The CPA Roundtable (in Layman's Terms)
[Editor's Note: With the CPA Roundtable having come and gone this past Monday, we reached out to AFSA's VP Education, Zac Hogg, who graciously agreed to provide a recap of the Roundtable. His thoughts are documented below.]
Amid all the more socially geared events I was in Waterloo for this weekend, more notably the 3 on 3 rugby tournament, the SAF Awards Dinner, and the ICAO Case competition that I wore a hat to, there was one big reason why I had taken the few days off work to be in Waterloo for an extended 5 day weekend: to meet the minds behind the future of our accounting profession here in Ontario (and Canada), and see the CPA Roundtable in person.
Most people who attended, snuck in, or tuned in over the livestream were watching because they were interested to hear about what the national unification meant for their future as one of the many students in, not only Waterloo, but in Ontario, studying/articling towards one of the two merging designations: CA or CMA (I will assume no Waterloo student is articling towards an Alberta CGA or Quebec CPA as I type). The biggest concern for students walking in to the roundtable was the ability to legacy tag their eventual CPA designation with a "CA." Most students suspected that the professional exam they wrote dictated the designation they earned. Another concern that was discussed during the evening was work experience, and whether or not current work experience would still count towards the new CPA experience criteria.
After the lovely history of the CA and CPA in Ontario and across Canada presentation put on by the ICAO, students went to work on getting these two main concerns answered. And after all the fretting, and worrying for the past few months, students found out that their work experience that currently counts towards CA hours would indeed count towards CPA hours, and more importantly, that their "CPA, CA" legacy tag was dependent upon being a registered CA student with the ICAO before January 31, 2015 (and not dependent upon writing the CFE, the UFE, the NewFE, or, a Newfie).
Some other good points to mention from the discussions that went on in the roundtable:
Go for one designation now, no point going for two at this stage of the game
The SAF's MAcc program will remain a professionally accredited program for the time being, allowing students to still take a crack at the new exam upon graduation
We are "indentured slaves" (just because) in the current CA process and the ICAO will make sure it stays that rigorous for the CPA process (sorry!)
No more traditional and non-traditional paths: the new exam will allow us all to show depth in Financial Reporting and etc. but will offer a choice between depth in Assurance or Management decision making, which makes me even consider whether I be best suited to write the last UFE or write the first CFE. This is a change that works in tandem with the new designation's name: Chartered Professional Accountant.
We have only 13% of the 36,000 CA's in Ontario in Public Practice, and less of a focus on assurance will allow the profession to evolve and better serve the next up and comers for a life outside of public practice (read: a life beyond "indentured slavery").
And now a standard plug sign off to contact me if you still have questions about the new CPA process for Waterloo students:
Any questions that you didn't get answered during the CPA Roundtable? Please direct them to me by email and I will try my best to answer them myself or will lead you in the right direction.
– Zac Hogg