Academic Advising
Students
The CPA Preparatory Courses Advising Team is available to support students enrolled in the CPA Preparatory Courses. For assistance or to schedule a one-on-one advising appointment, contact [email protected].
Advisors can assist with:
- Study permit applications and renewals
- Student membership requirements and processes
- Course exemptions and exemption expiry dates
- Course planning, including:
- Taking more than one course per semester
- Course sequencing
- Timelines for transitioning to CPA PEP
- Getting started in your first course, including technology requirements and navigating Desire2Learn (D2L)
- Meeting CPA Preparatory Course completion requirements, including the requirement to write the final examination within the one-year completion period
- Transitioning from the CPA Preparatory Courses to CPA PEP
Candidates
Choosing your two CPA PEP elective modules is an important decision, typically made after completing Core 2. Your elective choices can affect:
- CFE preparation
- CFE role selection
- Eligibility for public practice licensure
Public practice requirements vary by province and may include tiered licensing pathways. To help candidates understand these requirements and make informed elective selections, CPAWSB offers academic advising tailored to individual circumstances and career goals. Please fill out the Learner Support Intake Form to request academic advising support.
Capstone 1 is designed to help candidates develop the collaboration and professional skills required in the workplace. Working effectively with individuals who have different personalities, communication styles, and schedules is an important part of the learning experience.
Teams are expected to address challenges constructively and demonstrate the enabling competencies developed throughout CPA PEP. Candidates should report any significant team issues to their facilitator through peer reviews, meetings, or email. If the facilitator is unable to assist, the matter may be escalated to the mentor and regional or provincial administrator.
Candidates who do not demonstrate appropriate efforts to resolve team challenges may be at risk of an individual failure in Capstone 1, even if the team successfully completes the written report and presentation requirements.
If additional support is needed after working with your facilitator, please fill out the Learner Support Intake Form to request academic advising assistance.
CFE Candidates
Unsuccessful CFE Writers
The CFE Results Transcript is a valuable tool to identify gaps in technical and enabling competencies and where to focus your preparation efforts for the next CFE sitting. The first step in understanding your CFE Results Transcript is to read the CPA Canada Transcript Explanation document found on the CPAWSB CFE Results webpage. However, after reading this document, you may find that you still have questions as to where you went wrong and how you can use your CFE Results Transcript to guide your future CFE preparation plan.
Please fill out the Learner Support Intake Form to request an academic advising call to learn more about how to use this valuable document.
Deciding whether to invest in requesting an appeal can be a big decision and difficult to weigh the odds of success. Additionally, this decision must be made quickly, as the deadline is often shortly after the CFE results release date.
To help with your decision, we recommend reading the CPA Canada Appeals and Performance Analysis Report document found on the CPAWSB CFE Results webpage. This document will show you the historical number of appeal applications and the number of successful appeals. However, if you feel that you’d benefit from getting some advice from our academic advising team, please fill out the Learner Support Intake Form, and we would be happy to discuss your specific situation to assist you in making your decision.
Some candidates may find it difficult to decide how to best prepare for their next attempt at the CFE and best utilize their available time and learning resources. To help candidates more effectively use their available time, CPAWSB offers academic advising to all unsuccessful CFE candidates to provide an individualized study plan specific to each candidate’s competency gaps.
To request an academic advising call to discuss your specific timeline and circumstances, please fill out the Learner Support Intake Form.
First-Time CFE Writers
You will need to declare your CFE role when you register in Capstone 2. Many candidates align their selection of a CFE role with their chosen electives; however, you are permitted to select any CFE role you wish. For example, if you took Assurance and Taxation elective modules and received a marginal pass, and are not working in public practice, you can consider selecting the Finance or Performance Management role on the CFE.
To help candidates prepare for a role that is not aligned with their electives, CPAWSB offers access to the module materials via Review Materials Modules. The School also provides academic advising support on which CFE role to choose.
Candidates working in public practice and considering future public accounting licensure may find the Assurance role to be the most suitable choice. However, eligibility for public accounting licensure generally requires candidates to demonstrate:
- Depth in Financial Reporting; and
- The required amount and type of assurance practical experience at the time of application.
Candidates who do not pursue the Assurance role during CPA PEP may still be eligible to obtain public accounting licensure after certification by completing the Post-Designation Public Accounting (PDPA) Program, subject to applicable provincial requirements.
CPAWSB offers academic advising to help candidates understand public accounting licensure requirements and evaluate their options before or after writing the CFE. For assistance, contact [email protected].
Contact Us
To receive an academic advising call, please fill out the following Learner Support Intake Form.