Under Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 52-108, public accounting firms that audit Canadian reporting issuers (RIs) must participate in CPAB's oversight program.
To register:
- Submit an Intent to Participate form and Quality Control Report online.
- Remit the required Intent to Participate fee. See CPAB Rule 802 for details. Please note that review of a firm’s application does not begin until the Intent to Participate fee is received.
- After all online registration components are determined to be complete, you will be asked to provide the email address of your firm’s signatory for the Participation Agreement to be sent to. The signatory will receive a PDF document requesting a digital signature by Adobe.
- Submit a copy of your executed CPAB Participation Agreement.
Please note that CPAB has adopted the process of electronic signatures for new registrations and registration renewal documents. No hard copies of the documents will be required unless advised otherwise.
For more information on how to register with CPAB, please email us at registration@cpab-ccrc.ca.
FAQs
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 name under which they are licensed to sign audit reports for Canadian reporting issuer clients.
The information submitted as part of the registration process will be reviewed. If any information is inaccurate or incomplete, we will delay registration until the firm rectifies the deficiencies.
If we decline registration, we provide the applicant firm with written reason(s), as well as an opportunity to participate in a hearing to present its case.
- Because a merger is a material change per Rule 216 (a), the Participating Audit Firms should notify CPAB within 15 days of the merger.
- 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.
- If the firm name changes, a new Participation Agreement should be submitted. PCAOB registrants should also submit a completed Consent and Agreement – Section 7 form.
- The continuing firm should update the firm information on CPAB’s website.
- If the continuing firm is already a Participating Audit Firm and the firm name is unchanged, the procedures outlined below only apply to predecessor firms.
- Reporting issuer clients and individuals authorized to sign audit reports that were previously associated with predecessor firms should be added to the continuing firm's information on CPAB’s website.
- Predecessor firms should complete an online Notice of Withdrawal form and submit the written notification in accordance with Rule 250.
- Former partners/officers or designated professionals of predecessor firms who are involved in the audit of a Canadian reporting issuer should sign the Rule 213 – Consent & Agreement form and the Rule 214 – Agreement & Release form on behalf of the continuing firm.
- The continuing firm should submit a letter certifying compliance with Rules 213 & 214.
- Update the firm's information on CPAB's website to reflect the new firm name and the former name in brackets.
- Inform the Registration Administrator to send you an email request to sign a new Participation Agreement under the new firm name.
- Electronically sign and date a new certificate of compliance with Rules 213 and 214 under the new firm name.
- PCAOB registrants are required to electronically submit a Consent and Agreement – Section 7 form.
*The information in the firm profiles is prepared and maintained by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Participating Audit Firm to which it relates. Any questions pertaining to this information should be addressed to the Participating Audit Firm. CPAB makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of this information, and accepts no responsibility for any loss or damages suffered as a result of decisions made or actions taken based on the information therein.