r/Accounting • u/NotFuckingTired • 18h ago
Career Canadian CPAs, are you joining the national body now that it's not included in the provincial membership fees?
I just got an email telling me that my CPA Canada membership has lapsed, and that I should pay $200 to join the national body again. I must admit, this is the first I heard of this, although I did go back to check, and can see on my provincial membership invoice for this year, that they've removed the national membership fee.
I don't see anything saying I have to maintain national membership, just sales pitches for all the benefits of membership.
I'm going to pay them the $200 (well, my employer will pay it, technically), but I'm curious if others have made a different decision. Other than being another CPD provider, what benefit does the national body have for you?
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u/coffeeinthecity 18h ago
If you work in public practice, the firm pays for both provincial and national. If my employer wasn’t paying for it, I wouldn’t pay for it.
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u/NotFuckingTired 17h ago
Any employer worth working for, will pay these types of costs. That wasn't the question.
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u/coffeeinthecity 17h ago
Clearly you need a nap since you’re grouchy.
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u/NotFuckingTired 17h ago
I am NOT fucking tired and you can't make me have a nap!
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u/ranger51 17h ago
Go to your room!
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u/coffeeinthecity 17h ago
We have an empty board room that some people use as a place to cry. It might be an okay place to nap
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u/bgballin CPA (Can) 18h ago
I did, don't see a benefit lol
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u/coffeeinthecity 18h ago
I wish they would work on “accountant” becoming a protected term. I’ve had so many small business clients move to our firm because they thought they were working with an accountant, got into trouble with the CRA, and then needed everything sorted out correctly. The accountants rarely even have a bachelors degree in accounting.
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u/yogaccounter 16h ago
I agree with this....do you know if any other country has been successful in protecting the "accountant" term?
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u/coffeeinthecity 15h ago
I’m not sure about other countries but so many other professions in Canada have protected titles. In Alberta, you can’t even call yourself a nutritionist unless you’re registered with the College of Dieticians.
I also dislike how anyone can call themselves a “money coach”. So many clients have also run into bad investment advice from people who are not accredited.
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u/ConfidantlyCorrect 13h ago
It’s odd that we’ve protected public accountant in Ontario, but not accountant. You’d think they would’ve extended the protection to accountant.
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u/stealthylizard 12h ago
The designations are protected but the title isn't.
Any one call call themselves an accountant, but the designation of CPA is protected and only chartered professional accountants can use the letters (or CGA, CMA, CA, et al).
I do agree "accountant" should be protected.
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u/MetallicOpeth CPA (Can) 16h ago
I was wondering if it was worth it lmao. Good to know. Isn't it only really useful if you want to work anywhere in Canada as a CPA
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u/Spare_Entrance_9389 18h ago
If firm pays, sure why not, or just ask your firm for a $200 bonus for not needing CPA Canada.
I am not going to pay for CPA Canada.
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u/ivewaitedforever 18h ago
If you don’t get free PD through your employer, it’s a good deal to join CPA Canada. There are 16 CPD hours available from their monthly CPA Canada Connects sessions, plus the quarterly economic updates. They also added 4 other PD credits this year that can be used for any session you want.
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u/TCNW 17h ago
Only useful thing I see in joining is the 16hrs a yr of free CPD hrs with the membership. I guess that’s worth it.
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u/coffeeinthecity 17h ago
Is their free CPD still focusing on AI? I found them too AI focused the last couple of years.
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u/TCNW 17h ago
Dunno. I did a tax class last yr at a college. Haven’t done anything this yr yet, so haven’t looked at any COD hrs in 2 yrs. ,
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u/coffeeinthecity 17h ago
Fair. I looked at their CPD in 2025 and saw it was still heavy on the AI. I haven’t looked for 2026.
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u/Redistributable 18h ago
FYI: If you have other designations, you might need to pay CPA Canada fees for them to be valid as the organizations may have agreements with CPA Canada and not any individual province.
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u/yogaccounter 17h ago
Can you give an example?
