Ontario accountants to unite under CPA designation

Today, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and the Certified General Accountants of Ontario signed a unification agreement.

The groups are now one step closer to uniting the province’s accounting professionals under the CPA designation, which has been a goal since 2011.

Starting today, all of Ontario’s certified general accountants will now become members of CPA Ontario.

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Already, a separate agreement between CPA Ontario and the Certified Management Accountants of Ontario has led to all CMAs becoming members of CPA Ontario. That occurred in April 2014.

“Our combined memberships of more than 80,000 [are] now part of a unification movement that represents all of Canada’s more than 185,000 designated accountants,” says Robert Scullion, chair of CPA Ontario. “This is a significant achievement, one which brings the opportunity for a united accounting profession to speak on behalf of the public interest and its members.”

In total, 74% of CPA Ontario members who voted supported unification, while 97% of CGA Ontario members who voted also favoured unification.

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Gong forward the leadership teams of CPA Ontario and CGA Ontario will begin to integrate the organizations. And, as the final step to complete the unification of the accounting profession, CPA Ontario will seek a Chartered Professional Accountants Act to replace the current acts overseeing the separate designations in the province.

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