CICIC::Information for foreign-trained accountants and auditors > Occupational profiles for selected trades and professions

Information for foreign-trained accountants and auditors

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Information on requirements to practise

The occupations of financial auditors and accountants are regulated by legislation in most jurisdictions. Requirements to practise vary, but membership in a professional accounting association is usually required. The three major national accounting organizations are identified below, and each has its own professional designation: Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified General Accountant (CGA), and Certified Management Accountant (CMA). The related provincial/territorial bodies are listed at the end. Therefore, once you know where you will settle and work in Canada, you should contact the appropriate association for details on licensing procedures.

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA): 277 Wellington Street West; Toronto ON M5V 3H2 Canada; Phone : (416) 977-3222; Fax : (416) 977-8585; Email : peter.mclean@cica.ca; http://www.cica.ca/

Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada): 4200 North Fraser Way, Suite 100; Burnaby BC V5J 5K7 Canada; Phone : (604) 669-3555; Phone (alternate): 1-800-663-1529; Fax : (604) 689-5845; Email : internationalinquiries@cga-canada.org; http://www.cga-canada.org/en-ca/Pages/default.aspx

Society of Certified Management Accountants of Canada (CMA Canada): 1 Robert Speck Parkway, Suite 1400; Mississauga ON L4Z 3M3 Canada; Phone : (905) 949-4200; Phone (alternate): 1-800-263-7622; Fax : (905) 949-0888; Email : info@cma-canada.org; http://www.cma-canada.org/

Public Accountants

For professional accountants who expect to perform public accounting services, particularly as an auditor of the financial statements of companies, the requirements for licensure are regulated by legislation as follows:

Licences to practise public accounting are required by legislation in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island. With few exceptions, only CAs are licensed to practise public accounting in Nova Scotia. Both Ontario and Quebec permit any of the three accounting bodies to issue public accounting licenses to CAs, CGAs, and CMAs, provided that they meet the standards set by the province's governing council. Only CAs and CGAs may be licensed in Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland legislation provides for the licensing of CAs, CMAs, and CGAs.
In Alberta, only CAs, CMAs, and CGAs are permitted to engage in public accounting if they hold a certificate of practice from one of the three accounting bodies. In British Columbia the right to perform statutory audits is restricted to CAs, CGAs, and persons approved by the provincial Auditor Certification Board.
There is no licensing or certification required by legislation to practise public accounting in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, or the Yukon. However, the securities commissions in some of these jurisdictions require that professional accountants performing audit or review services for publicly listed companies be CAs, CGAs, or CMAs.

Information on assessment of qualifications

Although the provincial/territorial associations of accountants will provide information regarding requirements to practise your profession, most are not set up to assess foreign credentials prior to your arrival in Canada. Some of the national associations of accountants offer this service or they have made arrangements with evaluation services to perform the assessment of foreign credentials. You must contact the appropriate association of accountants directly to find out about assessment procedures.

You may also contact an evaluation service and consult our Fact Sheet No. 2, "Assessment and recognition of credentials for the purpose of employment in Canada." Although the evaluation services offer expert advice on how qualifications obtained abroad compare with credentials obtained in a Canadian province or territory, the evaluation is advisory only and does not guarantee recognition of your qualifications for employment or certification purposes in Canada. Please note that they charge a fee for their services.

Other relevant information

For a general description of duties and employment requirements, you can refer to the information prepared by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada regarding:

Financial Auditors and Accountants

Specific Provincial/Territorial Information

Alberta
British Columbia:

Accountants [PDF]
Financial Auditors and Accountants

Manitoba

Prince Edward Island
Quebec:

Comptable général licencié [PDF documents in French only]
Comptable agréé [PDF documents in French only]
Comptable en management accrédité [PDF documents in French only]

Saskatchewan

List of associations of professional accountants

Alberta

CGA Alberta: 325 Manning Road NE, Suite 100; Calgary AB T2E 2P5 Canada; Phone : (403) 299-1300; Phone (alternate): 1-800-661-1078; Fax : (403) 299-1339; Email : question@cga-alberta.org; http://www.cga-alberta.org/

CMA Alberta: 833 - 4th Avenue S.W., Suite 1120; Calgary AB T2P 3T5 Canada; Phone : (403) 269-5341; Phone (alternate): 1-877-CMA-2000; Fax : (403) 262-5477; Email : info@cma-alberta.com; http://www.cma-alberta.com/

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta (ICAA): 580 Manulife Place, 10180 - 101 Street; Edmonton AB T5J 4R2 Canada; Phone : (780) 424-7391; Phone (alternate): 1-800-232-9406; Fax : (780) 425-8766; Email : info@icaa.ab.ca; http://www.icaa.ab.ca/

