If you are writing the CFE and tackling an Assurance role, you already know the Audit Planning Memo (APM) is a staple. A critical component of this memo is assessing the Risk of Material Misstatement (RMM) at the Overall Financial Statement Level (OFSL).

To master the APM, it helps to rely on the GCPA RAMP framework: Risk, Approach, Materiality, and Procedures. This post focuses on that crucial first letter: Risk.

Many candidates struggle not with understanding RMM, but with quickly finding the right case facts under severe time constraints. To score a “Competent” (C), you need to identify the right case facts, explain why they increase or decrease risk, and conclude on the overall risk level.

We have summarized several of the GCPA resources for Assurance competencies specific to Audit Planning Memos and RMM related AOs, and have generated the post below based on this.

Apply a clear formula for RMM

Before we dive into where to look, remember the formula graders are looking for, based on CAS 315 (Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement). RMM is a combination of Inherent Risk (IR) and Control Risk (CR).

To get depth in your response, use the GCPA formula:

• State the factors using case facts (What) + Explain the implication (Why does it increase/decrease the risk) = Depth.

Do not just copy a fact from the case. You must explain how that fact impacts the audit. Furthermore, to show a balanced analysis, always actively look for factors that decrease the risk of material misstatement, not just the ones that increase it.

Where to Look in Day 2 Cases

Day 2 cases are massive. You have up to 5 hours, but you can easily get lost in the weeds. In Day 2, the Assurance role is tested deeply, and RMM factors are usually scattered across multiple appendices. When assessing OFSL risks, remember that these are pervasive risks that relate to the financial statements as a whole.

1. The “Background” or “Company Overview” Section

This is usually the first page or two of the case. Graders hide high-level control environment (Control Risk) and bias factors (Inherent Risk) here.

• Look for: Ownership changes, management turnover, lack of segregation of duties, or first-time audits.

• Example Fact: “The company’s CFO resigned three months ago, and the junior bookkeeper has been handling the financials.”

• Implication: There is a weakened control environment and a lack of segregation of duties, increasing the risk of errors or fraud passing through unnoticed. (RMM Increases)

2. The “Strategic Plans” or “Financing” Appendix

Management bias is the most common RMM factor on the CFE. You will almost always find it where money is discussed.

• Look for: Bank loan covenants, plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO), upcoming purchases/sales of the entity, or management bonuses tied to net income.

• Example Fact: “The company needs to secure a $2 million expansion loan from the bank next month.”

• Implication: Management has a bias to overstate revenues and understate liabilities to make the financial statements look as healthy as possible to secure the loan. (RMM Increases)

3. The “Operations” or “IT” Appendix

Complexity drives risk. If the company is doing something new, the accounting is likely to be messed up.

• Look for: Implementation of a new ERP/IT system, market competition driving down prices, or expanding into foreign markets.

• Example Fact: “On October 1st, the company transitioned to a new automated inventory tracking system.”

• Implication: There is a high risk of data migration errors or system glitches during the changeover, meaning opening balances or year-end figures could be misstated. (RMM Increases)

Spotting Fraud Risk: The INPORT Framework

If you spot fraud risk factors, these automatically impact the OFSL. Use the GCPA INPORT memory aid to easily recall the three components of the Fraud Triangle:

• INcentives and Pressures (e.g., personal financial stress, performance-based bonuses).

• Portunity (Opportunity) (e.g., poor oversight, lack of segregation of duties).

• Rationalization and aTtitude (e.g., a culture that prioritizes growth over compliance).

Where to Look in Day 3 Cases

Day 3 cases are short sprints (70 to 90 minutes). You do not have time to dig through endless appendices. The RMM factors here are usually explicit and front-loaded. You generally only need 2 to 4 well-explained factors to get a “C” on Day 3.

1. The Opening Paragraphs (The “Trigger”)

In Day 3, the prompt telling you to write the memo is usually in the first two paragraphs. The RMM factors are often baked right into this introduction.

• Look for: Why the audit is happening now.

• Example Fact: “Your firm has just been appointed as the new auditors for XYZ Corp after their previous auditors retired.”

• Implication: This is a first-time audit. We do not have cumulative knowledge of the client, and opening and comparative balances may not be reliable since we did not audit the prior year. (RMM Increases)

2. The “Financial Update” Paragraph

Day 3 cases rarely have a dedicated financing appendix; instead, they will drop a single sentence about the company’s financial health.

• Look for: Industry downturns, cash flow issues, or going concern indicators.

• Example Fact: “Due to a recent supply chain crisis, the company has suffered a 30% drop in sales and is struggling to pay suppliers.”

• Implication: The company is facing financial hardship. This creates a going concern risk and a high incentive for management to manipulate the books to hide the distress from stakeholders. (RMM Increases)

Summary Cheat Sheet: Quick RMM Identifiers

Use this table as a quick mental checklist when reading a case to ensure you capture both increasing and decreasing factors for balance:

Factor	Type	Impact on RMM	Implication
New bank loan or covenant	Inherent Risk	Increases	Management has a strong bias to overstate net income and assets to secure funding.
Management bonus tied to profit	Inherent Risk	Increases	Creates a direct financial incentive for management to artificially inflate net income.
New IT or Accounting System	Control Risk	Increases	High risk of data conversion errors or lost information during the transition.
First-time audit	Inherent Risk	Increases	The audit firm lacks cumulative knowledge; heightened risk that opening balances carry undetected misstatements.
Active Internal Audit Function	Control Risk	Decreases	Management and the board are highly aware of control deficiencies and actively monitor them.
Long-time, experienced staff	Control Risk	Decreases	A stable control environment with experienced personnel reduces the likelihood of everyday errors.

