General Information
CPAs are expected to maintain and enhance their professional knowledge to stay competitive and effective in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Ongoing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) ensures that CPAs remain informed, competent, and current in all areas in which they work or provide services.
By keeping skills and knowledge up to date, CPAs are better equipped to serve the interests of clients, employers, and other stakeholders, and to uphold the high standards of the profession.
No. There are no formal limits or maximums on the types of learning activities that may count toward your CPD requirements. Members have the flexibility to choose learning activities that best support their current or future professional roles.
However, CPAs are expected to take a balanced and well‑rounded approach to CPD. This means that learning should not be derived exclusively from a single source or focused solely on one topic. A diverse mix of activities helps ensure that members continue to develop a broad range of skills and competencies relevant to their professional responsibilities.
Yes. The term “professional role” is defined broadly. CPAs are required to engage in learning activities relevant to their current or future professional roles, even if those activities are not directly related to accounting, tax, or assurance.
CPD can include the development of a wide range of competencies. Take time to evaluate your existing skills and determine whether you are dedicating enough effort to building or refreshing the competencies needed to excel in your role. This may include soft skills such as leadership and communication, as well as knowledge specific to your industry. All such learning activities count toward your CPD requirements.
When selecting CPD activities, adopt a thoughtful and reflective approach. Consider your professional goals, current knowledge and skill level, potential areas for growth, and the competencies necessary to meet future opportunities or responsibilities.
Under CPABC’s Bylaws, members who do not meet the CPD requirements may have their membership suspended and/or cancelled. These measures help protect the public, maintain trust in the profession, and uphold the reputation associated with the CPA designation.
Members who have a valid reason for an exemption from the prescribed basic requirements of CPD may submit a written request to the Membership Committee to consider their circumstances using the CPABC’s secure website.
- Requests related to medical circumstances must include CPABC’s Medical Form, completed by the member’s medical practitioner.
- Please note that being “too busy” is not considered a valid basis for exemption, as members are expected to plan and allocate sufficient time for CPD annually.
All exemption requests are reviewed confidentially. After assessing the information provided, the Membership Committee will issue a determination to the member.
The CPD program does not prescribe specific subject areas, except for two mandatory requirements:
- 4 hours of professional ethics in every rolling three‑calendar‑year period, and
- 1.5 hours of Anti–Money Laundering Professional Development (AML PD).
Beyond these, there are no mandatory topics. However, all members must meet the professional competence obligations set out in Rule 203 of the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct. This means members should select learning activities that are relevant to their professional roles and responsibilities.
To determine appropriate CPD activities, assess your current skills and consider whether you are dedicating sufficient time to developing or refreshing the competencies needed to do your job effectively. Qualifying CPD is not limited to accounting, assurance, tax, or other technical fields. Soft skills—such as leadership, communication, and industry‑specific knowledge—may also be essential to your role and count toward your CPD requirements.
Choosing CPD activities should be a thoughtful and reflective process, taking into account:
- Your current and future professional goals,
- Your existing knowledge and skill level, and
- Any additional competencies needed to meet future opportunities or responsibilities.
CPD Reporting
The reporting deadline is January 31 for the previous calendar year.
Members are required to report their CPD activities on CPABC’s secure website. Members may report their completed CPD activities throughout the year. If you encounter any difficulties signing into the secure website, please contact support@bccpa.ca.
Each year, CPABC verifies a sample of CPD reports for the preceding three-calendar-year period. Accordingly, members are required to retain all supporting documentation for their CPD activities for five years after the end of the reporting period. There is no need to submit the supporting records unless requested.
When you register for in-person courses, live webinars, and online on-demand courses offered by CPABC, these activities are pre-populated into the online CPD reporting platform; however, they are not automatically added to your CPD report. You must review the list of pre-populated courses and submit them to your CPD report.
If you did not attend or partially attended a course listed on the posting screen, you must amend the “hours attended” field.
To support accurate reporting and prevent duplication, CPABC PD is no longer available as a selectable provider.
Members are also responsible for verifying the accuracy of every CPD entry before submitting it, in accordance with CPABC Code of Professional Conduct (False or Misleading Applications).
For example:
Ensuring your CPD report is complete and accurate helps maintain professional standards and supports compliance with CPABC requirements.
