How To Register

FAQs

1. Do I have to register online?

Yes. All prospective participants must apply to register online by completing the Intent to Participate form. We do not accept hard-copy application documents.  

2. Who is eligible to register with CPAB and participate in CPAB's oversight program?

Public accounting firms authorized to issue audit reports on financial statements are eligible to apply to become a participant in CPAB’s oversight program, pursuant to the steps outlined in the CPAB Rules.

3. Do foreign audit firms auditing companies that are reporting issuers in Canada need to register with CPAB if they are already subject to independent oversight in their domestic jurisdiction?

Yes. All firms that audit a Canadian reporting issuer must be registered with CPAB.

4. My firm uses different names in different parts of Canada. Do we register as one firm or more than one firm?

If your firm is a single national partnership that carries out its auditing practice using different names in different markets, you will register as a single firm.

If your firm is a national or international association of firms with more than one partnership in Canada that audits the financial statements of Canadian reporting issuers, you should register each partnership auditing reporting issuers separately with CPAB.

Firms using more than one legal name should register each legal name under which they are licensed to sign audit reports for Canadian reporting issuers.

5. What is an Authorized Individual?

Authorized Individuals are individuals who have a public accounting license and are authorized to sign audit reports for reporting issuers. CPAB requires that firms list at least two authorized individuals at initial registration. For sole proprietorships, one authorized individual and an outside Engagement Quality Reviewer is accepted.

6. My firm is not sure whether a particular audit engagement is for a reporting issuer. How can we find out?

The term "reporting issuer" is defined in provincial securities legislation. The definitions may differ slightly by province. In general, a reporting issuer is an entity that must file annual audited financial statements with a securities commission. This includes mutual funds. Several securities commissions publish a list of reporting issuers on their websites. If you are in doubt about whether a particular audit engagement is for a reporting issuer, you may wish to contact the relevant securities commission.

7. My firm has no reporting issuer audit engagements but wishes to register so that we will be able to audit reporting issuers in future. Can we register with CPAB?

The Intent to Participate form requests the firm to provide its purpose in applying to register with CPAB. For applicant firms with no Canadian reporting issuer audit engagements, previous experience of the firm or its personnel on audits of Canadian reporting issuers or the firm’s affiliation with another firm that might provide such regulatory knowledge and experience is an important factor in our assessment of the applicant firm.

If your firm’s application is approved, you will be subject to our annual participation fees at the minimum level, and you could be subject to an audit quality assessment by CPAB.

8. My firm does not issue audit reports on the financial statements of any reporting issuer. However, we do some audit work on a subsidiary of a reporting issuer, and that work is relied upon by the firm that issues the auditor's report on the reporting issuer’s consolidated financial statements that are filed with a securities commission. Does my firm need to register with CPAB?

Only the firm that issues an auditor's report on financial statements of a Canadian reporting issuer filed with a securities commission must register.

9. How long does it take to get registered?

Our review of the firm’s application does not begin until the Intent to Participate fee is received. We review your Intent to Participate form and Quality Control Report within 30 days of receipt. As part of our assessment, we may request additional information with respect to your online registration submission and Quality Control Report. If any information requested by CPAB is not provided, inaccurate or incomplete, we will delay registration until the firm rectifies the deficiencies to CPAB’s satisfaction.

10. How does CPAB decide whether to approve my registration?

Our registration process includes an assessment of the applicant firm’s structure, system of quality management and audit experience, which includes: 

• Whether the firm and its authorized individuals are in good standing with CPA professional bodies in the jurisdiction of the firm.
• Whether the firm’s system of quality management is in compliance with the International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM) 1.
• Experience of the firm or its personnel on audits of Canadian reporting issuers and in performing audits in accordance with Canadian Auditing Standards.
• In the absence of Canadian audit experience, an affiliation with a global network of audit firms, or other arrangements in place to access this expertise.
• Registration and licensing with the appropriate Canadian provincial CPA body(ies).
• The firms experience on audits of foreign issuers, including the industry and nature of operations.
• Other regulators’ inspection history.
• Whether the firm can provide CPAB with full uninhibited access to documentation for inspections, as per the terms of the Participation Agreement and as generally required under the CPAB Rules.

If we decline a registration application, we provide the applicant firm with written reason(s), as well as an opportunity to petition for a review proceeding to present its case.

11. How much will it cost to register and when are payments due?

The Intent to Participate fee remitted with the Intent to Participate form is a fixed fee, determined by the number of reporting issuer audit engagements the firm reports it has. The fee structure is set out in  CPAB Rule 802.

12. What is the annual cost to participate in CPAB's oversight program?

Pursuant to Rule 215 and Section 800 of the CPAB Rules, participating audit firms are required to file an Annual Submission to CPAB each fall and pay annual participation fees in accordance with the CPAB Fee Notice.

Annual participation fees are calculated based on a percentage of the total audit fees billed to reporting issuers as reported in the Annual Submission in accordance with the CPAB Funding Model, subject to a minimum fee of $1,000.

13. Will registration information be made public by CPAB?

We post information on our website about Participating Audit Firms that is provided in the Intent to Participate form. This does not include fee information either in aggregate or for any individual reporting issuer audit engagement. Registered firms will appear on the Participating Audit Firms list on CPAB’s website. 

14. Instead of completing the Quality Control Report, can we provide CPAB with the report we have drafted to file with the US PCAOB or with another audit regulator?

No. A Quality Control Report prepared for other regulators does not meet our requirements.

15. The Intent to Participate form requires information about each of the firm's practice offices, the names of individuals authorized to sign audit reports on the financial statements of Canadian reporting issuers, as well as the names of the Canadian reporting issuer audit engagements. How current does this information have to be?

