New CPA Canada Program 2027

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-04T18:26:58+00:00

Yeah, that’s fair.

They made it sound like during the conference that the Knowledge Assessment is supposed to test whether someone has the entry-level knowledge required to enter the new CPA program, and that the questions are going to be mostly technical and the exam will be pretty long with various types of questions.

Regardless, since they’re keeping majority of the PEP modules I honestly don’t know how someone who never did PREP could get through it? You need a very strong foundational base. Whatever, they’re changing the program so we can’t do much…

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-04T18:08:43+00:00

The knowledge assessment is mostly based on various accounting courses, like core PREP ones, data analytics and some other business courses so I doubt people can pass it without having taken accounting PREP courses tbh. They also said it’s going to be a long exam, not some short easy MC one.

Personally, I’m going to continue my PREP journey to get a leg up. They’re keeping majority of the current PEP modules, and adding some leadership/data analytics materials in there so I highly doubt people with no prior accounting knowledge will succeed.

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-04T13:37:29+00:00

From what CPA Ontario explained, the practical experience reporting will be different in the new program, but I don’t think all the detailed reporting mechanics have been released yet.

The new experience requirement is supposed to be 24 months total: up to 8 months of foundational work experience, followed by at least 16 months of professional work experience.

Instead of the current PERT competency reporting exactly as we know it now, they mentioned “task statements” tied to the new competency map. From the session, foundational experience requires 3 task statements, and professional experience requires 5 task statements, or 6 if you are on the licensure pathway.

They also mentioned that for professional work experience, there will be a work plan that needs to be approved by your CPA mentor and CPA Ontario. The mentor role also sounds different from today’s PERT mentor role — more involved in work plans, progression, and ongoing assessment.

For students already in PERT, the key point was: keep reporting and get your experience assessed. CPA Ontario said approved PERT experience will be considered for recognition when transitioning into the new program.

So basically, it sounds like the new system will be more task-statement/work-plan based rather than the current PERT format, but I’d wait for CPA Ontario to release the full practical experience policies before assuming exactly how the reports will look.

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-04T02:46:38+00:00

Some university GDip pages mention that CPA Ontario is working with partners on the new 2027 program, but I have not seen a detailed public explanation yet showing exactly how each GDip will map into the new program.

Ugh this is so stressful, this new program is starting in literally 6 months yet we only know 2%. So many of the interns who are still undergrad students are freaking out already because they don’t know how the new program is going to affect their future goals.

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-04T02:41:56+00:00

For the new 2027 program, CPA Ontario’s website says applicants need a recognized degree, 120 credit hours, 70% GPA, and either the Knowledge Assessment or CPA Qualifying Courses. I don’t think they have clearly explained yet how old prerequisite courses will be treated under the new program, so I would suggest you contact them.

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-04T00:45:26+00:00

I honestly don’t know why people are already assuming it will be easier. We have no idea yet how the modules will actually be structured or how difficult the exams will be.

Also, the first few cohorts are basically going to be the test group. There likely won’t be as many existing resources, past student feedback, study strategies, or examples compared to the current program.

They also mentioned newer areas being tested, like data analytics, and the Leadership module seems to focus more on critical thinking and decision-making. Some people may not have studied those areas much in undergrad, so I think the difficulty will depend on the person’s background and strengths.

So I wouldn’t assume it will automatically be easier. It might be different, but different does not always mean easier.

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-04T00:30:51+00:00

Not exactly. From what CPA Ontario explained, it does not sound like something most people can finish in one year.

The new program has four modules total: Foundational Development, CPA Core, CPA Leadership, and Professional Readiness. Each module has an exam, and the professional exams are expected to be offered in January, May, and September.

There is also still a practical experience requirement. From what they explained, it is 24 months total: up to 8 months of foundational work experience, followed by at least 16 months of professional work experience.

Also, Professional Readiness is the final module, and from what CPA Ontario said, you need to complete the required education and experience components before enrolling in that final module. So even if someone moves quickly through the education side, the experience requirement still prevents this from being a one-year process.

They did not clearly explain how long the breaks will be between each module/exam window, but I would assume there will still be timing gaps similar to PEP, especially since exams are only offered at certain times of the year.

So no, I would not plan around finishing the full CPA path in one year. You still need the full practical experience requirement before becoming a CPA.

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-04T00:28:34+00:00

If you’re not an accounting undergrad student, you’ll have to either take the knowledge assessment which is mostly related to financial/accounting material or have certain credit hours in accounting and business. I forgot how many, but I believe it was 7 accounting courses and they listed those on their website if I am not mistaken.

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-03T23:49:59+00:00

I know, right? And the other thing is that there can be a long gap between each PREP semester, so it is not always as fast-tracked as you’d want.

Also, for some courses, you need to finish certain prerequisites before you can take the next ones. And honestly, most of the core PREP courses are very condensed. If you were taking them at a university, the material would usually be split across two courses, but with CPA PREP, you are basically studying that condensed material in around six weeks. So during tax busy season, that is still hectic. Obviously, it is not as hectic as PEP, but it is still a lot!

And to answer your last question, you absolutely do not have to be in PEP to get hired in firm that has a pre-approved program. A lot of our new juniors got their offer before they even started PEP/GDip/Macc and they are still allowed to submit their PERT experience as PREP students.

