Practitioners Licensing

• Determine If You Need a Practice Licence 
• Licensing Requirements
• Competency Declaration for Audit Licensees
• Process of Applying for a Public Practice Licence
• Request to Amend a Category of Public Practice Licence
• Cost of a Practice Licence 
• Professional Liability Insurance Requirements 
• Cancellation of a Public Practice Licence

Determine If You Need a Practice Licence

Chartered Professional Accountants perform a variety of professional services, some of which may require a public practice licence. Please note that CPABC may consider a firm or office to be engaged in the practice of public accounting in BC depending on the type of services offered and work performed. If you are unsure whether your firm is engaged in public practice, please contact one of our Professional Standards Advisors. 

If you are a partner, shareholder, or proprietor of a firm engaged in public practice in BC (including a CPA practising as a sole practitioner), Bylaw 700 (2) requires you to have a licence in your respective category from CPABC. If you are a member who is an employee who has overall engagement responsibility where your activities are included in the definition of public practice, and as such, are subject to practice review, you must have a licence in your respective category from CPABC.

Note: Members offering to the public any public practice services will be required to be licenced in public practice, irrespective of remuneration.

Public Practice is defined in Bylaw 100 as providing or offering to provide one or more of the following services to the public:

Public Accounting:

• performing an audit, review, or other assurance engagement governed by standards of professional practice published by CPA Canada or corresponding standards established in a jurisdiction outside Canada, or issuing an auditor’s report, a review engagement report, or another assurance report in accordance with such standards;
• issuing any other certification, declaration, opinion or report with respect to the application of financial reporting and accounting standards published by CPA Canada or other Canadian standards published by CPA Canada, or corresponding standards established in a jurisdiction outside Canada;
• performing a compilation engagement; 

Other Regulated Services:

• providing an accounting service involving summarization, analysis, advice, counsel, or interpretation, other than an accounting service which is part of but incidental to the provider's primary occupation which is not accounting;
• providing a forensic accounting, financial investigation, or financial litigation support service;
• providing advice, counsel or interpretation with respect to taxation matters;
• preparing a tax return or other statutory information filing; and
• any other services described in the regulations.

The following categories of public practice licences are established as per Bylaw 703(1):

1. Audit Licence
2. Review Licence
3. Compilation Licence
4. Other Regulated Services Licence

The illustration sets out how the definitions of “public practice,” “public accounting,” and “other regulated services” fit together,  how these definitions are associated with the different categories of licensing, and which services can be offered or performed under each category. 

Individual members, already in practice, will be licensed in a category, based on their current practice area.

New practitioners will apply for a licence in a category determined by their experience and education and on their intended practice area.

Practitioners will need to complete an annual practice licence renewal form. To maintain a certain category of licence, a practitioner will be required to have been active in that practice area for the past five years, with consideration of relevant professional development which may have been taken.

Individuals intending to obtain either an Audit or Review licence must earn their required assurance hours in a Pre-Approved Training Program.

Individuals wishing to obtain a Compilation licence may earn their required experience in either a Pre- Approved Program or through an Experience Verification Route.

CPA candidates seeking public accounting registration for the three public accounting streams (Audit, Review, and Compilation) must follow specifically identified pathways within the overall CPA certification model.  All requirements should be met within the proposed 30-month period of practical experience. 

Please note that CPABC may consider a firm or office to be engaged in the practice of public accounting in BC depending on the type of services offered and work performed. If you are unsure whether your firm is engaged in public practice, please contact: 

Advisory Services

ProfessionalAdvisory@bccpa.ca 

Licensing Requirements

CPA Paths to Public Accounting

Licensing eligibility is based on a member’s Education, Evaluation (i.e. Examination) and Experience.

CPA Professional Education Program (PEP) candidates intending to apply for a public accounting licence after certification should follow specific pathways within the certification model that will meet the licensing requirements. See CPA Paths to Public Accounting.

CPA Post-Designation Bridging

Members who did not fulfill all the requirements as part of their certification as a CPA and subsequently want to pursue a public accounting licence must follow a customized bridging program. This could include completion of the Post-Designation Public Accounting (PDPA) module and examination and additional practical experience requirements. See CPA Post-Designation Bridging.

Extra-Provincial Licensing

For a member of another provincial body to provide or offer to provide public practice services in BC, CPABC extra-provincial licensing and registration requirements must be met. See Extra-Provincial Licensing.

Competency Declaration for Audit Licensees

Beginning in 2019, practitioners seeking or renewing an Audit License will be required to complete an annual self-assessment and declaration that they have undertaken sufficient relevant continuing professional development (CPD) to develop and maintain professional competence for their role.  This new requirement is the result of revisions to International Education Standard 8 (Revised) and CPABC’s adoption of the standard in accordance with our commitment to meeting international standards.

The objective of IES 8 (Revised) is to protect the public, contribute to audit quality, enhance the work of Engagement Partners, and promote the credibility of the audit profession.  IES 8 (Revised) requires “professional accountants performing the role of an Engagement Partner to develop and maintain professional competence that is demonstrated by the achievement of learning outcomes including, but not limited to,” those as set out in the table below.​

Competency Declaration for Audit Licenses details.

