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 continuing firm name changes, 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.
- The continuing firm updates the firm information in the Firm Information and Registration Management System (FIRMS).
- Reporting issuer clients that are accepted by the continuing firm and indiviuals 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.
- Predecessor firms remove all reporting issuers from their profile in FIRMS and complete the Notice of Withdrawal form provided by CPAB 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 completes a Confirmation of Compliance form certifying compliance with Rules 213 and 214.
- Notify CPAB about the audit firm's legal name change.
- 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.
- Sign a new Participation Agreement with the firm's new legal name.
- Complete a Confirmation of Compliance form with the firm's new legal name, certifying compliance with Rules 213 and 214.
- Canadian firms registered with the PCAOB complete a Consent and Agreement – Section 7 form with the firm's new legal name.
A participating audit firm may terminate its participation in CPAB's oversight program if it no longer wishes to audit reporting issuers. Withdrawing as a participating firm is a two-step process:
- 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).
- 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 clients 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.
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 issuers that were clients of the firm as of September 30, 2023 should be included in the 2023 licensing attestation regardless of whether or not the firm has completed an audit on the reporting issuer in the past.
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.
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).
*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.