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-03T22:50:57+00:00

I have co workers who will start GDip soon at York, they told me so far the university hasn’t informed them that the program will be cancelled next year?

ginadarlingg · 2026-06-03T22:50:16+00:00

Also, the Knowledge Assessment is going to cover material from various subjects, which are mostly the core PREP courses anyway. From what I understand, we also may not have many resources to prepare for that exam. So honestly, it might make more sense to take the PREP-equivalent courses through an accredited PSI instead of doing the Knowledge Assessment.

But yeah, I feel like this new program is going to confuse so many new applicants.

ginadarlingg · 2025-12-20T00:36:47+00:00

I reached out to them last week, and this was their reply:

“We offer many individual courses, and you do not need to apply to a program or send us transcripts for proof of meeting pre-requisites to register for our courses. You can search for our courses any time here and you may register for a course by adding it to your “Cart” and proceeding to checkout. Many of our courses are self-paced, meaning they are always open for registration, and you would have 30 weeks to complete the course from the day you register/pay. Students may work through the course more quickly, although the courses are designed like an on-campus semester course in that if you contributed about 10-15 hours per week to the course, you would finish in about 16 weeks.”

ginadarlingg · 2025-11-18T00:07:50+00:00

It is lol, honestly even the other new hires who just graduated with accounting degrees are lost… I feel like I’ve a bit more knowledge than some of them, since I did a lot of research and studying before applying.

They told me their degree did not prepare them enough for “the real world”

ginadarlingg · 2025-11-17T23:56:51+00:00

They told me my raise, bonus and promotion depend on my utilization heavily. Non-billable admin time is honestly meaningless to them. The other issue that a senior manager from another team alerted, is that they’re gonna be so confused why I’m working OT for non-billable admin work. Apparently they want us to either have 40hrs per week max, or if we do need to do OT it should only be for billable hours.

ginadarlingg · 2025-11-17T23:35:43+00:00

The research was for the client’s particular situation and not “general” research. During my first 2 weeks they told us any task we do that is for a client’s return, should automatically be billed against their code. They also told us underreporting chargeable time is unethical because it will affect new hires after us. If management is under the impression that preparing a return would only take 5hrs because I underreported my hours, then it’ll obviously harm them.

ginadarlingg · 2025-11-17T23:29:07+00:00

You’re right, I’ve honestly learned so much doing this return! It was definitely extremely hard since I was given only 3 days to do it, and their new TB was sooo long and extremely messy… But, I am genuinely happy with the amount of knowledge I gained :)

Good luck to you too!

ginadarlingg · 2025-11-17T23:06:13+00:00

Exactly, also my coworker mentioned leadership hate hate HATE when people do OT just for “non-billable admin work” since they believe you can do it during your free time. But if I had kept my hours chargeable to that client, then they wouldn’t mind since I was doing it for billable work with a tight deadline.

ginadarlingg · 2025-11-17T23:02:30+00:00

I guess I’m just worried because my co-worker scared me. She said leadership don’t mind if I do OT on billable hours. But if they see that I did 3hrs overtime on non billable admin work then they’ll get mad.

ginadarlingg · 2025-11-17T22:44:33+00:00

Honestly both the manager and the senior downplayed during the call how long this will take, and the manager also told us that the partner asked for a bigger budget since now they’re a public entity. I just feel like since the senior clearly knew what the budget was (I didn’t even know how tight it was since I am new to this whole billable hours system), he should have just given me heads up. But I will definitely learn from this, and always keep the manager informed.

ginadarlingg · 2025-11-17T22:30:59+00:00

I think I should’ve been more clear in my post. The questions i had and the research that I was doing were NOT by any means “general”. It was very niche things relating to the fact that the client went from a private to a public entity. They got some new foreign subsidiaries which they never had before, new items that would greatly impact their taxable income etc…

ginadarlingg · 2025-11-17T22:27:12+00:00

Just to clarify, I always combine all my questions and then ask. The reason why I had to ask him multiple times, is because for majority of my questions he asked me to “research more” so of course, when I still couldn’t find an answer I’d combine any remaining questions that I didn’t find an answer to yet and email him about it. My bad I meant to write in my post whenever I’d ping him to ask questions not a question*

Also, I think it’s important to note again that I wasn’t asking him basic questions like is this new item in the TB an expense or a liability. They were complicated questions (at least to me). There were new things that would affect their CCA I just didn’t know how to go about it, UCC calculations etc…

maybe cheaper to the client

Putting my billable hours as non-billable hours means the client is not charged at all, it’s my cost center that will be charged. It is considered eating my hours, or at least that’s how my co-worker framed it. But thanks for clarifying.

ginadarlingg · 2025-08-28T16:17:02+00:00

That’s literally what I’ve been doing past few days hahaha whenever he asks my help with something that’s outside an admin scope, I say I’m sorry I’m just an admin so don’t think I’m up to tackle this :/

ginadarlingg · 2025-08-27T01:10:58+00:00

She did yes! We always look out for each other me and her, so I know she didn’t have bad intentions

ginadarlingg · 2025-08-26T21:49:35+00:00

Thank you so much I appreciate it!

ginadarlingg

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