Accounting activity falls into two categories: licensed and unlicensed. The unlicensed field includes the work of accounting professionals in different industries as well as accounting services provided to individuals, businesses, and other organizations. While individual employers may require you to have a professional accounting designation such as CA, CGA, or CMA to do this work, you do not need a special licence under Ontario law.

The other category of accounting work is public accounting. Public accountants prepare financial statements for individuals, businesses, and other organizations and give opinions about the reliability of financial statements. Members of the public, businesses, and investors rely on the opinions of public accountants when they are making important financial decisions. Therefore, the work of public accountants is referred to as "adding credibility for the reliance of third parties."

If you intend to practice public accounting following your admission to membership in CGA Ontario, you do not need a public accounting license to be a member of an engagement team, including the quality control reviewer or other expert. However, if you are the lead engagement person responsible for signing a statement or report, you need to have a license to practise public accounting issued to you by CGA Ontario when:

• The engagement statement or report is issued in Ontario, or the engagement work is primarily performed in Ontario; and
• The statement or report is in respect of
  • An assurance engagement for which a license is required, including an audit or review engagement; or
  • A compilation engagement for which it can reasonably be expected that all or any portion of the compilation or associated materials will be relied upon or used by a third party and which is not accompanied by the prescribed Notice to Reader.

The Public Accounting Act, 2004

The Public Accounting Act, 2004, was passed in June 2004 by the Ontario government. This statute updates and modernizes the older Public Accountancy Act, which was passed in 1950. The purpose of the Act is to protect the public by licensing individuals engaged in public accounting.

Under the act, the Public Accountants Council (PAC) is the body responsible for setting regulations for the practice of public accounting. The Council consists of independent members appointed by the Ontario government, along with representatives of the three accounting organizations.

The Council determines the standards that accounting organizations need to meet in order to grant public accounting licences to their members. In this way, the professional qualifications of public accountants practising in Ontario are maintained at a high standard.

The Council is also responsible for prosecuting offences under the Act.

Public Accounting & the CGA Program

CGA Ontario has been granted the authority to license certified general accountants to practise public accounting. CGA Ontario and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) are the only two accounting bodies in Ontario authorized to license their members to practice public accounting.

To qualify for a public accounting licence, a student in the CGA program must:

• Hold a four-year university degree with specified courses in auditing and accounting;
• Complete the technical proficiency exam (TPE), professional applications 1 (PA1), and applications in public practice 1 (AP1) courses and exams;
• Complete 30 months including 2,500 hours in an approved training office. The experience must include a minimum of 1,250 assurance hours, with a minimum of 100 hours of reviews and 625 hours of audit. This experience must be confirmed by a professional accounting with a licence in public accounting from the approved training firm where the experience was obtained.