Final Tip for CFE Candidates

When writing your RMM section, always remember to conclude. After listing your 3 to 5 balanced factors, explicitly state: “Overall, the risk of material misstatement at the OFSL is assessed as HIGH/MODERATE/LOW.” Failing to conclude is the easiest way to drop from a “C” to an “RC”!

Looking for CFE support? Review the resources, templates, and CPA coaching programs available at www.gevorgcpa.com to help navigate your path to becoming a Canadian CPA.

Submitting your Practical Experience Reporting Tool (PERT) reports is a key milestone in obtaining your Canadian CPA designation. After you provide your detailed experience report, it is very common for the CPA reviewer in charge of assessing your submission to have follow-up questions or request revisions.

Getting your report returned with reviewer comments is a standard part of the PERT process. Before outlining how to systematically tackle these revisions, there are a few important realities about the review process that candidates should understand.

The Human Element of PERT Reviewers

When you submit a PERT report, it is evaluated by a human reviewer. Because this process involves human judgment, there is naturally an element of subjectivity.

Two candidates could submit nearly identical experience reports. For one reviewer, the report might clear perfectly without a single question. For another reviewer, that exact same report might receive reviewer comments and revision requests. Because there is no way of perfectly predicting a reviewer’s specific preferences, receiving comments doesn’t necessarily mean you did something wrong. It simply means that your specific reviewer needs a little more context to connect the dots and confidently approve your competencies. We talked about this in detail, specifically for Alberta PERT candidates who have a reputation of facing a more challenging reviewer hurdle.

Managing Expectations: The Reality of Progression

Another common reason you might receive reviewer comments is related to where you are in your CPA journey. CPA reviewers expect to see progression in your experience over time; they will almost never approve a Level 2 technical proficiency right out of the gate.

This is a topic we have talked about in the past on the blog as well. For example, in our article, Is One Example Enough for PERT Enabling Competencies?, we discussed how the core strategy for completing your competencies relies on demonstrating a gradual progression. In your first report, you might claim a Level 0. In your second, a Level 1. It isn’t until your later reports, after providing multiple complex examples over time, that a Level 2 is typically granted.

Similarly, we have highlighted this expectation in our guide on Catching up on CPA PERT Reports. Even if you are submitting multiple catch-up reports at once, you must still show a chronological progression. If you submit your very first 6-month report and request a Level 2, the reviewer will likely ask for revisions or downgrade you to a Level 1. They need to see your duties evolve and your autonomy increase over the full 30 months.

5 Key Steps to Respond to CPA Reviewer Comments

Understanding these expectations helps frame the reviewer’s feedback. Now, let’s look at how to tackle the revisions efficiently through a clear, 5-step process.

Step 1: Note Your Response Deadline

Before you review the comments or begin drafting a response, you must make note of your submission deadline and set yourself as many alarms and reminders as required to ensure you don’t miss this. This is critical. It is not a suggestion. You cannot request an extension. You must reply within the timeline.

Missing this deadline essentially causes you to “surrender” any experience within the report that did not get cleared on the first pass. If you do not respond within the time allotted, you lose your ability to go back and edit or revise those comments to utilize your experience. We have seen students lose the ability to use over 2 years of hard-earned experience simply due to failing to respond within the allotted time limit. Treat this deadline as an absolute priority.

Step 2: Read and Process the Feedback Objectively

When a report is returned for revisions, it is important to process the feedback objectively before making any edits. Read the reviewer’s comments carefully. Reviewers often leave specific notes about what is missing or what requires clarification. Your objective in this step is simply comprehension: understand exactly what the reviewer is saying and what aspect of your role they are trying to clarify.

Step 3: Pinpoint the Targeted Area of Your Report

PERT reports are comprehensive and contain multiple sections. Once you have read the feedback, you need to pinpoint exactly which section the reviewer is targeting. Start by identifying:

• Is this a Technical Competency or an Enabling Competency?
• Which specific sub-competency is being targeted? (e.g., Financial Reporting vs. Audit and Assurance).
• Which specific part of your response is in question? (Are they looking at the Situation, the Action, or the Result?)

By isolating the exact area of your report the reviewer is speaking about, you keep your revisions focused and avoid unnecessarily altering sections of your report that were already approved.

Step 4: Identify the Actionable Change Required

Next, identify what actionable change the reviewer wants you to make. Ask yourself what the core of their request is. Reviewer comments usually fall into a few common categories:

• Lack of specific examples: You may have explained a process generally (e.g., “I perform variance analysis”), and the reviewer requires a real-world example of a specific, non-routine variance you analyzed.
• Missing the “How” and “Why”: You might have stated what you did, but the reviewer needs to understand how you did it step-by-step, and why it matters to the organization.
• Clarifying Autonomy: The reviewer might need you to use “I” instead of “We” to clarify your independent role versus your manager’s or team’s role.
• Progression/Complexity: Based on the progression expectations mentioned earlier, they may need you to demonstrate more complexity to justify granting a higher proficiency level.

Translate their comment into a direct instruction. (For example: “The reviewer needs me to add an example of a complex accounting standard I applied.”)

Step 5: Draft a Targeted Revision

With a clear understanding of the targeted area and the required change, you can now draft your revision.

