Reciprocal Membership Agreement (RMA), you may also become eligible to apply for a licence to practice public accounting in Ontario.

To be eligible, you must meet the appropriate education, examination and experience requirements. By successfully completing the CPA Reciprocity Education and Examination (CPARE) program you will meet the education and examination requirements. CPARE enables the Canadian CPA profession to measure the requisite public accounting professional competencies in a Canadian context.

CPARE has replaced the CA Reciprocity Examination (CARE). CPARE consists of a mandatory preparatory module and an examination that covers the competencies of tax, assurance, financial reporting and business law.

The CPARE Preparatory Module covers the technical knowledge required for Canadian practice. Applicants must enrol in the CPARE Preparatory Module to be eligible to write the CPARE.

The preparatory module is self-study, consisting of reading resources, practice problems, and multiple-choice questions covering the CPA Competency Map at the elective level. There are no deadlines, submissions, or face-to-face components of the module, nor is there access to a facilitator or assignment feedback. Participants will have access to an unmonitored, online discussion board to communicate with other participants.

For more details on the CPARE and examination, please visit CPA Canada’s webpage.

The CPARE examination is written electronically, using a lock-down software that prohibits all laptop functions aside from:

• Reference: you will be able to search the CPA Standards and Guidance Collection and the Federal Income Tax Collection.
• Keyed Response: you will input your responses to multiple-choice questions and submit them electronically for marking purposes.

All writers of the CPARE examination are provided with a laptop to write the examination.

CPARE is a non-disclosed examination. All examination materials are collected at the writing centres. Examination questions, solutions and pass rates are not published.

All participants are bound by the CPA Canada Examination Rules and the policies outlined in the CPARE Program Information Guide.