Registration of a professional accounting firm (PAF) with CPA Alberta is required if a CPA practitioner is:
- intending to open an office location or advertise services in Alberta; OR,
- providing or offering to provide assurance services (i.e., audit, review, or other assurance engagement)
Each CPA practitioner, partner and/or signing authority that will be performing services in Alberta or for an Alberta client will need to complete the following:
- Register as a member with CPA Alberta.
- Submit the Verification of Public Practice form.pdf – Sections 1 & 2 are to be completed by the member and section 3 is to be completed by the members’ Provincial Body. The member is asked to have their Provincial Body return the completed form directly to CPA Alberta.
Upon submission of the above information, we will assess your eligibility and inform you of the next steps for registering a PAF. The processing time for PAF assessments is typically between 10 to 20 business days but may extend depending on the volume of assessments received by CPA Alberta.
Once the assessment process has been completed, and depending on the results of the assessment, the next step will be to complete and submit a PAF application. Processing time for a complete PAF application is between 10 to 20 business days, depending on the volume of applications received by CPA Alberta.
Please note that if you choose to operate in a corporate manner in Alberta, it must be through a professional corporation (i.e., Inc., Ltd., etc. are not permitted). Information regarding the professional corporation registration process can be found online at the following link:
Professional Corporation
The Out of Province Professional Accounting Firm Registration Decision Model helps in determining what type of registration (if any) may be required.
Any questions regarding this registration process can be submitted to the Corporate Registrations Team by email to:
PAF@cpaalberta.ca