Participants who complete the pre-work may report it as verifiable CPD. The PD seminar auto-populate process on Online Services will indicate the total eligible CPD hours, including the pre-work. Participants who do not complete the pre-work must reduce the reported CPD hours accordingly.
Members must report the actual number of hours they spent participating in a learning activity, up to the maximum hours estimated by the course provider. If you spent more time than the provider’s estimate, the additional time may be reported as unverifiable CPD, allowing you to claim the full hours actually invested through a combination of verifiable and unverifiable CPD.
For conferences and conventions, you should report only the time spent in sessions that involve significant intellectual or practical content. Time spent on marketing, networking, meals, or social events does not qualify as CPD.
You are allowed to report the number of hours you actually engage in a learning activity. Report the number of hours you actually spent learning at the course in-person. If you read the seminar materials on your own to learn what you missed, you can report unverifiable CPD for the amount of time you spent doing so.
New members admitted to membership will be required to report CPD in the calendar year of admission. The CPD reporting year is the calendar year. There is no proration of the CPD requirements in the year of admission. CPD completed anytime in the calendar year will be eligible for CPD credit in the first rolling three-calendar-year period begins in the year of admission.
Beginning 2019, Effective Management Skills and the seven-hour soft skills course are no longer required to be completed prior to admission to membership. As a transitional provision, students who have completed these courses prior to the year of admission may carryover these courses into their first CPD reporting year. Outside of this transitional allowance, CPD cannot be carried from one calendar year to another.
The seven-hour introductory course on the privileges, obligations and ethics of the profession (i.e., Gateway to Membership: Welcome to the Pros, or formerly, You and Your Designation) continues to be required before admission. Because this requirement has not changed, Gateway to Membership cannot be carried forward for CPD credit to a future year.
The Gateway to Membership course will qualify for 7 verifiable CPD hours (including 4 hours of professional ethics) only if it is completed in the same calendar year in which the candidate is admitted to membership. If taken in a different calendar year, it is not eligible for CPD credit.
Verifiable CPD
Verifiable CPD should be supported by certificates of completion, confirmation of registration from providers, attendance records, or such other evidence that can objectively verify completion of the learning activity.
At a minimum, supporting documentation should:
- Describe the learning activity;
- Identify the provider of the activity;
- Connect the member to the activity;
- Identify when the activity took place; and
- Provide a basis for concluding that the number of reported hours is reasonable.
Examples of documentation, any one of the following:
- Certificate of completion or official transcript
- Confirmation of participation by provider or employer (e.g. registration confirmation)
- Attendance record (e.g. sign-in sheet)
- Course assignment and exam results
- Copy of course outline/agenda
- Copy of course payment/invoice
For online learning such as a webinar or an online course, a certificate of completion or an assessment with a passing grade must be obtained in order to qualify for verifiable hours – otherwise the webinar or course would only be eligible for unverifiable hours.
Note: Zoom invitations or webinar links will not be accepted as supporting documentation as you cannot verify whether the course was actually completed
CPABC Live Webinars qualify as verifiable CPD as attendance is monitored by CPABC’s Professional Development staff.
New learning and development that is relevant and appropriate to a member’s work/professional responsibilities and growth as a CPA will qualify for CPD.
If you have supporting documentation, you can include weekly discussion time, time it took to complete the assignments, time it took to write the mid-term and exam as verifiable CPD.
Members report the actual number of hours they engaged in learning activities, up to a maximum number of hours as estimated by the course provider for the activity, if you spent longer, you may claim those additional hours as unverifiable CPD. This allows you to claim full CPD hours for the time spent, as a combination of verifiable and unverifiable.
Sitting on a board of directors or on an audit committee does not in itself qualify as CPD. In order to qualify as CPD, the volunteer activity must help members to develop and maintain professional competence to enable them to perform their professional role. Such activities may include participation in technical discussions and receiving or delivering presentations that help them make more informed decisions and help with their oversight responsibility.
When evaluating whether or not a meeting qualifies for CPD, consider the following questions:
- Were any formal presentations made at the meetings? If so, what was the topic and duration of each of the presentations?
- Did the presentation contain significant intellectual or practical content that provide for the development of new or existing competencies in areas that are relevant to the members professional responsibilities and growth?
CPABC does not accredit third party course providers. Some third party provider emails are written using a regulatory tone and include reminders about “CPA CPD” obligations and deadlines, offers of “accredited” courses to help you on your professional journey, or “guarantees” for verifiable PD. Regardless of the messaging or content in the emails, these third-party CPD providers do not represent CPABC, and we are not associated or affiliated with them in any way.