When writing your response, be clear, concise, and direct. Address the reviewer’s comments explicitly. If they asked how you calculated a specific metric, provide the exact methodology. If they asked for the impact of your work, explicitly state: “The impact of this analysis was…”

You rarely need to rewrite your original response entirely. Usually, you only need to add a few specific sentences or a new paragraph to your original draft to bridge the gap. Provide the specific evidence the reviewer requested so they can confidently approve your level.

• Pro-Tip: Before resubmitting, read the reviewer’s original comment, and then immediately read your new draft. Ensure your addition directly and thoroughly answers their prompt.

Final Thoughts

Navigating PERT is a detailed process, and receiving reviewer comments is simply a standard step on your path to the CPA designation. The reviewer’s goal is to ensure your experience meets the requirements set by CPA Canada. Guard your deadlines carefully, manage your expectations regarding progression, and follow a systematic approach to your revisions to get your reports cleared efficiently.

Looking for additional support with your PERT reports, aiming for Level 2 competencies, or studying for the CFE? Review the resources, templates, and CPA coaching programs available at www.gevorgcpa.com to help navigate your path to becoming a Canadian CPA.

How to Tackle Unknown AOs on the CFE

Picture this: You are writing Day 2 or Day 3 of the CFE. You just systematically completed a standard inventory valuation, worked through a variance analysis, and you are managing your time perfectly. You flip to the next appendix, read the first paragraph, and realize you are being asked for the accounting treatment of a crypto-backed joint venture in deep-sea mining.

Welcome to the “Unknown AO.”

Every year, the Board of Examiners (BOE) includes Assessment Opportunities (AOs) on the CFE that are completely non-routine, obscure, or nowhere to be found in your standard study templates. As a CPA exam coach here at Gevorg CPA, I see our candidates struggle with these issues very often. In the recent release of the May 2025 report, BOE told candidates to prepare better in this area. As part of our review of this most recent BOE report, we are tackling this issue within this article. We will highlight some of the key tactics we teach to handle these unknown AOs.

The Perspective Shift

Why does the BOE do this?

The BOE explicitly includes these unusual AOs because they want to see if you, as a future Canadian CPA, can handle the unknown in a professional environment. The test isn’t just about your technical memory; it’s about applying the CPA Way (Assess → Analyze → Conclude → Communicate) to an accounting scenario you have never encountered before.

They are testing your ability to process the unknown quickly, provide a commercially reasonable response, and move on. Spending 40 minutes hunting through Knotia for the perfect technical answer to one unknown FR AO is like spending three hours perfectly formatting the fonts on a balance sheet while leaving the income statement completely blank. You have robbed precious time from the routine AOs that actually guarantee your pass.

Remember: If it’s weird to you, it’s weird to everyone. You are competing against the curve. The candidate sitting next to you is grappling with this exact same issue. Keep your composure and execute your strategy.

Have a Planned Response

When you encounter the unknown in Financial Reporting, where we see the majority if Unknown AOs, you need to stop and think about the issue first before jumping to find the applicable handbook section. First, consider how to bucket the topic, then guide yourself to apply a framework:

1. Labeling the Unknown: Identification IS Half the Battle

First things first: simply identifying and labeling an AO as “unknown” is half the battle.

The unknown AO trap on the CFE happens when you panic and try to treat a non-routine AO exactly like a routine one. Trying to forcefully fit an obscure, software licensing issue into a standard 5-step IFRS 15 Revenue Recognition template won’t work, and it will certainly burn valuable time that should be spent tackling the rest of the exam. 

True exam confidence doesn’t mean having a photographic memory of the CPA Canada Handbook. Confidence comes from knowing what is not routine. When you read a prompt and recognize that it is highly unusual, validate that professional judgment. Actively labeling it as an “Unknown AO” in your mind stops you from wasting time searching for a perfect template that does not exist.

2. Bucket the Issue

For technical FR AOs where you aren’t clear what it is, what the actual accounting issue is, and therefore what the actual GAAP standard to consider is, the trick is to first avoid panic. Stop and really think about: What IS the thing in question?

If you had to bucket it into a category, or describe it to someone, where does it fit?

• Is it kind of like an asset? Is it a piece of equipment, is it cash, or an investment?
• Is it kind of like a liability? Are you going to owe someone money?
• Is it kind of like an expense? Has someone done work for you, or will you owe someone because of a service?
• Is it kind of like equity? Have you issued shares, or granted an ownership stake?

For example: Imagine the case introduces a complex “government carbon emission credit.” Instead of freezing because you’ve never studied carbon credits, bucket it. The company purchased them, owns them, and will use them to avoid future fines. It holds future economic value, so it is kind of like an asset—specifically, an intangible one.

Thinking about the issue in this way is going to make your Knotia search significantly easier, and will help get you somewhere in terms of answering the “what is this?” question before you apply a formal framework.

3. Apply a Technical Framework

Once you have bucketed the issue, try searching Knotia. Search the specific trigger words right out of the case alongside your new bucket category. Grab the closest criteria you can find, framed with support from your bucketing activity above, and apply it. We say this often to our students, you need to practice desperate Knotia searches as part of your studying. You will quickly learn that searching in Knotia is not as slick as you would like it to be. The more specific and unique your search word is, the more useful the search result. Do not try this for the first time on exam date.

If your search comes up empty and you are completely lost in the Handbook, stop, and default to the three key components of any accounting standard:

• Recognition: When does it go on the books?
• Measurement: How much is it worth?
• Disclosure: What do we tell the users of the financial statements?

4. Bare minimum: Case facts + so what + recommendation

When all else fails, write whatever reasonable accounting logic comes to mind, but you MUST apply case facts from the appendices, and you ALWAYS provide a recommendation.

