The modules will be about 20% shorter than under the current system.

Yes - you can enter the new program but you would first need to pass a Knowledge Assessment Exam to ensure that you have sufficient knowledge to begin the first module.  This replaces PREP under the current system.

There are not specific courses that you need to take through CPA Canada as long as long as you can demonstrate sufficient knowledge on the Knowledge Assessment Exam.

• March 2027: First offering of the Knowledge Assessment Exam
• May 2027: First offering of new CPA Professional Program modules
• September 2027: First offering of the CPA Professional Final Exams 

You will need to complete a minimum of 24 months of work experience, with demonstrated competency, consisting of:

• Up to 8 months of Foundational Experience: Hands-on work where you begin applying your knowledge.
• At least 16 months of Professional Experience: More advanced work, focused on developing decision-making skills.

3 times a year starting in 2028, in January, March and September.

3 hours

It has a combination of multiple choice questions and cases.

No, the pathway to the exam and the exam will be different. 

For students who are not interested in licensure the exam will be 3 hours.

su Assurance and Trust, Big Data and Data analytics, Financial Reporting  and Non-financial Reporting 

It will include both multiple choice questions and cases.

This module and exam focuses heavily on developing your ethical mindset, critical thinking and CPA Advanced Professional Competencies

It is 5 hours.

It is comprised of just one large 5 hour case.

No, everyone will write the same exam.

This module is where you will strengthen your CPA Ethical Mindset and build your CPA Advanced Professional Competencies through both self-study and five days of interactive case-based learning. You will explore what it means to be a CPA professional, understand the CPA Code of Conduct, work effectively in teams, and tackle emerging global, social, and technological issues. 

The exam will be cased based and the focus will be on ethics and strategy.

No, you can only write this exam after you have met all the practical experience requirements which will take 24 months.  

January 1, 2027.

July 2027.

January 2028.

May 2028.

July 2028.

No, there is transitional process whereby you can get exemptions from modules and/or exams under the new program.

You are exempt from attending the Foundational Exam, but still need to write all of the other exams and attend the other modules.

You are exempt from the Foundational Module and Exam, but required to attend all the other modules and write all the other exams.

You are exempt from the Foundational & Core Common Modules and the Foundational Exam but are required to attend the other modules and write the other exams. 

If you did not pass the Assurance and Tax electives, the exemptions would be the same as if you passed one elective.  If you passed the Assurance and Tax Elective, you are also exempt from the Licensure Module.

You will be in the same position as someone who passed both electives but did not make it to the CFE.

You will be exempt from the Foundational Development Module and Exam as well as the CPA Core Module, and CPA Leadership Module but will need to write all of the CPA Professional Final Exams (i.e. Parts 1, 2 and 3) and attend the CPA Professional Readiness Module.  

You do have a choice.  However, if you want to write under the new system you would need to wait until it begins.  The first Knowledge Assessment Exam which is intended for people who do not have an accounting degree is not until March 2027.  

The last CFE is not until September 2028. The last Core 1 module begins in January 2027; so if you enroll in the last Core 1 module, you can potentially get to the CFE by September 2028 and get your CPA under the current system. If unfortunately you fail some exams and don't make it to the CFE in time, you can then transition into the new system and get advanced standing.  Please see the FAQs on Transitioning to the New CPA Professional Program in 2027 for more details on exemptions. You may also want to read the PASS Blog: 

Help! - I'm In Transition - What do I do?

At this point it is impossible to say as the new exams have not yet been written.  We will only know the answer to that question once the new system has started.

They likely will. The problem however is that they may or may not be representative of the actual exam.  When the last transition took place in 2015 from the UFE - the predecessor to the CFE - sample exams were provided, but they were not very representative of the real CFE.  Even once the CFE started some tweaking was still required by CPA Canada so even the first real CFE in 2015 is not completely representative of today's CFE.

Under both systems there are cases and multiple choice questions. Also there are short cases as well as a large 5 hour case in the new system. 

Yes - there will be new topics under the new CPA educational system.  An example of this would be Value Creation. Furthermore the content of existing topics may be modified under the new system.  For example under the current system there is a topic Strategy & Governance.  One topic under the new system is Ethical decision making and Organizational governance/data governance. Another is Strategy, risk management and Innovation.  Some of the knowledge for these two topics may be similar to the knowledge required for Strategy & Governance under the current system; it is however likely that additional new knowledge will be required.

Yes there are some advantages.  

Yes there are some advantages including:

PASS advises students to do what they feel is best for them.  This is a personal decision and the answer may not be the same for all students.

Under the old program people who did not have an accounting degree had to make up many courses by either taking the courses at university or taking courses offered by CPA Canada, through a program called PREP.

If you are still not sure what to do, contact Michael (mjlevi@passyourcpa.ca, 416-560-3797) or Ira (iwalfish@passyourcpa.ca, 416-888-7173) and we'll help you figure it out.

This page describes our recommended courses and resources.

This page describes our recommended courses and resources.

PASS has been offering courses for students wishing to obtain their CPA for over 30 years.  

PASS has provided courses to students from firms ranging from one partner firms right through to the Big Four. As a matter of fact over the years we have offered courses to all of the Big Four firms including PWC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG. For the last 22 years PASS has delivered the PWC national UFE program and is now delivering the PWC CFE program.

The live online courses are courses offered by a live instructor; they are however offered electronically rather than in a physical class room. Students have the opportunity to ask questions orally or using a chat box as the sessions are conducted in real-time (i.e. students sit at their computer and watch the instructor lead the session and students have the ability to ask questions either by text or voice).  The platform we use is Zoom.

This is quite different than a video online session which is not live where students simply watch the video.

You may wish to refer to the detailed description of course venues on our website.

Yes, but students need to e-mail Ira a request in January for the filled out tax deductible form.  It is not sent automatically.

In most instances we would recommend live online sessions over video sessions as it is very beneficial to have a live instructor who can answer student questions in real time. Also it is easier to focus in an online session compared with watching a video.

The only advantage of the video session is that videos can be watched at the student's convenience.

This can be very helpful when for example the student has a work schedule which conflicts with the times that live sessions are being offered. Also with a video the student can control the pace.

However, all students who take the live online sessions have access to all of the videos and can watch them whenever they wish.

Michael Levi and Ira Walfish teach most or all of the financial accounting (core 1), assurance and management accounting (core 2) sessions. Most of the tax sessions are usually taught by Professor Joanne Magee, of York University. See the list of PASS instructors for more information.

No - You can have access to all videos as long as you need them and watch them as many times as you wish.

Yes - we constantly get feedback that the live online sessions are very useful.

Students come in live, ask questions and don't have to travel anywhere. If something is missed, students just watch the video, as all live sessions are recorded and students get access to all recordings for as long as they need them.

That is certainly possible. Many former PASS students have taken advantage of this flexibility and have used both venues - live online and video online - for the same course.

Yes, that is one of the nice things about PASS. All students regardless of the venue they use, have access to all of the videos relating to their courses.

No. Students are not required to be registered with a provincial CPA Institute in order to register with PASS, although students must register with their provincial CPA Institute (or CPA western School of Business if you are writing out west) before they can write any of the exams which comprise the CPA certification program.