Information for foreign-trained accountants and auditors

(1111) Verified: 2009 10 13

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:

Specific Provincial/Territorial Information

augmenter la taille du texte Diminuer la taille du texte imprimer

CMEC      

Subscribe to the InfoCICIC Newsletter, our electronic mailing list, to be notified of updates and additions to our site.

General Information
Web site: webmaster [at] cicic.ca

The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC)
is a unit of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).

© 1990-2010 Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (All rights reserved)
Links to this site may be established without permission.
Its contents may not be reproduced without prior authorization.
Reproduction for commercial purposes is not permitted.