As long as the activity allows you to develop and maintain professional competency to enable you to perform your professional role, it will qualify for CPD. It is up to the member to determine the learning activities that best suit their professional role.
The expectation is that the member takes a balanced approach towards CPD, and therefore not generally derive all CPD hours from the same source or the same topic.
It is up to the member to determine the learning activities that best suit their professional role. The expectation is that the member takes a balanced approach towards CPD, and therefore not generally derive all CPD hours from the same source or the same topic.
Members may report verifiable CPD hours for both the preparation and delivery of courses or educational presentations that relate to their professional role. These hours may be claimed once per calendar year for the same or similar topic, regardless of how many times the presentation or course is delivered. Multiple sessions of the same material cannot be reported more than once.
Preparation and teaching time should reflect activities that involve maintaining or developing new knowledge to share with your audience.
There is no formal limit on CPD hours earned through presentations; however, members are expected to take a balanced approach to CPD. Learning should not be derived exclusively from one source or focused solely on one topic.
You may claim CPD hours for CPAWSB activities to the extent that you have engaged in learning that helps you maintain or develop the professional competence required for your role. Learning may be reported as verifiable CPD when it can be objectively verified.
Marking
If you are marking the CFE or CPAWSB assessments, you may claim verifiable CPD only for the time spent:
- Reading the test question,
- Reviewing the answer key, and
- Marking your first exam or script.
Subsequent exams or scripts for the same question do not qualify, as the learning does not continue to be new.
Facilitating
You may claim verifiable CPD once per calendar year for each unique task that you facilitate.
Report verifiable CPD for:
- Your preparation time, and
- The time spent facilitating with the single student with whom you spent the most time on that task.
If you facilitated multiple students on the same task, you may still claim the CPD only once, based on the student interaction that required the greatest amount of time.
You may claim CPD credits for Capstone 1 panel activities to the extent that you have engaged in learning that helps you maintain or develop the professional competence required for your role. Learning may be reported as verifiable CPD when it can be objectively verified.
The amount of verifiable CPD you may claim will vary among volunteers, as it depends on several factors, including:
- Your experience level,
- The complexity and nature of the issues addressed during presentations and feedback, and
- The relevance of the learning to your current professional role.
Members should maintain supporting documentation outlining the basis for the number of CPD hours claimed.
CPABC mentorship of PEP candidates is an eligible verifiable CPD activity if you, yourself, have also learned and professionally developed in this mentoring role. The number of CPD hours you may report will depend upon the amount of learning you have achieved. If you are just starting out as a mentor, you may potentially accumulate many CPD hours; however, please note that you must still plan your CPD holistically and ensure that you are professionally competent in all your roles to meet the requirement in Rule 203 – Professional Competence of the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct. To track and document your mentoring learning activities, please use the Mentorship Time Reporting Form.
Ethics Requirement
CPABC Bylaw Regulation 600/2(2) states that “… every member must complete … a minimum of 120 qualifying hours of continuing professional development during each rolling three-calendar year period, including at least 60 verifiable qualifying hours, of which at least 4 are ethics hours.”
CPABC Bylaw Regulation 600/1 defines ethics hours as “verifiable qualifying hours in professional ethics satisfying criteria approved by the Membership Committee.”
As required under Rule 203 of the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct, “A member shall sustain professional competence by keeping informed of, and complying with, developments in professional standards in all functions in which the member provides professional services or is relied upon because of the member’s calling.” In addition to this, members, unless otherwise exempt, must complete a minimum of four hours of verifiable CPD in professional ethics in each rolling three-calendar year period.
A CPD ethics requirement supports and encourages members to uphold the Code of Professional Conduct and continuously evaluate our professional ethics. One way to help ethical decision-making is through CPD whereby we can discuss with professional colleagues the challenges, complexities, and risks faced with ethical decision-making.
Just like other verifiable learning activities, the professional ethics requirement can be fulfilled through CPABC or other sources. The four hours can be accumulated through various separate professional ethics learning activities over the three years. Professional ethics learning activities must go beyond an awareness of the rules, standards or guidelines. The course must give examples or scenarios that show the application of the rules, standards or guidelines; present ethical dilemmas, models or theories of ethics; or the application of ethical decision making.
