When you become a part of the Chartered Accountant Training Office program, it’s understandable if you have questions. It’s important that students have access to the experience required to earn the coveted and distinguished title of Chartered Accountant and that CA Training Offices are able to develop the best leaders for their business. This eLearning Module has been developed to answer some of the important questions you may have about proficiency levels, depth and breadth competencies and the variety of important roles involved in being a CA Training Office. Our goal is to help you get the most out of the CA Training Office program and develop the best CAs and the future leaders for your business.
CA Qualification is competency based, consisting of three components. The first two, education through the profession’s formal education program and assessment through the Uniform Evaluation, are not part of the information contained on this website. Instead, this site focuses on the third element — Practical Experience. It’s this experience that enables CA students to develop and enhance their professional abilities and judgment, demonstrate CA values and ethics and gain a sense of “belonging” to the CA profession by applying their formal learning in Chartered Accountant Training Offices. These CA Training Offices, by definition, are specific organizations that have been approved by a Provincial Institute/Ordre as being able to meet the requirements of the profession and include CA firms, corporate and government employers.
A CA Training Office experience provides CA students with the opportunity to:
The skills developed through these opportunities are known as CA competencies. It’s this emphasis on practical experience that ensures CA students develop the knowledge and abilities expected of an entry-level CA – whatever the type or size of the Training Office.
All CA students fulfill their practical experience requirements by working in a CA Training Office, which may be in a CA firm or in an organization in the corporate sector or public sector. Every CA student will gain the competencies required of an entry-level CA by working in a CA Training Office which meets the rigorous practical experience requirements of the profession, including:
- minimum term of Practical ExperienceA CA Training Office is considered capable of training CA students when it is able to demonstrate the ability to satisfy all of these requirements. While the profession will periodically meet with the CA Training Office to discuss and monitor the program, it’s the regular discussions between the CA student and the CA Training Office that ensure students are progressing towards achieving the expected competency standards.
The minimum term of practical experience is three years for all CA students, including graduate-level professional education. Students must complete this minimum term within a rolling five-year period.
To understand the term of practical experience, excluding graduate-level professional education, you should check with your local Institute/Ordre.
The specific competencies developed depend on the CA Training Office at which the CA student is working. While CA Training Offices are approved based on their ability to develop the required competencies, the agreed-upon competencies and competency areas will vary among CA Training Offices. In total there are six specific competency areas: Assurance; Performance Measurement and Report; Taxation; Governance, Strategy and Risk Management; Management Decision-Making; and Finance. All CA students are exposed to at least three competency areas in varying degrees throughout the program – one competency area as their Depth and two others as their Breadth areas. Students wishing to learn more about the depth and breadth areas in their CA Training Office should speak to their Counselling Member or Training Principal.
Within each of the specific competency areas, there are a number of competencies. Each competency has its own proficiency level requirements, set out as Level 0, Level 1 and Level 2.
Level 0 assumes students have had little or no exposure to that competency.
At Level 1 they have the basic knowledge and skills required to complete assigned tasks.
When students reach Level 2, they are able to work independently at a level reasonably expected of an entry-level CA.
If you would like to read some examples and get a more detailed explanation of the expectations at each Proficiency Level, they can be found here.
Because the development of specific competencies is an integral part of the program, it’s important to take a look at the Depth and Breadth areas in greater detail.
To develop and demonstrate their proficiency as an entry-level CA, students typically spend a minimum of one third of their practical-experience term developing their depth competencies.
The area of depth being developed at each CA Training Office is based entirely on the specific CA Training Program approved by the local Provincial Institute/Ordre.
The area of depth can be in any of the competency areas. At the end of their practical experience, students must have had the opportunity to gain direct working experience in ALL the specific competencies within their depth area, i.e. they must be at Level 1 or above.
For students who may wish to practise public accounting in the future (which includes working in the external audit path of a CA firm), there are some additional specific requirements. These include developing Assurance as the area of depth; and specific chargeable hour requirements on audit, review and taxation engagements within a CA firm. More details on these requirements can be found here
At the end of their term of practical experience, students must also be at a Level 2 in more than half the specific competencies in their depth area, i.e. they can demonstrate the ability to work independently in the majority of the competencies within this area at a level reasonably expected of an entry-level CA.
