Mentors FAQs

To support CPA candidates as they acquire the competencies expected of a Chartered Professional Accountant.

CPA Alberta mentors must meet both of these qualifications:

• Be a CPA member in good standing with CPA Alberta for the duration of mentorship

• Successfully complete an orientation session delivered by the profession.

Mentors are expected to stay up to date on CPA practical experience requirements.

If you are an out-of-province CPA who wishes to mentor a CPA Alberta candidate, you will need to register for affiliate membership through Membership by Provincial Affiliation.

If the mentor or mentee transfers out of Alberta, please reach out to us at practicalexperience@cpaalberta.ca.

If you are interested in becoming a mentor, you will need to complete the mentor application and watch a 12-minute orientation video (available in the mentor declaration portion of the form). This can be found on the PERT | Create Mentor Profile webpage below. 

The mentor application typically takes two (2) to three (3) business days to process. Once approved, your mentee will be able to add you as their mentor directly in their PERT profile. 

Mentors provide guidance on the competency development of a CPA candidate, and model and facilitate the development of the profession’s values, ethics, and attitudes.

Mentors must meet at least semi-annually with their mentee, in person, by phone, Teams, etc., to discuss competency development as recorded in PERT and to identify strategies for further development. While mentors may also discuss competency development with the supervisor of the CPA candidate, they are expected to maintain confidentiality about the candidate’s progress.

Mentors are required to document any unresolved competency development concerns within PERT, but are not responsible if the CPA candidate does not develop competencies as expected. Mentors are not expected to:

1. Verify the accuracy of the CPA candidate’s self-assessments or competency development.
2. Help CPA candidates progress in pre-requisite education, CPA Professional Education Program, or CPA evaluations.
3. Find jobs for CPA candidates.
   
   

CPA candidates must meet with their mentor at least semi-annually. The number of actual meetings and the time per meeting is based on achieving learning outcomes.

Most CPA candidates will require less than 15 hours of mentorship per year with the investment of time likely happening at the beginning of the relationship.

CPA candidates who are working toward their practical experience requirements through the Experience Verification Route can have any qualified mentor, regardless of industry or company, provided they are a registered member in good standing with CPA Alberta.

The success of the mentorship program is largely attributable to a successful match between CPA candidate and mentor. Working within the same company, industry, or sector can increase the probability of a successful match.

Yes, if the mentoring relationship complies with the following:

• The mentor cannot be subordinate to the CPA candidate.

• While the employer of the CPA candidate can be an audit client of a mentor’s employer, the mentor cannot be a part of the team assigned to the client.
  
  

CPA candidates in the Pre-approved Program Route (PPR) are assigned a mentor by their organization.

CPA candidates in the Experience Verification Route (EVR) are responsible for finding their own mentor. Refer to the link below to view resources to help with finding a mentor.

Mentors must indicate in their mentor profile in PERT (please view the webpage link below) that they are part of a pre-approved program by adding their organization. This allows candidates in the PPR to add the mentor to the candidate’s PERT profile.

Please also review your current capacity. If you have reached capacity, you may increase the number of mentees in your PERT profile.

Ideally, a mentor will stay with the CPA candidate until that individual has completed their CPA practical experience requirements.

We appreciate situations may require a mentor to stop mentoring a specific individual, or withdraw from the mentorship program altogether. To end a mentor relationship with a candidate, access the Mentor Profile and select “View My Mentees,” then select the “End Relationship” button.

Meetings may be in person, by phone, or other form of communication technology such as Teams or FaceTime, but they must be synchronous.

Written communication such as email or text, do not qualify as a meeting. These latter forms of communication can provide additional support, if required.

Mentors meet at least semi-annually with their mentee to discuss competency development, determine the reasonability of the CPA candidate's self-assessments for the technical and enabling competencies as recorded in PERT, and to identify any strategies for further development.

Mentors are required to document any unresolved competency development concerns within PERT, but are not responsible if the mentee does not develop competencies as expected.

A mentor meeting checklist is provided in the 'Mentor Guides and Resources" tab on the Mentor webpage below. 

The request for a mentor meeting will remain active within PERT until it is completed or the CPA candidate cancels the request.

When documenting the mentor meeting, you can backdate it to the date the meeting occurred.

Please note that once you have submitted the details for the meeting, it cannot be edited. If you have made any errors and cannot edit the meeting, please contact us at practicalexperience@cpaalberta.ca, and we can reopen the meeting to be edited accordingly.