Academic Integrity Information
As future professional accountants, CPA preparatory courses students and CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) candidates are expected to display high levels of ethical behavior and integrity.
The intention of the assignments and examinations delivered through the CPA education programs is to assist in the development of competencies required of professional accountants.
The CPA profession takes academic integrity (including plagiarism) very seriously. The act of plagiarism includes (and is not limited to) the enabling of plagiarism, authorized or unauthorized use of another or former student or candidate’s work, and failure to properly cite sources.
An important part of the CPA education component is collaborating with others. Learners are encouraged to collaborate with each other, which is possible without violating the CPA Canada Plagiarism Policy. Learners are encouraged to study with others and discuss concepts, but submitting the same content, sharing assignments, or other behaviours that lead to plagiarism, are not acceptable.
Learners who are unable to find a peer to study with can contact Learner Support. Please visit the Peer Studying page for information.
Learners have access to various resources throughout their CPA education (for example, Learning eBooks). Although these resources are provided by the profession, it is important to remember that they must be cited like any other material.
It is important to note that if CPA solutions are provided after the assignment submission, they should be used for debrief purposes only. The CPA solution should not be used to complete an assignment or shared with anyone else.
Learners are expected to submit original work during their CPA preparatory courses or CPA PEP modules, however sometimes an outside source can help expand on an idea. If a learner uses the ideas or content from another source within an assignment, the content should not exceed a reasonable amount and it must be properly cited. If there is unoriginal content found in an assignment submission that was not cited, this would be a violation of academic integrity (plagiarism).
As future CPAs, all learners are expected to act with integrity and ethically. Engaging in activity such as purchasing and/or selling CPA material (including but not limited to Learning eBook content, CPA solutions, and assignments) is not only a violation of academic integrity but could result in more serious outcomes since these actions involve copyrighted material. Improper use includes uploading CPA material to a third-party website.
Learner Support provides support to all CPAWSB learners and offers various support services, including but not limited to academic advising, tutoring, peer studying etc. For more information, please visit the Learner Support page.
Academic Integrity Blog Posts















Academic Integrity is taken very seriously at the School because of the strong link between academic integrity and professional integrity. Someone who is willing to take a shortcut while preparing an assignment may be more likely to compromise ethical standards as a professional. If you feel like your work may have been plagiarized, it is best to report it rather than turn a blind eye.


Have you ever been ready to hand in an assignment but been unsure if you’ve accidently plagiarized?
Below we outline some tools and methods to help you check your own work for plagiarism, make corrections, and avoid the unnecessary penalties.

Questions about academic integrity can arise when you don’t know what exactly needs to be cited, and when you must give credit to someone else.
To help answer those questions, we define common knowledge and outline when to give credit below.







This is the first in a two-part series about writing in your own words and citing sources.
Your assignments are an opportunity for you to demonstrate that you understand the concepts and ideas that you are supposed to be learning in your courses or modules. Pasting quotes from textbooks or other sources doesn’t allow you to demonstrate that understanding.