Minimum Requirements on Final RQE for Chosen Depth Area:Specific Competency Areas |
Minimum # of Competencies at Level 1 |
Minimum # of Competencies at Level 2 |
Total Competencies in That Area |
Assurance |
3 |
4 |
7 |
Performance Measurement and Reporting |
3 |
4 |
7 |
Taxation |
2 |
4 |
6 |
Governance, Strategy and Risk Management |
2 |
4 |
6 |
Management Decision-Making |
3 |
4 |
7 |
Finance |
3 |
4 |
7 |
In addition to their depth area, CA students must develop two breadth competency areas.
The breadth areas being developed at each CA Training Office is based entirely on the specific CA Training Program that has been approved by the local Provincial Institute/Ordre
At the end of their term of practical experience, students are expected to be at Level 1 in at least half of the competencies in their two breadth areas.
They must also be able to demonstrate the ability to work independently – have a Level 2 proficiency – in half of the competencies in which they have direct experience.
If a CA student’s area of depth is not Performance Measurement and Reporting or Assurance, they must develop a Level 2 proficiency in three specific competencies identified in Performance Measurement and Reporting. Achieving these three competencies at Level 2 satisfies the requirement for one breadth area.
Minimum Requirements on Final RQE for Your Chosen Breadth Areas:Specific Competency Areas |
Minimum # of Competencies at Level 1 |
Minimum # of Competencies at Level 2 |
Total Competencies in That Area |
Assurance |
2 |
2 |
7 |
Performance Measurement and Reporting |
2 |
2 |
7 |
Taxation |
1 |
2 |
6 |
Governance, Strategy and Risk Management |
1 |
2 |
6 |
Management Decision-Making |
2 |
2 |
7 |
Finance |
2 |
2 |
7 |
Some CA students and CA Training Offices have expressed concern that the wording of some specific competencies appears to be beyond what would be reasonably expected of an entry-level CA. This makes it difficult for CA students to develop a level 2 proficiency by the end of their practical experience. What’s important to understand is that the level of involvement required to develop a given competency at a Level 2 proficiency will vary among CA Training Offices, depending on the level of complexity, i. e. the complexity of the task, the client and the organization.
When a Training Office is approved by the profession, it is approved to develop specified depth and breadth competency areas based on the practical experience outlined by the organization. It should give CA students some peace of mind to know that the CA Training Office is committed to allocating the responsibilities required to develop these competency areas.
To provide some clarity on proficiency levels, consider these three illustrative examples, which we hope will provide you with an understanding of our approach to defining a Level 2 proficiency. If so, you can then apply this logic to all other specific competencies being developed within any CA Training Program:
1. The external audit-based career path at a national CA firm versus a small local CA firm.
The last competency in Assurance describes drawing conclusions, documenting findings, contributing to a summary report and participating in a presentation to stakeholders. Obviously the level of involvement with a presentation to stakeholders varies greatly depending on the size of the client.
An entry-level CA working at a large national CA firm may be exposed to auditing multinational organizations; as a result, presenting to stakeholders is likely to be limited to meeting with the client to discuss the audit findings.
On the other hand, the audit engagements of an entry-level CA working for a small local CA firm may include privately held organizations, where the client may be less complex. Presentations by entry-level CAs could include participation with the audit committee and/or board of directors (BOD).
For CA students, both of these situations could contribute to developing the last competency — Assurance at a Level 2 proficiency. In the first example, because an entry-level CA may not participate in a presentation to the audit committee and/or board of directors, a meeting with the client should and would likely be at a similar level of complexity that would enable him or her to develop the required competencies.
At the smaller CA firm, due to its size, the client may be less complex but the exposure to the stakeholders is more significant through access to the audit committee and/or board of directors. As a result, this opportunity would enable the entry-level CA to develop the same competency as previously described for an entry-level CA at a larger CA firm.
2. External financial reporting for a large publicly-traded national corporation versus a privately controlled regional organization
Working in a corporate CA Training Office often includes practical experience in financial reporting. Understandably, the specific tasks relating to competencies in Performance Measurement and Reporting could be quite different, depending on the level of complexity of the organization and its financial statements.
