Only Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, or persons who are otherwise lawfully permitted to work and study in Canada can enroll in the CPA certification program. If you are a temporary resident, you are required to hold a valid study permit to apply for admission to the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) or CPA preparatory courses and to maintain your enrollment with CPAWSB. For more details, please refer to the Residency, Study Permits and Language Advisory.
CPA education programs, including CPA preparatory courses and CPA PEP, require high English proficiency. Generally, anyone with CLB levels below 8 will need to spend additional time on their studies. For more information, please refer to the Residency, Study Permits and Language Advisory.
- Visit My CPA Portal and click on the Create a My CPA Profile link using a desktop or laptop with Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
- Enter your legal name when creating your profile.
- Select your residency status in Canada: Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident (of Canada), or Temporary Resident (of Canada).
- Enter all completed and in-progress post-secondary education and designation information, even if you don’t plan to submit documents for that education/designation history.
- Activate your profile by setting your password. You will receive instructions via email shortly after creating your profile.
Resources:
Important: Use the UPLOAD A DOCUMENT functionality within your profile only when submitting your legal name verification documentation with a CPA PEP admission application. Do not use it for submitting any other documents to CPAWSB as those documents will be deleted. When submitting other required documents, follow the directions provided in the admission steps and elsewhere on this page.
Questions?
Review the resources above and if you still have unanswered questions about creating, accessing, or navigating your profile, please contact an Admission Advisor by emailing admissionadvising@cpawsb.ca or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001.
To submit a transcript assessment request:
- Log into My CPA Portal .
- Select PROGRAM ADMISSION.
- Select TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT.
- Click on the + ADD A TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT REQUEST button.
- Use the document checklist to determine which documents to submit for the assessment.
- Review your transcript assessment order.
- Click on the MAKE PAYMENT button.
See the transcript assessment fee on the CPA Program Costs and Fees webpage. This fee is non-refundable and subject to change.
Note: To ensure your documents are attached to your profile, request and pay for a transcript assessment before arranging for documents to be sent to CPAWSB.
Resources:
- Requesting a Transcript Assessment FAQ
- Using a Document Checklist - Video
- Using a Document Checklist - PDF
Questions?
Review the resources above and if you still have unanswered questions about requesting a transcript assessment or understanding how to use the document checklist, please contact an Admission Advisor by emailing admissionadvising@cpawsb.ca or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001.
As part of your transcript assessment from CPAWSB, you must have a third-party evaluation of your international transcripts submitted directly to CPAWSB from the issuing organization. The third-party assessment is used to verify the Canadian equivalency of your international education credentials.
- Option 1 (recommended and preferred): Click here to request a WES ICAP evaluation, provided by World Education Services Canada. Once it is complete, the WES ICAP evaluation will be provided to CPAWSB, along with a copy of your official transcripts, eliminating the need for you to have them submitted to CPAWSB separately.
- Option 2: Request a third-party assessment from an Alliance of Credential Evaluations Services of Canada (ACESC) registered assessment service. A basic assessment is adequate. If you select this option, you also need to have official post-secondary transcripts submitted to CPAWSB directly from the post-secondary institutions you attended.
All official documents submitted for transcript assessment must be sent to our office directly from the issuing institution.
If the institution offers digital official documents, please have them emailed directly to transcriptassessment@cpawsb.ca. We also accept digital official transcripts submitted via recognized digital credential wallets and services such as MyCreds as we are a recognized receiver with them. Select CPAWSB as the recipient.
Although digital submission is preferred, all official transcripts and documents may also be submitted for transcript assessment by mail. They must be mailed in a sealed (unopened) envelope directly from the issuing institution to:
CPA Western School of Business
201, 1074 – 103A Street SW
Edmonton, Alberta T6W 2P6
Note: Do not send documents to provincial CPA offices as this may result in significant delay in completing your transcript assessment. Documents in a language other than English require translation and must be submitted to CPAWSB by a certified translator.
When documents are received, you will be notified by email and your document checklist will be updated. Log into your My CPA profile and review the document checklist to see what has been updated. Once all required documents are received, you will also be notified by email, and your transcript assessment will begin. See Using the Document Checklist for more details.
