Licensing Requirements - Member and Firm
A member requires a licence prior to offering any type of professional accounting services to or for the benefit of a client. A member becomes licensed when they are a practice leader within a registered firm which means they are given authority by the firm to sign or issue professional accounting engagement reports on behalf of the firm. Staff in the role of an engagement team member for a professional accounting service who do not authorize the issuance of the engagement report are not required to be licensed. For more information about whether the type of services provided to the public require licensure and firm registration, see When to Register a Firm.
The practice of professional accounting is a reserved area of practice to licensed CPAs only under subsection 18(1) of The Accounting Profession Act (the Act). The practice of professional accounting includes the following services to or for the benefit of a client in accordance with the Standards of Professional Practice:
- Audits of historical financial statements or financial information
- Review engagements of historical financial statements or financial information
- Other assurance engagements as set out in the CPA Canada Handbook
- Compilation engagements on financial information
- Financial reporting opinions, certifications, declarations, or specified auditing procedures
A firm licence is issued when at least one member of the firm becomes licensed. In the case of a firm with more than one licensed member, the firm is issued a licence based on the member who holds the highest-level licence.
The Act provides for limited exemptions from licensing in subsection 18(3). If a non-member or member is relying on an exemption under the Act, they must complete a required form and include supporting documentation for that exemption or be subject to a cease and desist order issued by the Registrar.
Any member practicing professional accounting without proper licensure may be subject to a penalty of $1,000 per report issued, up to $3,000 as allowed for under Rule 316.4.
Types of Licences
Comprehensive Licence: A comprehensive licence allows the member to complete and authorize the engagement report on behalf of the firm for audit engagements, review engagements, all other assurance engagements, compilation engagements, and all certifications, declarations, and opinions referencing financial reporting standards. As outlined in clause 18(1)(a), 18(1)(b) and 18(1)(c) of the Act, this licence is issued when a member qualifies to practice in all of the subcategories of the practice of professional accounting.
Specified Licence: A specified licence allows the member to complete and authorize the engagement report on behalf of the firm for review engagements, all other assurance engagements, compilation engagements, and all certifications, declarations, and opinions referencing financial reporting standards. As outlined in clauses 18(1)(b) and 18(1)(c) of the Act, this licence is issued when a member qualifies to practice professional accounting only in specified subcategories.
Compilation Licence: A compilation licence allows the member to complete and authorize the engagement report on behalf of the firm for compilation engagements. As outlined in clause 18(1)(c) of the Act, this licence is issued when a member qualifies to practice professional accounting in compilation engagements only.
Licence Application Process
When ready to apply for a licence, contact licensing to obtain more information about the licensing application process and applicable forms.
Affiliate Members Practicing Professional Accounting in Saskatchewan
Affiliate members who practice mainly in another provincial jurisdiction but are seeking assurance or compilation clients in Saskatchewan must first obtain affiliate membership (if not already), register an affiliate firm (if not already) and submit a licence application prior to offering these services in Saskatchewan. The affiliate member is issued an equivalent licence to their primary jurisdiction upon review and confirmation of information within the required application form. The applicant member and their firm must be in good standing within the primary provincial jurisdiction and they must be authorized in the applicable area of practice in their primary jurisdiction to qualify for a licence in Saskatchewan upon application, including fee payment. Any conditions or restrictions on the applicant member or firm in the primary jurisdiction will also be reflected on the Saskatchewan licence. Contact licensing to obtain more information about the licensing application process and applicable forms.
For all licence types, there are 4 minimum qualifications necessary to fulfill on an initial licence application:
- Education
- Practical Experience
- Continuing Professional Development
- Competency Assessment
Education
To qualify for a comprehensive or specified licence, a member must have obtained depth in the Assurance and Financial Reporting technical competencies (as outlined in the CPA Canada Competency Map) through their professional education program.
To qualify for a compilation licence, a member must have obtained depth in either Financial Reporting or Management Accounting technical competencies (as outlined in the CPA Canada Competency Map), through their professional education program. This education requirement is met upon completion of the education program for any legacy program and the CPA Professional Education Program.
Members with a compilation licence expecting to practice in compilations reporting under a basis of accounting that is a general purpose reporting framework within the CPA Canada Handbook should contact CPA Saskatchewan prior to commencing the engagement for more information.
Post-Designation Public Accounting (PDPA) Program
The PDPA program is available to members in good standing who do not meet the education qualifications for licensure. This program is available through the CPA Western School of Business. For more information on this program, click here.
CPAs who did not achieve depth in assurance and financial reporting on the CFE are required to complete PDPA.
CA legacy members have no further education requirements.
CMA legacy members who have not completed Audit I and II and Tax I, II, and III are required to complete PDPA.
CGA legacy members who have not completed Audit 2 and Taxation 2 are required to complete PDPA.
There is no requirement to complete the PDPA program for a compilation licence.
Applicants may be required to submit a copy of their transcript from a legacy education program. An exemption request may be available to the requirement to complete the PDPA for approval by the Professional Practice Committee. For more information on exemption requests, please contact licensing.
Practical Experience
The practical experience for a comprehensive or specified licence is based on eligible hours earned by the member. An eligible hour is defined in Rule 302.1(f) as the time accumulated by a member in providing professional accounting services and includes hours reported as unverifiable continuing professional development relevant to a subcategory of practice of professional accounting. Eligible hours do not include time accumulated by a member carrying out compilation engagements or any other regulated services.