You can draft the most logical analysis in the world, but if it doesn’t use the specific numbers, quotes, or situations provided in the case, you aren’t scoring points. You need to integrate the case facts (to Assess the situation), structure your logic using handbook criteria or the Big Three (to Analyze the issue), make a definitive journal entry or treatment recommendation (to Conclude), and ensure your advice is clear and actionable for the client (to Communicate). The BOE rewards candidates who make a decision over those who skip the issue. 

Get support at Gevorg CPA

You don’t have to face the CFE curveballs alone, register for a Gevorg CPA CFE Prep program today.

We will help you navigate this exact challenge and much more. From mastering “Unknown AOs” to perfecting your time management and building rock-solid technical frameworks, we provide the grounded, strategic coaching you need to conquer the CFE.

Don’t leave your exam success to chance. Join us today.

We often hear from students who are frustrated because a peer in Ontario or British Columbia had a nearly identical experience report cleared with no issues, while their own report was sent back by CPA Alberta with requests for “more detail” or “clearer progression.”

It is important to clarify: Alberta is not working off its own set of rules. All provinces adhere to the same national CPA PERT standards. However, because the provinces administer these standards independently, each province has developed its own nuanced preferences and “review culture.”

Think of it like a national building code: the standards for safety and materials are the same across Canada, but the local inspector in Calgary might be much more meticulous about your “Blueprints” (your PERT report) than an inspector in another city. While CPA Canada sets the national Harmonized Practical Experience Policies, each provincial body (like CPA Alberta) acts as the independent “inspector” for their region. This is why you’ll often hear candidates say that what gets a “Pass” in one province might get a “Follow-up” in Alberta.

Based on our students’ experiences, Alberta reviewers are perceived to apply a stricter ‘Audit’ mindset. Without granular documentation supporting your claim of Level 2 proficiency, reviewers frequently default to assuming it hasn’t been achieved. This creates the ‘Alberta Wall’—the perception of a higher bar and, more importantly, significant delays in your path to certification despite national rules being technically identical.

But it is not just about the candidate; understanding the reviewer’s perspective is equally vital. In this post, we will share insights to help you elevate your reporting game while examining the systemic challenges Alberta reviewers face. We must hold ourselves accountable to looking at this from both angles: what specific complexities are candidates putting forward that make their roles harder to verify, and what are the resulting reviewer demands that students are perceiving to be so demanding?

General Requirements

The Practical Experience Reporting Tool (PERT) is the final hurdle for Canadian CPA candidates. While the Common Final Exam (CFE) tests your academic knowledge, PERT is a critical final requirement to evidence your accounting work experience. To get certified in the current program, you must document 30 months of progressive experience, demonstrating both technical competencies (such as Financial Reporting, Management Accounting, or Taxation) and enabling competencies—the professional skills like ethics, problem-solving, communication, self-management, and teamwork/leadership.

While many candidates find PERT reporting onerous, it is especially true for EVR (Experience Verification Route) students. In the Pre-Approved Program (PPR), your employer has already “pre-vetted” the work duties with the provincial CPA body. In contrast, EVR candidates carry the entire burden of proof. You must act as your own advocate and ‘auditor’ with every submission, meticulously mapping your daily tasks to specific CPA Canada proficiency levels without the safety net of a pre-approved employer program.

Beyond the “Straight Path”: Navigating Complex Work Experiences

The “standard” CPA journey—graduating, landing a junior accounting role, and progressing linearly to Senior Accountant, Accounting Manager—is increasingly rare. CPA candidates face complex work experiences that make PERT feel like a puzzle. You might be juggling a family, navigating a layoff, relocating, or managing medical challenges. We also see two specific job-related challenges come up that create complexity: the Generic Role candidates, and the Job Jumpers.

Generic Role: For candidates in startups, high growth companies, family business or private companies, their responsibilities are usually not “pure” accounting—perhaps you’re a Controller in a small business wearing HR and IT hats—the path to Level 2 isn’t obvious. These candidates often file multiple reports for different roles, requiring a cohesive narrative of progression even when their career path felt more like a jungle gym than a ladder. If your job isn’t a textbook role, you have to work twice as hard to translate “business” tasks into “CPA” competencies.

If you are working harder to create your PERT, you can be sure your reviewer is going to be working harder to follow your PERT as well. 

Job Jumpers: You must complete a fresh PERT report if your role at an existing company has changed (i.e. promotion) or if you move to a different company—whether you have taken time off, transitioned, experienced market recession layoffs, or jumped jobs to maximize salary. There are anecdotal arguments that point to career changes in Alberta accounting jobs being driven by the boom or bust nature of its energy-heavy economy. Candidates face high voluntary turnover during booms (chasing high salaries) and significant involuntary turnover (layoffs) during downturns.

Irrespective of why your job has changed, any job changes increase the complexity of your PERT reporting. You need to do more reports and your reporting needs to clearly demonstrate your role and task progression especially where your core tasks have changed. This can also be challenging as you might have some ‘intake’ period at a new role making it seem like you have regressed in your progression.

Job changes create both the logistical task of an additional report, and the diligence to demonstrate your progressive work duties. Similar to Generic Role candidates, these complexities make the review process quite challenging as well. 

The 6-Month Myth: Tracking vs. Reporting

A question we get constantly at Gevorg CPA is: “Do I have to submit a full report to CPA every six months?” CPA guidance strongly encourages students to track their progress every six months. This is excellent advice; it ensures you stay on top of your journal, meet with your mentor regularly, and capture high-quality examples while they are fresh in your mind.