British Columbia

CGA-BC: 1867 West Broadway, Suite 300; Vancouver BC V6J 5L4 Canada; Phone : (604) 732-1211; Phone (alternate): 1-800-565-1211; Fax : (604) 732-1252; Email : info@cga-bc.org; http://www.cga-bc.org/

CMA British Columbia: Two Bentall Centre, Box 269
555 Burrard St., Suite 1055; Vancouver BC V7X 1M8 Canada; Phone : (604) 687-5891; Phone (alternate): 1-800-663-9646; Fax : (604) 687-6688; Fax (alternate): 1-800-663-8715; Email : cmabc@cmabc.com; http://www.cmabc.com/

Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia (ICABC): One Bentall Centre, Box 22
505 Burrard Street, Suite 500; Vancouver BC V7X 1M4 Canada; Phone : (604) 681-3264; Phone (alternate): 1-800-663-2677; Fax : (604) 681-1523; Email : ong@ica.bc.ca; http://www.ica.bc.ca/

Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Yukon Territory (ICAY): c/o Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia
One Bentall Centre, Box 22
505 Burrard Street, Suite 500; Vancouver BC V7X 1M4 Canada; Phone : (604) 681-3264; Phone (alternate): 1-800-663-2677; Fax : (604) 681-1523; Email : ong@ica.bc.ca

Manitoba

CGA-Manitoba: 4 Donald Street South; Winnipeg MB R3L 2T7 Canada; Phone : (204) 477-1256; Phone (alternate): 1-800-282-8001; Fax : (204) 453-7176; Email : info@cga-manitoba.org; http://www.cga-manitoba.org/

CMA Manitoba: 815 — 240 Graham Avenue; Winnipeg MB R3C 0J7 Canada; Phone : (204) 943-1538; Phone (alternate): 1-800-841-7148; Fax : (204) 947-3308; Email : cmamb@cma-canada.org; http://www.cma-manitoba.com/

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Manitoba (ICAM): 161 Portage Avenue East, Suite 500; Winnipeg MB R3B 0Y4 Canada; Phone : (204) 942-8248; Phone (alternate): 1-888-942-8248; Fax : (204) 943-7119; Email : icam@icam.mb.ca; http://www.icam.mb.ca/

New Brunswick

CGA New Brunswick: P.O. Box 1395
236 St. George Street, Suite 10; Moncton NB E1C 8T6 Canada; Phone : (506) 857-0939; Phone (alternate): 1-877-462-4262; Fax : (506) 855-0887; Email : cganb@nbnet.nb.ca; http://www.cga-nb.org/

CMA New Brunswick: 570 Queen Street, Suite 101; Fredericton NB E3B 6Z6 Canada; Phone : (506) 455-2262; Phone (alternate): 1 877-676-2262; Fax : (506) 455-2266; Email : cmanb.programs@nb.aibn.com; http://www.cmanb.com/

New Brunswick Institute of Chartered Accountants (NBICA): 55 Union Street, Suite 250
Mercantile Centre; Saint John NB E2L 5B7 Canada; Phone : (506) 634-1588; Fax : (506) 634-1015; Email : nbica@nb.aibn.com; http://www.nbica.org/

Newfoundland and Labrador

CGA-Newfoundland and Labrador: 294 Freshwater Road, Suite 201; St. John's NL A1B 1C1 Canada; Phone : (709) 579-1863; Phone (alternate): 1-800-563-2426; Fax : (709) 579-0838; Email : office@cganl.org; http://www.cganl.org/cga/index.aspx

CMA Newfoundland and Labrador: PO Box 28090, RPO Avalon Mall
Suite 104, 31 Peet Street, Tara Place; St. John's NL A1B 4J8 Canada; Phone : (709) 726-3652; Fax : (709) 726- 5513; Email : admin@cma-nl.com; http://www.cma-nl.com/

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Newfoundland & Labrador (ICANL): 95 Bonaventure Avenue, 5th Floor
P.O. Box 21130; St. John's NL A1A 5B2 Canada; Phone : (709) 753-7566; Fax : (709) 753-3609; Email : kharnum@ican.nfld.net; http://www.icanl.ca

Northwest Territories

CGA-Northwest Territories/Nunavut: P.O. Box 128, 3rd Floor
5016 50th Avenue; Yellowknife NT X1A 2N9 Canada; Phone : (867) 873-5620; Fax : (867) 873-4469; Email : admin@cga-nwt-nu.org; http://www.cga-nwt-nu.org/

CMA Northwest Territories and Nunavut: P.O. Box 512; Yellowknife NT X1A 2N4 Canada; Fax : (867) 920-2503; Email : mdemeule@cdn-north.com; http://www.cma-canada.org/nwt.asp

Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (ICANWT): P.O. Box 2433; Yellowknife NT X1A 2P8 Canada; Phone : (867) 873-3680; Fax : (867) 920-4135; http://www.icanwt.nt.ca/

