Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria Applicant

Canada's CPA bodies have established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

If you are an active Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) or Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) member in good standing with ICAN, you may qualify to pursue the Canadian CPA designation through the ICAN MOU pathway.

Through this pathway:

  • Your academic qualifications will be assessed to determine your academic bridging requirements.
  • Your professional experience will be evaluated for experience bridging purposes.
  • You may qualify for exemptions from all CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) modules.
  • You will be required to pass the Common Final Examination (CFE).
  • The MOU pathway generally leads to certification only. The right to practice public accounting may require additional examination and/or experience requirements.

What's on this page?

Admission Requirements
Education Requirements
Academic Bridging
Experience Bridging
Admission Steps
FAQs

Admission Requirements

To apply through the ICAN MOU pathway, you must:

  • Be a fully qualified ACA or FCA member in good standing with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria(ICAN).
  • Reside in, be relocating to, or be in the process of immigrating to Western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Northwest Territories, or Nunavut).
  • Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or legally authorized to study and work in Canada. Temporary residents must hold a valid study permit.
  • Have strong English language proficiency.

Important

Your ICAN membership must be earned through completion of ICAN's qualification process, not through a reciprocal recognition agreement with another accounting body. Applicants who received exemptions from ICAN examinations through work experience or other designation agreements are not eligible for the ICAN MOU pathway.

If you do not meet the admission and pathway requirements, you may qualify through another CPA PEP admission pathway.

Education Requirements

You must meet one of the following requirements:

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You have:

  • A recognized Canadian undergraduate degree (three or four years) or Canadian master's degree; or
  • An equivalent international degree supported by a third-party credential evaluation showing equivalency to at least a three or four-year Canadian degree.

You must also have a total of 120 credit hours, obtained through your degree program and/or additional post-secondary studies.

If you do not hold a recognized degree, you may qualify through the degree waiver route by demonstrating:

  • At least eight years of relevant accounting experience in one or more CPA technical competency areas, including:
    • Financial Reporting
    • Strategy and Governance
    • Management Accounting
    • Audit and Assurance
    • Finance
    • Taxation

Academic and Experience Bridging

Please note that the ICAN MOU pathway generally leads to CPA certification only. Additional experience or examinations may be required to obtain public accounting rights.

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Applicants approved through the ICAN MOU pathway:

  • Are exempt from all CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) modules.
    • Optional, but strongly encouraged to complete Capstone 2 as preparation for the CFE.
  • Must pass Days 1, 2, and 3 of the Common Final Examination (CFE).
    • You are permitted three attempts to pass the CFE. If all CFE attempts are exhausted, you must reapply under the admission requirements in effect at that time. ICAN MOU exemptions will no longer apply.

Preparing for the CFE

The CFE assumes knowledge of Canadian taxation, Canadian business law, and Canadian accounting standards. You may wish to strengthen your knowledge in these areas before attempting the examination.

You are admitted under the ICAN MOU pathway, you can enroll in a special module designed for MOU learners, Introduction to Capstone 2 and the CFE (Available February – July each year). 

According to our 2025 study, MOU Learners who engage with the material in this module and submit the optional weekly cases have been shown to have a 44% greater likelihood of passing the CFE compared to MOU learners who did not engage with the materials. 

To support you in your exam preparation, CPAWSB offers Review Materials Modules (RMMs), which provide access to CPA PEP learning materials and solution guides for self-study.

Experience bridging begins after:

  1. Your academic bridging assessment has been completed; and
  2. Your CPA PEP admission application has been approved.

You will receive experience bridging forms and instructions after admission approval.

Applicants With Qualified Post-Designation Experience

Applicants with more than two years of qualified post-designation experience must provide evidence for review by the Practical Experience Review Committee (PERC).

Applicants who do not meet the above criterion may complete a full work experience review.

Admission Process

Please proceed with the admission steps only after reading the above requirements.

  1. Visit My CPA Portal.
    • Use a desktop or a laptop with Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome. 
  2. Select Create a My CPA Profile.
  3. Enter your legal name.
  4. Select your residency status:
    • Canadian Citizen
    • Permanent Resident
    • Temporary Resident
    • Foreign National
  5. Enter all post-secondary education and designation information, including your CPA Accredited Program, even if you do not plan to submit documents for every credential listed in your profile.
  6. Activate your account through the email instructions provided shortly after profile creation.

