Since May 16, 2012 in Quebec, the accounting profession is governed by a single order, the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés (CPA) du Québec. This Order now unifies the three orders (the Ordre des CA, Ordre des CGA and Ordre des CMA). Other Canadian provinces also gather their three designations under the CPA one.
The membership of the new Ordre includes everyone who held a permit issued by one of the three unified orders before Acts came into force. For a period of ten years after the Act comes into force, these professionals will hold a dual designation, i.e. the new CPA designation followed by their original designation, as follows:
- CPA, CA;
- CPA, CGA;
- CPA, CMA.
CPA, CA
About 40% are in public practice and 60% in industry, government or education.
CPA, CAs provide the following services:
- Start-up consulting
- Purchase and sale of businesses
- Business valuations
- Business plans and financial projections
- Developing strategies for securing financing
- Corporate and personal income tax planning
- Information technology needs analysis
- Assurance (audits and reviews)
- Preparation and analysis of financial information
- Acting as trustee in the event of receivership, insolvency or bankruptcy
- Developing management controls
- Management consulting
- Forensic accounting and litigation support
CPA, CGA
CPA, CGAs work in the manufacturing, commercial and financial sectors, the public sector, private accounting firms and other sectors that require accounting or financial management services. A CPA,CGA’s tasks include the following:
- Corporate accounting and planning
- Tax planning and preparing income tax returns
- Management controls
- Auditing
- Management consulting services
- Financial planning
- Start-up consulting services
- Consulting and systems implementation services
- Retirement planning
- Succession planning
- Estate planning
CPA, CMA
CPA, CMAs are strategic financial management professionals. Working for companies of all sizes and types, CPA, CMAs approach organizational decision making from an integration perspective and apply management practices in a wide variety of functions:
- Financial planning
- Finance
- Operations
- Sales and marketing
- Information technology
- Human resources
HOW TO BECOME A CPA
Chartered Professional Accountants : http://cpaquebec.ca/en/becoming-a-cpa/