Nova Scotia

CGA-Nova Scotia: 1801 Hollis Street, Suite 230; Halifax NS B3J 3N4 Canada; Phone : (902) 425-4923; Fax : (902) 425-4983; Email : office@cga-ns.org; http://www.cga-ns.org/

CMA Nova Scotia: 1559 Brunswick Street, Suite 500; Halifax NS B3J 2G1 Canada; Phone : (902) 422-5836; Phone (alternate): 1-800-565-7198; Fax : (902) 423-1605; Email : rclarke@cma-ns.com

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nova Scotia (ICANS): 1791 Barrington Street, Suite 1410; Halifax NS B3J 3L1 Canada; Phone : (902) 425-3291; Fax : (902) 423-4505; Email : icans@icans.ns.ca; http://www.icans.ns.ca/

Ontario

Certified General Accountants of Ontario (CGA Ontario): 240 Eglinton Avenue East; Toronto ON M4P 1K8 Canada; Phone : (416) 322-6520; Phone (alternate): 1-800-668-1454; Fax : (416) 322-6481; Email : info@cga-ontario.org; http://www.cga-ontario.org/

CMA Ontario: 70 University Ave., Suite 300; Toronto ON M5J 2M4 Canada; Phone : (416) 977-7741; Phone (alternate): 1-800-387-2991; Fax : (416) 977-6079; Email : info@cma-ontario.org; http://www.cma-ontario.org/

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO): 69 Bloor Street East; Toronto ON M4W 1B3 Canada; Phone : (416) 962-1841; Phone (alternate): 1-800-387-0735; Fax : (416) 962-8900; Email : custserv@icao.on.ca; http://www.icao.on.ca/

Prince Edward Island

CGA-Prince Edward Island: 118 Queen Street
Box #3, Suite 105; Charlottetown PE C1A 4A1 Canada; Phone : (902) 368 7237; Fax : (902) 368-3627; Email : contact@cga-pei.org; http://www.cga-pei.org/

CMA PEI: 1559 Brunswick Street
Suite 500
Sentry Place; Halifax NS B3J 2G1 Canada; Phone : 1 902 422-5836; Phone (alternate): 1 800 565-7198; Fax : 1 902 423-1605; Email : rclarke@cma-ns.com; http://www.cma-pei.com/

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Prince Edward Island (ICAPEI): 129 Kent Street, Suite 203, P.O. Box 301; Charlottetown PE C1A 7K7 Canada; Phone : (902) 894-4290; Fax : (902) 894-4791; Email : amferris@icapei.com; http://www.icapei.com/

Quebec

Ordre des CGA du Québec: 500, Place d'Armes, bureau 1800; Montréal QC H2Y 2W2 Canada; Phone : (514) 861-1823; Phone (alternate): 1-800-463-0163; Fax : (514) 861-7661; Email : ordre@cga-quebec.org; http://www.cga-quebec.org

Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec (OCAQ): 680, rue Sherbrooke Ouest, 18e étage; Montréal QC H3A 2S3 Canada; Phone : (514) 288-3256; Phone (alternate): 1-800-363-4688; Fax : (514) 843-8375; Email : info@ocaq.qc.ca; http://www.ocaq.qc.ca/

Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec: 715, rue de Square-Victoria, 3e étage; Montréal QC H2Y 2H7 Canada; Phone : (514) 849-1155; Phone (alternate): 1-800-263-5390; Fax : (514) 849-9674; Email : formation@cma-quebec.org; http://www.cma-quebec.org/

Saskatchewan

CGA-Saskatchewan: 114-3502 Taylor Street East; Saskatoon SK S7H 5H9 Canada; Phone : (306) 955-4622; Phone (alternate): 1-800-667-4754; Fax : (306) 373-9219; Email : general@cga-saskatchewan.org; http://www.cga-saskatchewan.org/

CMA Saskatchewan: 1900 Albert Street, Suite 202; Regina SK S4P 4K8 Canada; Phone : (306) 359-6461; Phone (alternate): 1-800-667-3535; Fax : (306) 347-8580; Email : info@cma-sask.org; http://www.cma-saskatchewan.com/

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Saskatchewan (ICAS): 3621 Pasqua Street, Suite 830; Regina SK S4S 6W8 Canada; Phone : (306) 359-1010; Fax : (306) 569-8288; Email : info@icas.sk.ca; http://www.icas.sk.ca/

Yukon

CGA-Yukon: P.O. Box 31536
RPO, Main Street; Whitehorse YT Y1A 6K8 Canada; Phone : (867) 668-4461; Fax : (867) 667-8635; Email : robert.fendrick@city.whitehorse.yk.ca; http://www.cga.org/canada/yukon/

CMA Yukon: P.O. Box 31426; Whitehorse YT Y1A 6K8 Canada; Phone : (867) 668-3388; Fax : (867) 668-2402; Email : cmayukon@internorth.com; http://www.cma-canada.org/yukon.asp