However, this is guidance only, and not a requirement to submit a formal, full report for provincial review every six months unless your facts and circumstances otherwise require you to do so, such as due to a job change, a move to a new employer, or a material change in your role’s responsibilities.

The more time that exists between experience tracking and mentor meetings, the more challenging it is to remember all the details you need to articulate your progressive experience. We can draw a nice connection to our CFE case writing skills, you need sufficient work experience details (case facts), and a sufficient volume of work examples (breadth), to clear the reviewer hurdle.

Albertans: If you fall behind on your report tracking, this will compound your challenges in meeting the level of proof required to clear your reports. If you are being challenged to articulate more details and more evidence supporting your experience, this is incredibly hard to document if you have not been tracking as you track your progress.

Tracking is for your consistency; formal reporting is for your milestones.

PERT-crastination – Don’t wait for the 2028 Transition

There is a massive shift on the horizon. As all CPA candidates are well aware, Canada’s CPA certification pathway is moving to a new model in 2027, and for students currently in PEP, the final deadline to complete and report all PERT requirements is December 31, 2028.

While CPA Canada has provided transition guidelines—ensuring those partway through won’t “lose” their progress—it is absolutely vital to be caught up now. There will be a deadline for candidates claiming experience in the current program to be caught up on their PERT, and for all the reasons we have discussed above, it seems unwise to be late on that. 

• The Potential Bottleneck: If you choose to procrastinate your PERT tasks, chances are fairly high you won’t be the only one to do so. Back-and-forth between candidates and reviewers could be significantly strained during the rush of last-minute report submissions.
• It Won’t Get Easier: We know PERT takes time, and we know putting it off won’t make the requirements less rigorous. By delaying, you are essentially volunteering for the added stress of figuring out how to transition your ‘old program’ experience to the ‘new program’—which is hardly an ideal learning opportunity. Finishing under the known rules of the current PERT system is the path of least resistance to obtain your letters.

Perspective: It’s Hard, but It’s Good Practice

We are acutely aware of how frustrating the back-and-forth of this process can be, especially as you reach the final stretch of your CPA designation. However, one point of perspective we offer is that this really is good practice. As a practicing CPA, you will be held accountable for your attention to detail every single day. Proving a connection between data points, applying relevant case facts, demonstrating your competencies with clarity, and providing evidence are all critical professional skills. Understanding what provided evidence actually demonstrates—and what it doesn’t—is at the core of our profession. 

An accountant’s ability to utilize business writing to accurately convey information is a very valuable skill. Every talented professional I have worked with has been a master at this, and it has served them well. Perhaps the reviewers also have this at the back of their minds when considering reports. 

While the reporting process isn’t “fun,” it is required for a reason: it is reinforcing habits and discipline you need to thrive as a CPA.

What Can You Do About It?

These recommendations apply to all PERT applicants. While there isn’t a “secret” set of rules, you must understand that if you are coming up against a particularly challenging reviewer, you need to be extra disciplined about applying these best practices:

1. Use the CARL/STAR Method: Structure every response with Challenge, Action, Result, and Lessons Learned. Here is a template example we have posted in the past that provides some great detail –  GCPA – MA2 Template and Example
2. Keep a ‘Success Journal’: Don’t wait for your semi-annual check-in. Record complex problems, your specific technical role in solving them, and the impact of your actions as they happen. This prevents ‘memory fade’ and ensures you have a library of specific examples when it’s time to report.
3. Talk to Your Mentor Early: Use the CPA Alberta PERT FAQs to stay on top of deadlines and rules.
4. Professional Help: We specialize in helping students “CPA-ify” their real-world work to meet the reviewer’s expectations.

How Gevorg CPA Can Help You Scale the Wall

If the PERT process feels like a second job, you don’t have to navigate it alone. We offer specialized support programs designed to translate your real-world experience into the specific language CPA reviewers demand.

• CPA PER Review (Standard): Best for self-starters who need the right tools to write effectively. Includes step-by-step video walkthroughs, Level 2 templates, and specific “verb” lists to trigger the right proficiency levels.
  • Register for CPA PER Review (Standard)
• CPA PER Review (Full Support): Best for candidates who want high certainty and expert validation. Includes everything in the Standard package plus personalized marking and detailed feedback on up to two full reports.
  • Register for CPA PER Review (Full Support)
• CPA Extension Support: Best for candidates facing the 7-year deadline or 4th attempt issues. Includes strategy sessions on how to appeal for more time and how to draft a winning extension request.
  • Register for CPA Extension Support

Other Helpful Resources

• CPA Alberta: Practical Experience Resources & Templates
• CPA Canada: The PERT Guide for Future CPAs

 

 

CPA Canada has now released the 2025 Professional Education Program (PEP) and Common Final Exam (CFE) exam pass rates. The 2026 pass rates will be released in February 2027.

2025 CFE Pass Rates

Below are the official exam pass rates as reported by CPA Canada.

The 2025 CFE pass rate is 69.8%.

CFE Offering	Cumulative Pass Rates
	First Attempt	Second Attempt	Third Attempt
May and September 2025*	69.8%	n/a	n/a
May and September 2024*	67.3%	n/a	n/a
May and September 2023*	70.5%	n/a	n/a
May and September 2022*	71.3%	n/a	n/a
May and September 2021*	73.6%	n/a	n/a
September 2020	75.8%	n/a	n/a
September 2019	76.3%	87.4%	n/a
September 2018	77.6%	87.5%	90.8%
September 2017	77.6%	88.1%	90.6%
September 2016	76.8%	88.6%	91.4%
May 2016	68.7%	75.4%	79.9%
September 2015	82.9%	94.6%	96.6%

*In 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021, there were two offerings of the CFE. The 69.8%, 67.3%, 70.5%, 71.3% and 73.6% pass rates are the combined averages of the first-time writers in both the May and September CFEs.

