Historically the pass rate for first-time writers sits around 70 to 75 per cent. That sounds encouraging until you consider who is sitting it: candidates who have already cleared Core, Electives and Capstone. Passing is not about knowing more accounting than they do. It is about writing in a way that earns the competency levels.

Not on a percentage scale. The CFE uses a competency-based matrix, and you have to clear four separate levels: overall sufficiency at Level 1, depth in financial reporting or management accounting and in your elective role at Levels 2 and 3, and breadth across the remaining areas at Level 4. This is why a response can feel complete and still fail. Our marking maps to the same Board of Examiners framework, so you find out where you actually sit.

Day 1 is assessed independently of Days 2 and 3. If you clear Day 1 but not the rest, you rewrite Days 2 and 3 only, and the reverse also holds. That is why we sell the Day 1 and Day 2/3 packages separately, so you can put everything into the day you actually need.

CPA Canada allows three attempts at the CFE. If you are on your second or third, the priority is working out precisely which skill cost you the marks last time rather than repeating the same preparation harder. That diagnosis is the first thing we do with repeat writers.

Most successful candidates put in somewhere between 200 and 300 hours over six to eight weeks. Quality beats volume: one case written under real timing and then debriefed properly against the feedback guide teaches you more than a day of reading technical notes. Start writing cases early rather than saving them for the final fortnight, so you still have time to fix what they reveal.

The materials, videos, live classes and portal access are identical. The with-marking tier adds a set number of cases marked by a member of our team against the CFE rubric, with written feedback on what to fix. Without marking, you write the cases and debrief them yourself using the solutions and feedback guides. If you are confident diagnosing your own work, self-study is enough. If you are not sure why you lost marks last time, marking is the part that answers that.

A Canadian CPA on our team, not an algorithm and not an answer key. They read your response against the same competency framework the Board of Examiners uses and tell you where the marks were available and where you missed them. Our marking is deliberately stricter than the real exam, so the feedback is useful rather than reassuring.

Up to 24 months, so a deferral or a rewrite does not mean paying twice. Access ends at whichever comes first: you pass the CFE, 24 months from enrolment, or the September 2028 CFE. That last cap exists because these materials are built for the CFE as it is written today and do not carry into the 2027 CPA Professional Program. Technical notes are updated during your window and the new version is sent to you automatically.

Some of them, yes. Quants Mastery, the mock exam, STRONG Answers, the SSN Bundle, the Trigger Library and the practice cases are all sold individually. The live classes, video lessons, walkthroughs, templates, study plans, Decision Matrix and community forum are not sold separately at any price and only come with a package. If you want one specific thing, buy it on its own. If you want the teaching, that is what the package is.

If you join our program, no. We cover the same case-writing ground more efficiently, and paying for both splits your attention. If you are preparing on your own without structured case practice and marking, then yes, take it rather than walking into the exam having never written a case. Either way we recommend buying the Capstone 2 review materials separately for about $250, because they include the official feedback guides.

Whichever day you are rewriting. If you cleared Days 2 and 3 and are rewriting Day 1, take the Day 1 package. If you cleared Day 1, take the Day 2/3 package. There is no benefit in buying coverage for a day you have already banked, and we would rather you put the whole budget into the day that matters.

Yes. Our cases, technical notes and marking rubrics are updated to reflect the current CPA Canada Competency Map, along with changes to tax law, IFRS and ASPE, and what recent sittings have actually tested. Updates made during your access window are sent to you.