Important

Only use the UPLOAD A DOCUMENT feature for legal name verification documents required during CPA PEP admission. Do not upload other documents through your profile, as we only accept official documents directly from issuing institutions.

Having trouble navigating the document checklist? See instructions in PDF or a video.

Need Help?

Contact the Admission Advising team about creating your My CPA profile at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001#.

Before You Begin

Temporary residents who require a study permit should review study permit requirements before purchasing a transcript assessment.

Provincial Attestation Letters (PALs/TALs) may be required.

Once you have verified the above, submit a Transcript Assessment Request

  1. Log in to My CPA Portal.
  2. Select PROGRAM ADMISSION.
  3. Select TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT.
  4. Choose ADD A TRANSCRIPT ASSESSMENT REQUEST button.
  5. Review the document checklist.
  6. Review your transcript assessment order.
  7. Click on MAKE PAYMENT button.

Important

The transcript assessment fee is non-refundable and is subject to change.

Request your assessment before arranging document delivery to CPAWSB. Our team will let you know what documents are required based on the information you provide.

Need Help?

If you have questions about requesting a transcript assessment, submitting documents, or understanding application requirements, contact the Admission Advising team at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001#.

A) Letter of Good Standing (Mandatory)

Arrange for ICAN to submit a Letter of Good Standing directly to CPAWSB. The letter must confirm:

  • Active membership status.
  • Any disciplinary actions.
  • The expiry date of the letter.
  • That membership was earned through ICAN's qualification process and not through recognition agreements.

B) Option 1: Applicants Applying With a Degree

Submit:

A basic credential assessment is sufficient.

C) Option 2: Applicants Applying Through the Degree Waiver Route

Applicants using the eight-year experience pathway must submit:

  1. Experience Verification Form
    • Demonstrate accounting-related experience.
    • Show development of at least two CPA competency sub-areas at a minimum of Level 1 proficiency.
    • Be completed by an appropriate verifier familiar with your experience.
  2. Reference Letters
    Provide:
    • One professional reference from a CPA or a member of an international accounting body recognized by CPA Canada.
    • One personal character reference (not a family member).
  3. Additional Documents
    • Comprehensive chronological résumé.
    • Official post-secondary transcripts, if any post-secondary studies have been completed.

Transcript/Document Submission Methods

1. Electronic

Digital submissions must be sent directly to [email protected]. Other electronic mediums we accept are post-secondary institution-issued digital transcripts such as MyCreds.

2. Physical copy

Do not send documents to provincial CPA offices, as it can delay your assessment. Send sealed transcripts directly from the issuing institution to:

CPA Western School of Business
201, 1074 – 103A Street SW
Edmonton, Alberta T6W 2P6

Each time we receive a document, we will email you to confirm receipt and let you know if any required documents are still outstanding.

Note: Documents not in English must be translated by a certified translator. 

Transcript assessment Timeline

  • Transcript assessment begins after all documents are received.
  • Typical processing: 10 business days
  • Assessment validity: 1 year
  • Missing documents after 6 months may result in a partial assessment

Do you have questions about our retention policy? See Personal Information Retention for more.

Need Help?

If you have questions about submitting documents or understanding application requirements, contact the Admission Advising team at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6001#.

When your assessment is complete, you will receive:

  • An Academic Bridging Results email outlining your eligibility under the ICAN MOU pathway.
  • Information regarding any experience bridging requirements.
  • Instructions for your next steps.

You will also receive notification when your transcript assessment results are available in My CPA Portal.

Access Your Results

Access results through My CPA Portal → Program Admission → Transcript Assessment

Your assessment should indicate a status of PEP Eligible if you qualify under the ICAN MOU pathway.

Need Help?
Contact the Admission Services team about your transcript assessment at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6004#.

Once your assessment is complete and indicates PEP Eligible, you can submit a CPA PEP admission application.

The registration category on your CPA PEP application is International Designate – MOU. 

After your admission application is approved and CFE registration opens, you may register for the next available CFE offering.

Application processing time is five business days. For the application process, see Apply to CPA PEP. 

Need Help?
Contact the Admission Services team about your CPA PEP application and changing employer details on your account at [email protected] or 1.866.420.2350 ext. 6004#.

Questions?

If you still have more questions, check out some of the commonly asked questions by other applicants on creating a My CPA portal, general enrollment process, transcript assessment process, and understanding your assessment results.

Frequently Asked Questions