The 2025 pass rate increased 2% versus the 2024 CFE which was the lowest pass rate on record at 67.3%. 

2025 Professional Education Program (PEP) Pass Rates

Below are the updated 2025 PEP exam pass rates:

CPA PEP Module	2025 Pass Rate	2024 Pass Rate	2023 Pass Rate	2022 Pass Rate	2021 Pass Rate	2020 Pass Rate	2019 Pass Rate
Core 1	72.4%	71.9%	72.1%	74.0%	77.1%	81.9%	79.4%
Core 2	81.8%	80.4%	78.4%	82.5%	85.3%	86.2%	84.3%
Taxation	87.5%	86.8%	87.6%	87.5%	88.1%	88.0%	88.1%
Assurance	86.6%	88.1%	87.6%	89.7%	90.5%	89.1%	89.2%
PM	87.0%	87.1%	90.2%	89.5%	90.9%	90.7%	90.6%
Finance	83.4%	84.8%	87.1%	87.2%	89.1%	89.0%	89.9%

The pass rates above are the average rates for first-time writers for the 2025 year (March, June, September, December).  There is a minor increase in 2025, compared to 2024, in Core 1, Core 2, and Tax. Assurance and Finance dropped slightly in 2025 and PM was flat. 

PEP and CFE Exam Coaching

My name is Erika, a CPA exam coach at Gevorg CPA.  If you need helping passing your CPA Canada exams, contact us for more details or check out our tutoring courses.

 

 

 

The CFE pass rate hovers around 70%. In 2024 specifically, it was 67%. This means that every year, roughly one in three candidates opens their results to bad news.

It is unfortunate to see. At Gevorg CPA, we have seen brilliant students—accountants who are stars at their firms and who studied for months—fail to clear the hurdle.

The stakes are higher than ever right now. There are only 4 CFEs left in the current program. If you don’t clear the exam in these remaining sittings, you risk having to switch to the new certification program, which brings uncertainty and new requirements. You need to get this right now.

Why do students fail? The truth is, you don’t fail the CFE because you aren’t smart enough. You fail because you didn’t play the “game” correctly. Based on years of interacting with thousands of students and analyzing unsuccessful attempts, we have found that failure almost always boils down to 4 specific mistakes.

Reason 1: Weak or Mismanaged Technicals

There are two primary ways students mismanage their technical study:

1. The Crammer: This student tries to read everything. They burn valuable study time memorizing obscure paragraphs of the Handbook that are unlikely to be tested. The result is often burnout and a lack of focus on the basics.
2. The Gambler: Skips “hard” topics like Tax or Finance, hoping they won’t appear.

You need “Competence,” not perfection. Focus on commonly tested topics like Revenue Recognition, Contingencies, and Inventory. For complex niche topics, you just need enough knowledge to put something reasonable on paper to avoid an “NC” (Nominal Competence). Don’t fully skip “hard” topics, but scratch the surface, make sure you know something about everything, even the basics. For example, hedging means to protect yourself, there are: forwards, futures, options, swaps. Forwards and futures are agreements to buy or sell something at a specific price later on. Options give businesses the choice, but not the obligation, to make a trade at certain price. Swaps are deals where companies exchange cash with each other. That’s all you need to know for hedging to “pass” (unless Finance is your depth area)! You can provide simplified summaries like this for all topics in new Gevorg CPA Simple Study Notes. 

Reason 2: Poor Case Writing Skills

CFE is unique. If you write long, unstructured essays, the marker—who can only allocate about 2-3 minutes grading your AO—will miss your points. You must make it easy for them to find the right answers.

• Structure: Stick to “The CPA Way” (Issue, Analysis, Recommendation) for most issues. Specific topics, like audit control deficiencies, require their own structures like “WIR”. We provide such “templates” to students in our exam preparation programs.
• Case Facts (The “Why”): This is the single most important skill. You must focus on applying case facts, because that is the “why.” This is how the marker knows that you are competent. Stating the technical rule is not enough, you must link it to the facts to get the top marks.
• Typing Speed: If you are under 45 WPM, you are likely to struggle on time. Aim for 50-80 WPM.
• CFE Day 1 Fatal Flaw: You must consider the interrelationship of the issues. You cannot analyze issues in isolation; they must connect back to the big picture.

Reason 3: Not Understanding the “Levels” of Passing

In CPA Canada CFE, you aren’t given a percentage grade. You must pass 4 distinct levels (Sufficiency, Depth in FR/MA, Depth in Role, and Breadth). Understanding this passing profile is critical for two reasons:

1. Study Strategy (Preparation Phase) Knowing the levels dictates where you spend your time. If your role is Assurance (Level 3), you must be an expert there. Do not spend 80% of your time studying Tax if you only need “Breadth” (Level 4) in Tax. Allocate your study hours according to the depth required.
2. Exam Day Strategy (Execution Phase) Use this knowledge to prioritize mid-exam. If you are running out of time on Day 2 and have two AOs left—one in your Role and one in Finance—you must know which one to prioritize. You must pass your Role (Level 3), so write that one fully. You only need Breadth (Level 4) in Finance, so you can afford to write less there. This mid-exam adjustment often separates the passes from the fails.