Professional ethics CPD can cover a wide range of topics related to ethics and ethical decision making. Examples of professional ethics topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- CPABC regulatory updates covering the CPABC Act, Bylaws, Bylaw Regulations and Code of Professional Conduct
- Regulatory updates that are relevant and appropriate to the member’s role or industry
- Professional conduct
- Corporate codes of conduct
- Independence/conflict of interest
- Ethical decision making, approaches, thinking and case studies
- Ethical business culture
- CSR (Corporate social responsibility)
- EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)
- Honesty in business practice
- Bribery and corruption
- Doing the right thing
- Reputation and risk
- Whistleblowing
- (AML) Anti-money laundering
One approach to teaching professional ethics is focusing on the different moral philosophies and looking at personal approaches to making ethical decisions. Regular consideration of how to navigate ethical conflicts and decision-making can be helpful.
Ethical decision-making will occur throughout ones’ professional career and at times professional ethics can be a difficult area to manage or adhere to. This may be especially true in areas such as accounting, finance and business where there can be complex issues, ‘grey’ areas, pressures to compromise high ethical standards for ‘the bottom line’.
When you report verifiable activities in the CPD online reporting system, you will be prompted to confirm whether the activity contains any hours that meet the ethics requirement. If the activity has an ethical component, you will indicate ‘yes’, then enter the amount of professional ethics hours for the verifiable activity.
For your convenience, CPABC PD seminars containing structured professional ethics content will pre-populate with the number of hours of qualifying ethics content. All you need to do is confirm that you were in attendance for the entire duration of the seminar and the ethics component or edit the pre-populated hours as appropriate for the actual time you were in attendance.
In order to meet the CPD requirements, ethics courses should be relevant to members' roles and competencies as a CPA and provide examples or scenarios that show the application of the rules. PD activities related to harassment, diversity and inclusion may meet the eligibility criteria in professional ethics when they relate to technical and/or enabling competencies as well as your professional role, such as:
- Reflecting on values that motivate the choices, actions and behaviors [Acting ethically and demonstrating professional values; Managing self];
- Developing ethical leadership by promoting the adoption of good behavior within your organization [Leading]; and
- Contributing to the establishment of a corporate culture based on ethical values [Collaborating/inclusivity; Strategy and Governance].
For CPABC PD seminars with structured ethics content, please visit CPABC’s PD website. Find ethics courses by using the ‘Ethics Hours’ search criteria under Search PD Offerings.
CPABC PD and CPA Canada offer online on demand courses that qualify as professional ethics.The eligible number of CPD hours are indicated in brackets.
Free Online Courses
CPABC
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Anti-Terrorist Financing Foundations for CPAs (1.5 hours)
- Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Update: Keeping up with AML Risks and Requirements (1.5 hours)
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance: Regulations Affecting CPAs (1.5 hours)
- Artificial Intelligence and the Code of Professional Conduct (1 hour)
- Ethical Dilemmas: The Thick Grey Line (2 hours)
Cost Based Online Courses
CPABC
Various titles of live webinars (various ethics hours)
- Delivery Format = Online Virtual
- Ethics Hours>select number of hours
Various titles of online on-demand (various ethics hours)
- Delivery Format = Online On-Demand
- Ethics Hours>select number of hours
For online courses to qualify as verifiable CPD, you must pass the test component and receive a certificate of completion for your records.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML PD) Requirement
It is the obligation of every CPA to help combat money laundering. As such, CPABC has introduced a mandatory CPD requirement for all members to complete AML-related education. This was deemed necessary to:
- raise and enhance members’ awareness regarding money laundering and its risks;
- assist the profession to detect, prevent and combat money laundering; and
- ensure that members understand the related obligations for CPAs under the federal anti-money laundering regime.
Current members have until December 31, 2026 to complete 1.5 hours of verifiable AML PD, unless a member qualifies for a CPD exemption. Members who join CPABC on or after January 1, 2024, the requirement must be fulfilled within the three-calendar year period that commences with the calendar year of the member’s admission.
AML PD requirement counts towards the 4 hours of verifiable ethics required each rolling three-calendar year period. In other words, the courses reported for the AML PD declaration may also be reported as verifiable ethics on your annual CPD report.
Yes, CPABC members are required to fulfill the 1.5 hours of verifiable AML PD, unless the member is granted a CPD exemption.