This information should not be older than 90 days prior to the date of submission. Foreign firms are only required to provide details about the offices and partners responsible for the audits of Canadian reporting issuers.

16. What are the required procedures when two or more audit firms merge, when one or more of the firms are Participating Audit Firms?

a) Because a merger is a material change per  Rule 216 (a), the Participating Audit Firms should notify CPAB within 15 days of a merger and submit legal documentation supporting the merger.

b) For our registration purposes, the continuing firm is considered to be the Participating Audit Firm. The firms not continuing are considered to be predecessor firms.

c) If the continuing firm name changes, legal documentation is submitted supporting the firm’s new legal name and a new Participation Agreement is signed with the firm’s new legal name. Canadian firms registered with the PCAOB complete a Consent and Agreement – Section 7 form with the firm’s new legal name. 

d) The continuing firm updates the firm information in the Firm Information and Registration Management System (FIRMS).

e) Reporting issuer engagements that are accepted by the continuing firm and individuals authorized to sign audit reports that were previously associated with predecessor firms, who become authorized individuals of the continuing firm, are added to the continuing firm's profile in FIRMS.

f) Predecessor firms must remove all reporting issuers from their profile in FIRMS and complete the Notice of Withdrawal form provided by CPAB in accordance with Rule 250​.

g) Former partners/officers or designated professionals of predecessor firms who are involved in the audit of a Canadian reporting issuer must sign the  Rule 213 – Consent & Agreement form and the  Rule 214 – Agreement & Release form on behalf of the continuing firm.

h) The continuing firm completes a Confirmation of Compliance form certifying compliance with Rules 213 and 214.

17. What are the required procedures when a Participating Audit Firm changes its legal name?

a) Notify CPAB about the audit firm’s legal name change.

b) Submit legal documentation supporting the firm’s new legal name.

c) Update the firm information in the Firm Information and Registration Management System (FIRMS) to reflect the new firm name and the former name in brackets. Keeping the former name is required for two years after which the firm will remove its former name from the firm’s profile in FIRMS.

d) Sign a new Participation Agreement with the firm’s new legal name.

e) Complete a Confirmation of Compliance form with the firm’s new legal name, certifying compliance with Rules 213 and 214.

f) Canadian firms registered with the PCAOB complete a Consent and Agreement – Section 7 form with the firm’s new legal name.

18. What are the required procedures when a Participating Audit Firm no longer wants to be registered with CPAB?

A participating audit firm may terminate its participation in CPAB's oversight program if it no longer wishes to audit reporting issuers. Note that despite a termination, CPAB would retain its powers to complete any inspection or investigation, including the process of imposing enforcement actions or any resulting review proceeding, that is ongoing before the termination. Withdrawing as a participating firm is a two-step process:

1. The firm must remove all reporting issuers from its office location(s). This is done via the 'View/Edit Office Information' link on the Office Information page in the Firm Information and Registration Management System (FIRMS). If the firm has no reporting issuers, they can proceed to step two and inform the Registration Administrator about their intent to withdraw from CPAB.
2. The firm must contact the Registration Administrator and provide the resignation letter that was sent to the reporting issuers as proof of the firm no longer being the auditor. The Registration Administrator will send the request to sign the Notice of Withdrawal document. The document must be signed by the participating audit firm's Senior Partner, Chief Executive Officer or other most senior management person, stating that the firm wishes to terminate its participant status and Participation Agreement and undertaking that (a) the firm does not have any reporting issuer audit engagements at the date of the firm's signing of the Notice of Withdrawal and (b) the firm will not, from and after the date of the Notice of Withdrawal, issue an audit report on the financial statements of a reporting issuer without having first been reinstated as a participating audit firm.

Following CPAB's receipt and approval of the Notice of Withdrawal, the firm's status as a participating firm will be terminated and the firm will be advised of such by email. The firm will appear on the Withdrawn Firms list on CPAB’s website.

If a withdrawn firm subsequently decides to apply to re-register with CPAB, the firm will be required to submit a new Intent to Participate form and Quality Control Report and remit the Intent to Participate fee and any fees that were unpaid at the time of withdrawal. 

19. Which reporting issuers should be included in the 2024 licensing attestation?

All participating audit firms are required to complete the licensing attestation. In addition to registration with CPAB, each Canadian provincial regulatory authority having oversight of Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) within its jurisdiction has additional registration and licensing prerequisites for the provision of audit services to Canadian reporting issuers by audit firms and individuals, respectively.

All reporting issuer audit engagements of the firm as of September 30, 2024 should be included in the 2024 licensing attestation regardless of whether or not the firm has completed an audit on the reporting issuer in the past.

20. Who should I contact regarding questions on licensing requirements?

The firm should contact the registration department of the appropriate Canadian provincial CPA body(ies) for all questions on licensing requirements in order to respond to the licensing attestation. The requirements of each provincial body differ on the basis of individual legislation and inquiries may need to be made in more than one province to ascertain and attain appropriate registration and licensure.

21. What is the impact of responding “No” to the 2024 licensing attestation?

A “No” response does not impact the firm’s status as a participating audit firm with CPAB. If the firm responds “No” to the licensing attestation, it will be asked to provide the information regarding the reporting issuer name, Canadian provincial CPA body(ies) impacted, firm office, and engagement partner name. The firm may also add any statement providing additional information, for example, that it is in the process of applying for licenses with the relevant Canadian provincial CPA body(ies).

Any questions with respect to the licensing requirements and process should be directed to the relevant provincial CPA body(ies).

22. Why can't I access my account?

If your firm has recently applied, the firm profile will remain locked while we review it. If you have forgotten your password or Firm ID, please visit Forgot Your Password? or Forgot Your Firm ID? For further assistance, please contact the Registration Administrator.