Reason 4: The Time Trap

Board of Examiners design cases to test your ability to prioritize under pressure. If you spend 25 minutes on a hard AO, you sacrifice the easy marks at the end of the case.

Use a strict Time Budget. If your timer goes off, stop writing. An imperfect answer gets you a pass (RC); an empty answer gets you a zero.

How to Clear the Exam

1. Debriefing is King: Debriefing means comparing your answer to the solution and learning from your mistakes. Figure out exactly why you missed an indicator.
2. Master the Unfamiliar: Use “General Logic” for topics you’ve never seen. Apply case facts to pros/cons to squeeze out an RC.
3. Build a Consistent Study Plan: Consistency beats intensity. Build a study plan that fits your life, whether you are a morning person or a night owl.

We have a ton of free resources on our website to help you master these strategies. However, if you want full support, our programs have resources to cover off all these challenging areas. Our program and platform will guide you through the process to ensure you’re ready for this exam and know all the strategies you need to clear the CFE.

Check out the Gevorg, CPA CFE exam coaching programs and learn how to pass. Our comprehensive courses cover every stage of the CPA CFE process, ensuring you’re fully prepared. With a proven track record of helping over 4,500 students succeed, you can be next.

With the new 2027 CPA Professional Program, there are only a few CFEs remaining. The following Day 1 cases will be tested:

For the June 2026 CFE, the following Day 1 cases:

• Karnat Bread Company Ltd. (KBC) v1
• Viviana’s Trattoria Ltd. (VTL) v2

For the September 2026 CFE, the following Day 1 cases:

• Singular Textiles Corporation (STC) v1
• Meadowlark Entertainment Inc. (MEI) v2

There is no CFE in May 2027.

For the September 2027 CFE, the following Day 1 cases will be tested:

• Singular Textiles Corporation (STC) v2
• TBD, new case v1

For the September 2028 CFE, the following Day 1 cases will be tested:

• TBD, prior case v2
• TBD, new case v1

CFE Exam Coaching

If you need helping passing your CPA Canada CFE exam, please contact me and check my tutoring courses.

I attended the special CPA Canada members meeting where members have voted for a new governance structure that will change how every CPA in Canada connects with the national body. The shift takes effect April 1, 2026, and it moves the profession from a provincially routed model to a more direct national relationship.

For CPA students, this means that you’re entering the profession at a time when its structure is changing. In this blog post, I’ll break down each part so you can plan ahead.

[Further reading: The New 2027 CPA Professional Program]

What this means for your future membership

Members voted in favour of allowing all CPAs across the country to become direct members of CPA Canada. This marks a full transition toward a model where the national body has a direct relationship with individual CPAs, instead of relying on the provincial/territorial bodies as intermediaries.

The national CPA body wants a clearer connection with each CPA. Whether this improves things or not is something we’ll see over time but the structure is changing and you should understand the direction the profession is moving in.

Until March 31, 2026, nothing changes. CPAs remain part of CPA Canada through their provincial or territorial regulator.

After April 1, 2026, the connection to the national body continues but membership in CPA Canada becomes an individual choice. Instead of automatic membership through your province, you’ll be able to apply directly.

Students in Ontario and Quebec should note that existing CPA Canada subscribers will automatically become full members as of April 1, gaining voting rights and other benefits for the remainder of their subscription term.

Your exams, designation and mobility

Your CPA letters, your rights and your mobility across provinces stay the same. These governance updates don’t change recognition of the designation. National mobility remains a priority and CPA Canada says that it will continue coordinating with provinces to protect that.

There is no impact on the CPA exams. The exams are the same no matter what province you’re located.

How this may affect your fees

Fees will shift from being collected through provincial bodies to being collected directly by CPA Canada. The intention is to create more transparency about what you pay for and what you receive. Details on pricing haven’t been released yet. 

Who qualifies to join CPA Canada under the new model

Starting April 1, 2026, any CPA in good standing will remain part of the national body and can apply to become a member of CPA Canada.

Good standing with your provincial body remains a requirement. The difference is that joining CPA Canada becomes optional and no longer automatic.

Once students become a CPA, membership with province is still mandatory but membership with CPA Canada becomes a personal decision. I recommend to get the membership with CPA Canada to gain access to the resources noted below.

How to join CPA Canada

In early 2026, CPA Canada will release the direct membership process. It’s expected to offer flexible options that reflect the varied needs of CPAs working in industry, firms or solo practice. More info to come in 2026.

What CPA Canada will offer

The new membership model focuses on delivering tools, guidance and resources that CPAs can use in their day-to-day work. It includes:

• Custom approach with options based on your individual needs
• National resources, firm tools, community platforms like Tax 360 and internationally aligned PD
• A stronger individual voice through voting rights, audited financial statement access and board elections

This means the national body wants CPAs to choose their involvement. The offering will be customizable, and you will have more direct influence than before.

Why the changes are happening now

The Collaboration Accord between CPA Canada and the provincial bodies ends on April 1, 2026. CPA Canada is updating its governance documents consolidating to one class of members and shifting board election rights to individual CPAs.

This is being positioned as aligning governance with best practices. The changes were coordinated between CPA Canada and the remaining provincial and territorial bodies. Those bodies voted unanimously to support the governance amendments before the Nov. 21 member vote. 

The model is meant to give CPA Canada a more defined role as serving members. Provincial bodies will continue regulating, licensing and enforcing standards. 

What to expect

This is a major signal that the national structure is evolving, aligning with the changes we’ve seen in the New 2027 CPA Professional Program.