The AML PD requirement can be completed through various separate AML PD learning activities over the three years. Members can attend AML courses offered by CPABC, CPA Canada, their employer or a third-party PD provider.
CPABC’s PD Department provides free AML courses for members to fulfill this new requirement. For courses with structured AML content, please visit CPABC’s PD website. To find AML courses, use the keywords ‘money laundering’ in the search criteria under Search PD Offerings.
AML PD activities must be submitted through the AML PD reporting portal, which is available in the CPD Reporting section of CPABC’s PD website. (Look for “AML PD Requirement – Submit Declaration” in the right-hand menu.) Members will be required to enter the date, title, provider and duration of the course(s).
Members are required to retain all supporting documentation for their CPD activities for five years after the end of the reporting period.
CPD Exemptions
Under Rule 203 (Professional competence) of the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct, members must sustain professional competence by staying informed of, and complying with, developments in professional standards in all functions in which they provide professional services or are relied upon because of their calling. This rule applies to all members, even those with an exemption from CPD reporting requirements.
Members who no longer qualify for exemption from the Basic Requirements as set out in Part 6 of the CPABC Bylaw Regulations (definition 600/2: “Continuing Professional Development Program: Basic Requirements”) after having been exempt for three or more consecutive CPD years are strongly encouraged to create a CPD learning plan to ensure that they develop the competencies necessary for their roles. We recommend that members contact CPABC’s professional advisory team at professionaladvisory@bccpa.ca for guidance on developing an effective learning plan.
All the provincial bodies in Canada have adopted international CPD standards. This has brought greater harmonization to the CPD requirements across Canada. However, there may be differences due to legislation. If you are a member of more than one provincial CPA body, please be sure to contact the other bodies to ensure that you meet all your CPD requirements.
All members must file a CPD report on an annual basis. As a non-resident of BC and an active member of another provincial/territorial or international accounting body , there is a CPD non-resident exemption that you can apply for. You can claim the non-resident exemption annually by December 31.
Note: All CPABC members regardless of residency must comply with the AML PD requirement.
The criteria for a dues reduction/exemption and a CPD exemption are not the same; therefore, qualifying for one does not automatically qualify you for the other. You have to apply for each separately.
For inquiries regarding a membership dues reduction/exemption, please email
Member Dues: membershipdues@bccpa.ca.
CPD: cpd@bccpa.ca
Members can claim a CPD exemption in the calendar year that they have retired. Members will email (cpd@bccpa.ca) to confirm that after their retirement date, they will meet the CPD exemption criteria noted below. After the email confirmation is received a CPD exemption will be inputted on your behalf.
Members who meet all of the following criteria may be exempt from the prescribed minimum number of CPD hours as set out in Part 6 of the CPABC Bylaw Regulations (definition 600/2: “Continuing Professional Development Program: Basic Requirements”).
- Their Gross Active Revenues* will not exceed C$32,300;
- They will not engage in public practice as defined in the CPABC Bylaws;
- They will not serve in any of the following capacities for a public company or reporting issuer as defined in the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct:
- As a member of its board or similar governing body; or
- As a member of its audit, finance, or similar governance committee; and
- They comply with Rule 203 (Professional Competence) in the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct.
* Gross Active Revenues include the aggregate of accounting and non-accounting revenues from employment, self-employment and all other active sources, whether earned personally or through a business entity. Gross Active Revenues do not include Employment Insurance benefits, pension income, support payments, or disability income.
CPABC encourages members to volunteer in the community. The unpaid work that you do for the charitable organization would not in itself cause you to be required to comply with the mandatory CPD requirements. However, you are reminded that under the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct, you must sustain professional competence by staying informed of, and complying with, developments in professional standards in all functions in which you provide professional services or are relied upon because of your calling, even if you are not remunerated for your services.
Please note that, if you do not meet all of the criteria for CPD exemption, you would be required to comply with the mandatory CPD requirements.
No. CPD requirements are not prorated or reduced for members who work only part of a calendar year, including those on maternity or paternity leave.
Members who meet the eligibility criteria for a CPD exemption from the prescribed minimum requirements would not be required to report CPD to CPABC. However, even when an exemption applies, members are reminded that the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct requires all CPAs to maintain professional competence. This includes staying informed of, and complying with, developments in professional standards in any area where you provide professional services or are relied upon because of your professional designation—even if you are not being remunerated for your services.