Transcript assessments are typically completed within 10 business days after CPAWSB receives all required documents. You will receive an email notification when your Transcript Assessment results are available.
Note: In accordance with CPAWSB’s retention policies, all transcript assessments will be completed within six months from the transcript assessment request date. If CPAWSB does not receive all the required documents to complete your assessment within six months from the assessment request date, your transcript assessment will be completed based on the available information and documents on file. The transcript assessment will be valid for one year from the completion date during which time you can still arrange for pending required documents to be submitted to CPAWSB and have your assessment updated and fully completed (at no extra cost).
Resources:
- Submitting Documents FAQ
- WES ICAP - World Education Services
- Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada (ACESC)
- Using a document checklist - Video
- Using a document checklist - PDF
Questions?
Review the resources above and if you still have unanswered questions regarding the documents you are required to submit or about your transcript assessment, please email transcriptassessment@cpawsb.ca or call 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6003.
To view your assessment results, log into My CPA Portal and click on PROGRAM ADMISSION then TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT.
The transcript assessment will indicate one of the following eligibility statuses:
PEP Eligible: You have met all requirements to participate in CPA PEP. No further review of your transcript assessment is required. You may proceed to step 5 and submit a CPA PEP admission application when you are ready.
PEP Conditional Core 1: You can enroll in CPA PEP and start Core 1 as a conditional candidate. Review your transcript assessment and see Starting CPA PEP with a status of PEP Conditional Core 1. They contain information on what you need to do to become fully PEP Eligible and when you must complete outstanding requirements to continue your studies in CPA PEP. You may proceed to step 5 and submit a CPA PEP admission application when you are ready.
PEP Ineligible: You must meet outstanding requirements before you can participate in CPA PEP. Please review your transcript assessment and the assessor comments for more details. Outstanding requirements will be highlighted in red. If your assessment indicates prerequisite courses are still required, you have the option to complete those outstanding prerequisites by taking CPA preparatory courses offered by CPAWSB or by taking equivalent courses through a recognized post-secondary institution. Admission advisors are available to help you determine which path might be best for you.
See Re-assessment Processes and Challenge Exams if your completed assessment indicates core courses are outstanding because courses submitted for assessment did not meet the 10-year currency of education requirement or if you believe you should have received credit for a course or courses you have taken.
If you are PEP Ineligible or PEP Conditional Core 1, it is strongly recommended that you review the applicable resources below to thoroughly understand your assessment results.
Resources:
- Understanding your Transcript Assessment Results Guide
- Understanding your Assessment Results FAQ
- Re-assessment Processes and Challenge Exams
- Starting CPA PEP with a status of PEP Conditional Core 1
Questions?
Review the resources above and if you still need help understanding your transcript assessment results or have questions about your next steps, please contact an Admission Advisor by emailing admissionadvising@cpawsb.ca or calling 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001.
If a possible error was made in your assessment, please contact transcriptassessment@cpawsb.ca or call 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6003 to speak with the Transcript Assessment team.
Submit an Admission Application for the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP)
If your assessment eligibility status indicates that you are PEP Eligible or PEP Conditional Core 1, you can complete a CPA PEP admission application. Click on the link below for more information about when and how to submit an admission application.
Note: Select International University Degree as your registration category when completing a CPA PEP admission application as an applicant with an International Degree.
Submitting an admission application for CPA PEP
Submit an Admission Application for CPA preparatory courses
If your assessment eligibility status indicates that you are PEP Ineligible and you need to complete outstanding prerequisite courses before entering CPA PEP, you can complete an admission application for CPA preparatory courses or you can complete the outstanding equivalent courses at a recognized post-secondary institution. Admission advisors are available to help you determine which path might be best for you. Click on the link below for more information about when and how to submit a CPA preparatory courses admission application.
Note: Select New Student as your registration category when completing the CPA preparatory courses admission application as an applicant with an International Degree.
Submitting an admission application for CPA preparatory courses
Questions?
Click on the links above for more information about submitting an admission application for CPA PEP or CPA preparatory courses and to see the contact information for CPAWSB staff that can provide assistance.