As you continue on your journey towards your CPA designation, reach out to the Gevorg team for educational support.

CPA Canada recently signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with ICAN Nigeria. If you’re a qualified ICAN member, the path to becoming a Canadian CPA is now much more direct. Many ICAN members have been reaching out with questions, so I want to walk through how this new process works and what you should focus on.

New ICAN-CPA Canada MOU

Before this agreement, ICAN members had to complete the CPA Canada Professional Education Program (PEP) with six modules before writing the final CPA exam. That requirement is now removed. You can go straight to the Common Final Exam, known as the CFE. Once you pass CFE, you receive your Canadian CPA designation.

CPA Canada recommends taking Capstone 1 and Capstone 2, but I don’t recommend them. Capstone 1 focuses on teamwork and presentations, which don’t appear on the CFE. Capstone 2 gives past exams with some feedback, but the feedback is usually generic. Most students get better results by practicing past exam cases and using focused study strategies.

Steps to CPA Canada for ICAN

Step 1: Confirm your eligibility

You must be a fully qualified ICAN member in good standing. You also need either:

• Recognized university degree, or
• At least 8 years of experience in any CPA competency area like Financial Reporting, Audit or Strategy.

You also must have obtained your ICAN designation while living outside Canada.

Step 2: Register for and pass the CFE

All ICAN members must pass the CFE. You get three attempts. If all three attempts are unsuccessful, your registration is cancelled and you would need to start over.

Most candidates study around 5–6 months. The CFE format is different from ICAN exams.

• Day 1 tests strategic writing
• Day 2 goes deep into your chosen role
• Day 3 tests breadth across all technical areas

The exam is case-based and very very time constrained. Cases are 4 to 5 hours long. You’ll write memos, analyze scenarios and explain your decisions. It’s less about calculations and more about judgment, time management and clear writing.

Key areas ICAN members need to study for CFE:

• Formatting your case responses clearly and effiienctly
• Canadian-specific standards like ASPE and Canadian tax
• Typing speed, because time pressure is high

Step 3: Meet the practical experience requirements

If you already have more than 2 years of post-designation ICAN experience, it’s accepted automatically. If you have less than 2 years, you’ll submit a detailed report for review. Your experience must come from your time as an ICAN student or member.

Getting your CPA doesn’t give you audit signing rights automatically. For that, you need a public accounting licence. That requires showing depth in Financial Reporting and Assurance on the CFE and completing your province’s licensing steps.

When choosing your CFE Day 2 role, you have Assurance, Performance Management, Tax or Finance. If you’re not sure which role to choose, Assurance is a flexible choice because it keeps pathways open in public practice. PM is also a good choice for ICAN members. You can reach out to me if you’re not sure which role to choose.

Step 4: Get study resources

CPA Canada provides the Learning Ebook and the optional Capstone modules. Most candidates also use private resources to prepare for CFE. Students in public practice firms like KPMG, PWC and EY all get extra support. Many MOU students do the same, because their academic background is rusty.

Check out Gevorg, CPA CFE exam coaching programs and learn how to pass. Our comprehensive courses cover every stage of the CPA CFE process, ensuring you’re fully prepared. With a proven track record of helping over 4,500 students succeed, you can be next.

CPABC members recently received a notice  about a new Collaboration Model. It’s an important update that ties directly to the broader shift I discussed earlier in my post about the CPA Ontario and CPA Québec separation from CPA Canada. This latest announcement marks another milestone in how the Canadian CPA profession is being reshaped. 

In short, the changes that happened to Ontario and Quebec in 2024 are now happening to CPABC.

What’s changing

CPABC, and potentially other provinces and territories, has agreed to move forward under a modernized collaborative model. This means:

• CPABC will continue regulating the profession in BC, granting the CPA designation, setting rules, and protecting the public interest.
• Funding will now flow differently. CPABC will no longer collect national dues on behalf of CPA Canada. Instead, standards and education will be funded through provincial fees.
• CPA Canada will adopt a new governance model, giving every Canadian CPA the chance to join directly with the national body.

In short, the old “Collaboration Accord” between CPA Canada and provincial bodies is ending, and a new structure is taking its place.

There’ll be change in responsibilities:

• Provincial bodies will focus on regulation, licensing, and member support.
• CPA Canada will focus on national standards, education, and advocacy.

This change may sound administrative, but it can have broader impacts.

What this means for members

For now, CPAs in BC, and potentially other provinces/territories, remain members of CPA Canada until April 1, 2026. After that, each CPA will have the option to sign up directly with CPA Canada under the new model. This is similar to what happened with CPA Ontario & Quebec and CPA Canada at the end of 2024.

CPA Canada has published a detailed FAQ about the process which I recommend that you review.

If you don’t keep your membership with CPA Canada from April 2026 onwards, you’ll still be a CPA BC member. You’ll pay lower dues, but you won’t have access to broader resources. 

On the other hand, if you do keep your membership with both CPA Canada and CPA BC, you’ll likely pay higher dues and access broader resources. 

There is no impact on the CPA exams. The exams are the same no matter what province you’re located.

What to expect

In the coming months, CPA Canada will share how members can join directly. Until then, nothing changes operationally for CPAs in BC and other provinces/territories. You’ll still pay your provincial dues as usual and remain a member of CPA Canada through your province.

This is a major signal that the national structure is evolving, aligning with the changes we’ve seen in the New 2027 CPA Professional Program.

As you continue on your journey towards your CPA designation, reach out to the Gevorg team for educational support.