Practical Experience

CPA Practical Experience Requirements

On the path to the designation, CPA candidates must complete a 30-month term of relevant practical experience known as the Practical Experience Requirements (PER).

Applying skills in the real world provides CPA candidates numerous opportunities to use their education in a hands-on way, developing the professional competencies defined by the CPA certification program.

Your practical experience will:

• Build on the foundation of skills and knowledge gained in the CPA Professional Education Program in actual workplace settings.
• Facilitate the development of the profession’s values, ethics and attitudes as you develop your professional identity.
• Enhance your thinking and decision-making in different situations.

Not only will your practical experience be supervised, but it must be recorded at regular intervals and assessed by the CPA profession. In addition, you will have a CPA mentor that provides support and ensures you are reaching different milestones along your journey to
the designation.

Obtaining Practical Experience

You can complete the PER through one of the following routes, or in a combination of the two below:

1. Pre-Approved Program Route: This route is a training position offered by employers that have been pre-approved by the profession. These roles are crafted in order for you to fulfill the PER within 30 months in the workplace. View a listing of offices that have been pre-approved in Manitoba.
2. Experience Verification Route: This route provides flexibility in your role but requires more reporting and can be completed through an employer of choice – provided that the role allows you to demonstrate competencies and gain the relevant experience required.

Practical Experience Reporting

Candidates reporting practical experience in the CPA Practical Experience Reporting Tool (PERT) must submit their practical experience for review and recognition to the profession. The submission of practical experience reports is outlined within PERT and the date of submission is set by the profession. The profession follows the CPA Practical Experience Requirements (PER) document as the base for evaluating and recognizing submitted practical experience through PERT. All candidates must meet the PER to be eligible for CPA membership, by reporting qualifying practical experience to achieve the development of required competencies gained under appropriate supervision and mentorship for a minimum of 30 months.

Candidates who report CPA practical experience through the profession's online Practical Experience Reporting Tool (PERT), are employed with a public accounting firm and need to report chargeable hours for the purpose of meeting requirements of their pre-approved position may access the CPA Public Accounting Chargeable Hours Submission Form.

For questions on practical experience reporting, contact the CPA Manitoba Practical Experience department. 

Resources

• CPA Practical Experience Requirements - include the general practice experience requirements for certification as a CPA and the specific practice experience requirements for those seeking registration to practice public accounting.
• CPA Practical Experience Overview - a brief overview of the requirements and process involved in achieving the practical experience requirements.
• CPA Practical Experience Requirements: The CPA Practical Experience Competencies - provides full details about the technical and enabling competencies future CPAs must develop through their term of qualifying practical experience.
• CPA Practical Experience Requirements: Reporting and Assessments - provides specific details about how reporting works for both routes you can take to obtain your practical experience requirements.
• PER Reporting Templates for Candidates - Enabling and Technical Competencies - recommended by CPA Manitoba to help you format your responses when submitting your experience for both enabling and technical competencies. While using these templates is not a requirement, you may find them helpful in keeping your responses concise and providing the profession reviewer with relevant information, which may reduce the number of revisions on your submitted experience report(s).
• CPA Mentorship Program: Overview for future CPAs - provides further information about the CPA Mentorship Program.
• The CPA Harmonized Practical Experience Policies - outlines the profession’s expectations regarding the implementation of policies for qualifying practical experience, mentorship, transition rules and reporting and assessment.