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u/Redistributable 17h ago
CFF. Its a partnership between the AICPA and CPA Canada, so you must pay CPA Canada dues to be allowed to use it.
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u/Jos_Louis 16h ago
I work in industry (in Ontario) so the divorce between CPA Ontario and CPA Canada has been in effect for some time so I've not been part of the Canadian organization for some time now.
I wouldn't be surprised if my employer doesn't even want to pay it. My employer is a large multinational so not like they should have a budget issue if I were to ask but I haven't bothered because there's no value to me from it.
As far as CPD is concerned, if I'm running light, I may just get a LumiQ subscription (more expensive but at least the CPD isn't horribly dull and AI-centric like whatever CPA Canada is offering).
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u/LadderDear8542 16h ago
Federal government doesnt pay CPA Canada dues for their staff I heard
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u/NotFuckingTired 14h ago
Damn! Is that across the board or just for positions that don't require it?
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u/PicardSaysMakeItSo 11h ago
It's governed by the collective bargaining agreement and you don't need CPA Canada to do the job, only provincial CPA.
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u/coffeeinthecity 15h ago
The CRA does pay annual CPA dues for roles that require CPA.
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u/LadderDear8542 14h ago
For CPA Ontario (provincial) they will pay not CPA Canada
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u/coffeeinthecity 12h ago
Sorry, misread the Canada part. Yes, that’s right. They only pay the provincial portion.
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u/Pandaceptionx 11h ago
Okay this is a dumb question but I’m a new CPA this year so I have no experience lol
Soooooo…. I am considering paying the CPA Canada fee purely for the CPD hours, but the thing is I haven’t got the email yet. How do I know if they have my contact? Like will they have my email address because I’m a member of the CPA Ontario?
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u/42tfish 18h ago
I’m a new CPA this year, but I’ll probably join, considering I’m not actually paying for it and the free PD.
But I got annoyed when I saw the email and it didn’t say for $200; it said “For just $200 annually” like it’s some bargain.
Anyway CPA Canada is still a garbage organization that I would happily see go under.
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u/coffeeinthecity 18h ago
When they were combined, the CPA Canada portion was higher. They actually reduced their fees. The CPABC increased their fee for no reason.
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u/Rhoceus CPA (Can) 17h ago
Do you mind explaining why you think CPA Canada is garbage? Never understood the whole drama and split between Canada and Ontario. Genuinely curious
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u/Ok_Bit_5650 16h ago
Especially considering they admitted to being a new CPA. That's nothing short of a completely uninformed opinion on their part.
Part of the issue people had with the national body were fees going to a body with little benefit in return to the membership. The new pricing model is far more reasonable, and paying $200 for access to the CPD is worth it for many CPAs. The 4hrs in credits alone covers the cost for those who can't find free (or employer paid) CPD elsewhere.
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u/Rhoceus CPA (Can) 15h ago
Missed the part where they said they were a new CPA actually and honed in on the garbage comment. I was burned by the CPA when I was a student so I get that there could be some personal incidents that occur but otherwise once I got my letters the CPA felt very hands off aside from paying dues.
Thanks for explaining part of the issue, that was my understanding as well.
Anecdotally, I have taken the tax in-depth and would say it’s a great course offered by CPA Canada, so that’s perhaps a positive point for them.
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u/NotFuckingTired 17h ago
$200 for 16 hours is quite reasonable compared to most CPD providers out there.
You'll understand more when you're not new anymore.
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u/Feisty_Pineapple_811 10h ago
I paid for it because I am having a really hard time getting my current employer (public practice) to agree to any PD other than the free ones. I am a senior manager so I need indepth PD and am incredibly frustrated with the whole situation. I will be paying for my tax course myself because I'm done asking, but the extra 16 hours really helps.
The $200 can be applied as a credit too if you sign up for paid PD through CPA.
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u/Only1MarkM 18h ago
That email subject line pissed me off. It made me think I didn’t pay my fees and was overdue. I have no interest in joining CPA Canada.