Process of Applying for a Public Practice Licence

Applying for a public practice licence is a four-part process:

1. Log in to your online CPABC account, select Public Practice and then select Apply for a Public Practice Licence. 
    
   • You will need to have the following available:
      
     • Brief working history résumé (PDF or Word)
     • A list of services that you plan on offering (PDF or Word)
     • For sole practitioners, emergency contact information (i.e., name of contact person(s), phone number and email address).
        
   • For a member intending to be an authorized licensed staff person, a letter from the firm is required confirming the effective date that the member will be authorized. You can apply early for the licence to have the assessment done and then submit the firm letter prior to obtaining the public practice licence.
      
   • For a member intending to be a partner, a letter from the firm is required confirming the effective date that the member will be a partner. The letter should also confirm how the member will be holding their partnership interest (i.e., personally or through a professional accounting corporation) and that the member and the professional accounting corporation (if applicable) are covered by the firm’s professional liability insurance. You can apply early for the licence to have the assessment done and then submit the firm letter prior to obtaining the public practice licence.
      
   • Once you have completed the online application form, pay the public practice licence application fee to submit your application. Please note that licence applications will only be held for a period of six months.
      
2. Once your application has been received and determined to be complete, it will be assessed and the Director, Public Practice Licensing will contact you. Please note that complete applications can take up to three weeks to be assessed. There may be pre-requisites to be completed prior to obtaining the licence. 
    
3. Once pre-requisites, if any, are completed, we will confirm this with you. If you are registering a firm as part of your application, you will be informed that you are ready to purchase professional liability insurance. If you are becoming an authorized licensed staff person or a partner in a firm that is already registered, you will be instructed to upload the letter from the firm (if you have not done so).
    
4. When proof of professional liability insurance (i.e., the insurance certificate and required endorsements) or the letter from the firm is provided to us, you will receive written confirmation of your public practice licence. CPABC’s finance department will contact you directly regarding payment of the prorated public practice fees.
    

Request to Amend Category of Public Practice Licence

If a member wishes to request to amend the category of public practice licence, please log into your online CPABC account at https://services.bccpa.ca and select Public Practice, then select Licence Category Change. Select the desired Licence Category and submit.

For those practitioners wishing a higher category of licence, there will be an assessment done to ensure that you meet the licensing requirements of the category requested. For this assessment, there is a transition application fee of $175(plus GST).

Cost of a Public Practice Licence

Costs associated with having a public practice licence:

• Application fee of $350 (plus GST) for all licences except Other Regulated Services – Non Reviewable;
• Application fee of $175 (plus GST) for Other Regulated Services– Non Reviewable licence; 
• Annual public practice fee - see Public Practice Fees
• Annual member levy (dependent on the number of professionals in the practice) see Public Practice Fees; and 
• Annual professional liability insurance premiums. For detailed information on the cost of professional liability insurance for your firm, contact your insurance agent.

Professional Liability Insurance Requirements

All firms that are engaged in public practice are required to have professional liability insurance.

Bylaw Regulation 1301/1 stipulates that all registered firms must carry the following minimum levels of professional liability insurance:

• $1,000,000 per claim if there is one member with a proprietary interest in the firm;
• $1,500,000 per claim if there are two or three members with a proprietary interest in the firm;
• $2,000,000 per claim if there are four or more members with a proprietary interest in the firm.

Bylaw Regulation 1301/1(4) stipulates that each professional liability insurance contract shall be endorsed with the requirements that the insurance company shall notify CPABC in writing forthwith of:

• any cancellation or non-renewal of such policy; or 
• any insurance coverage which is below the minimum coverage required above. 

Bylaw Regulation 1301/1(5)stipulates that Members holding a public practice licence must ensure that prior acts and omissions are covered by adequate professional liability insurance either through riders to an ongoing insurance policy or a separate discovery policy, for a minimum of six years after ceasing to be in public practice.

Insurance premiums vary depending on many factors, including the number of CPAs in the practice, total billings, level of risk, and level of insurance you desire. Before your practice licence application can be finalized and before you start engaging in public practice activities, the final confirmation of your insurance coverage with a copy of the notification endorsement must be submitted to CPABC.  The final confirmation can be either:

• A copy of the cover sheet/declaration sheet of your bound insurance coverage and a copy of the required endorsement sheet; or 
• Direct confirmation from your insurer (you must contact your insurer and authorize them to release this information to CPABC).

Contact information for The Chartered Professional Accountants' Professional Liability Insurance Program, Administered by CPA Professional Liability Plan Inc. is:

By mail: 

2 Bloor Street East, Suite 2103
Toronto, ON
M4W 1A8

By fax:

416.204.3418

By email:

services@cpaplan.ca

For inquiries, telephone 416.204.3398 or 1.800.267.4734 or visit www.cpaplan.ca

Cancellation of a Public Practice Licence

If a member ceases public practice as defined by Section 100 of the Bylaws, and would like to cancel their practice licence issued under Part 7 of the Bylaws of the Organization of Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC), they must complete Form 3C Request for Cancellation of Public Practice Licence.

Please send the completed Form 3C to publicpracticelicensing@bccpa.ca.

If you have questions about cancelling a practice licence, please contact Danelle Sidor, Public Practice Coordinator.