The practical experience for a compilation licence is based on the number of completed compilation engagements as a member under either HB 9200 or CSRS 4200. A completed engagement may be counted in each year for the same client. For example, an engagement completed for the same client in each of year for the past 5 years would count as 5 completed engagements.
Eligible hours earned or completed engagements prior to becoming a member in any jurisdiction in Canada (i.e., as a candidate) do not qualify for licensing purposes and cannot be reported in an application.
Hours may be earned or engagements may be counted as completed when you are acting in any role on the engagement team (e.g., as engagement lead partner, as a reviewer of the engagement work or completing the engagement work).
The practical experience required for a licence differs depending on the licence type:
| Comprehensive | Specified | Compilation | |
| Initial | 1250 eligible hours in the practice of professional accounting over the last 5 years, with at least 625 of those hours in audit engagements | 1250 eligible hours in the practice of professional accounting over the last 5 years | 15 compilation engagements completed over the last 5 years |
| Renewal | 1250 eligible hours in the practice of professional accounting over the last 5 years, with at least 625 of those hours in audit engagements | 625 eligible hours in the practice of professional accounting over the last 5 years | 15 compilation engagements completed over the last 5 years |
An exemption request may be made by a licence applicant when there is a shortfall in eligible hours or number of completed engagements (as applicable based on the licence type) at the time of initial application or renewal. The completed request form is reviewed and approved by the Professional Practice Committee. In order to make an exemption request, the licence applicant must have some relevant and recent practical experience. For more information on exemption requests, please contact licensing.
CPA Saskatchewan may request supporting documentation to be provided by a member for all practical experience reported at the time of application, renewal or during the firm's next practice inspection.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Licensed members are required to take a prescribed amount of verifiable continuing professional development (CPD) hours specific to the practice of professional accounting to maintain their licence, as follows:
| Comprehensive | Specified | Compilation |
| 50 verifiable hours of CPD over a 3 year rolling cycle | 25 verifiable hours of CPD over a 3 year rolling cycle | 10 verifiable hours of CPD over a 3 year rolling cycle |
Where the minimum requirements for CPD are not met by the licence applicant at the time of initial application or renewal, the member may submit a CPD Plan for approval by the Registrar or Professional Practice Committee. For more information on CPD plans related to licensing, please contact licensing.
For comprehensive or specified licences, CPD must focus on applicable assurance, quality management or financial reporting topics within the practice of professional accounting. CPD in compilation engagements or taxation engagements subject matter cannot be allocated for these licence types.
For a compilation licence only, up to 6.5 CPD hours maximum overall within the 3-year period relating to taxation, management accounting or finance technical competencies may be allocated towards meeting minimum licensing requirements. At least 3.5 CPD hours must relate to compilation engagements and quality management standards specifically. CPD that relates to enhancing professional judgement, critical-thinking skills, documentation skills, leadership skills or communication skills may be allocated. CPD relating to financial reporting standards may also qualify, provided it is relevant to the member's practice.
CPA Saskatchewan may request supporting documentation be provided by a member for all CPD allocated to licensing in their CPD reporting at the time of application, renewal or during the firm’s next practice inspection.
Competency Assessment
Upon initial application, a competency assessment is provided by a licensed member who holds at least an equivalent licence to the applicant and does not have a restriction for that licence type. The licensed member may be from any jurisdiction in Canada or Bermuda. For comprehensive and specified licences, the licensed member providing the competency assessment must have supervised the applicant for at least two years within the last 5 years.
For comprehensive and specified licences, the applicant may choose to have the licensed member complete a form for the assessment based on the International Education Standard - IES 8 (note: the form is optional). For more information on the competency assessment form for a comprehensive or specified licence, please contact licensing.
For an initial application for a compilation licence, there are no applicable forms or checklists that the licensed member is required to complete to provide an assessment. Instead, the licensed member must carry out the necessary steps to complete their due diligence in their professional judgment to provide the assessment.
For a compilation licence, there may be situations where a member may be unable to obtain a competency assessment from a licensed member. Members are encouraged to reach out to a colleague with whom they consult with on client issues, or have named as their assisting professional accountant (sole practitioners only), or have taken CPD courses with, or have worked with in the recent past to obtain a competency assessment. In a situation where an assessment cannot be obtained, the member will have to agree to a condition placed on their licence upon application that requires a practice inspection be completed within the next 12-month period. Pending the results of their practice inspection, the condition may be removed, or additional conditions or restrictions may be imposed or the licence may be cancelled.
Upon renewal, a competency assessment may be provided by a licensed member or the member may complete a self-assessment. For comprehensive and specified licences, the self-assessment is based on the International Education Standard - IES 8.
CPA Saskatchewan may request supporting documentation be provided by a member for a competency assessment at the time of application, renewal or during the firm’s next practice inspection.
Exemptions, Conditions or Restrictions on a Licence
The Professional Practice Committee may approve exemptions on a licence, may impose conditions on a licence, may place restrictions on a licence, or may cancel a licence. Exemptions, conditions, or restrictions are listed on the member’s licence and conditions and restrictions are noted on the member's publicly available status as ‘conditional’ or ‘restricted’. The Registrar may impose conditions on a licence or may cancel a licence.
Licence cancellations and restrictions are published in our firm newsletter and on our website.
For more information or if an application for licensing is required, please email licensing.