In terms of preparing or reviewing financial statements and accompanying notes, an entry-level CA working for a large publicly-traded national corporation may be assigned specific accountabilities within the overall financial statements. Since an entry-level CA at a business of this size would not be expected to have overall accountability for the entity’s entire financial statements, the level of complexity of this more specific task could give him or her the experience required to substantiate a CA student developing a Level 2 proficiency.
Meanwhile, an entry-level CA working for a small privately controlled regional organization may be expected to draft the complete set of financial statements and accompanying notes since they are less complex in nature. In this situation, the task could support the same level of competency development as the previously described tasks of an entry-level CA at a larger corporation.
3. Spending one year of practical experience in the external audit practice of a CA firm versus the internal audit department of a corporate CA Training Office.
Not only do CA students need to be aware of varying degrees of responsibility in the experiences that develop competency, they also need to realize that different CA Training Offices may train students over different periods of time.
For instance, the internal audit department of a corporate CA Training Office may be limited to one industry and may only have a small number of employees. The resulting specialization and exposure may provide these CA students with an active involvement in sufficient aspects of a large number of financial and operational audits to enable them to develop the required number of competencies at a Level 2 proficiency for Assurance to be their area of depth within one year.
Conversely, within the first year in the external audit practice of a CA firm, students may not receive sufficient exposure to the risk assessment and planning stages in order for Assurance to be considered a depth competency. In these cases, sufficient experience for the development of competencies expected of an entry-level CA, may not happen until the second or third year.
As a result of these differences, when it comes to competency development, it’s important that judgment is used to understand the CA student’s experiences, progress and needs. While each CA Training Office is approved to develop students in specific competency areas, if the Line Manager is not able to provide appropriate work experience or the CA student believes he or she is not on track because of a lack of exposure to the required experience, the Counselling Member should be notified.
If you have further questions about competency development, feel free to check out our FAQs.
In addition to these Specific Competencies, each CA student must have the opportunity, through work experience, to develop and demonstrate all of the Pervasive Qualities & Skills.
Pervasive Qualities and Skills are the professional attributes and abilities that all CAs are expected to bring to every task. These are the hows of a CA’s work and combined with the Specific Competencies, produce the technical excellence, integrity, objectivity and commitment to the public interest for which the CA profession is known.
Unlike the Specific Competencies, students must have had the opportunity to acquire and demonstrate ALL of the Pervasive Qualities and Skills by the end of their term of practical experience.
Pervasive Qualities and Skills contains three specific areas:
1. Ethical behaviour and professionalism means acting with integrity by upholding ethical values and is fundamental to the profession’s commitment to excellence and the public interest.
2. Personal attributes make up the second part of Pervasive Qualities and Skills and involve a series of qualities and characteristics that must manifest themselves in all professional undertakings and at every stage of a CA’s career.
3. Professional skills are vital to a CA student’s professional success and encompass the creation, analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information and ideas; problem-solving and decision-making skills; communication and management skills; and proficiency in technology.
You can learn more about Pervasive Qualities and Skills here
The development of these Pervasive Qualities and Skills and the Specific Competencies discussed earlier is tracked through meaningful conversation with the CA student’s Counselling Member and is recorded through the Record of CA Qualifying Experience, or RQE.
Students must update their RQE at least semi-annually to reflect their current progress and are responsible for maintaining copies of each of their RQEs throughout their practical experience term and for at least one year after receiving their CA designation.
To maintain their RQE, students must record their relevant learning experiences and competency development, identify the CA competencies they’ve demonstrated on particular assignments and assess their progress and level of competency development.
Simple step-by-step instructions on how to complete the RQE can be found here.
After the CA student has filled in the final RQE at the end of his or her term of practical experience, the Training Principal must signoff on the CA Student’s period of practical experience. This contributes to the final assessment of whether the student has met the requirements to become a Chartered Accountant. Since this report may be integrated into a pre-designed form, it’s best to check with your local Provincial Institute/Ordre as to what’s required to be submitted.
It’s the Provincial Institute/Ordre that makes the final assessment of whether the CA student has met the requirements to become a Chartered Accountant. This determination is based on:
Education. The student must have met the profession’s academic and professional education requirements. There is additional information available on the regional professional education programs.
Evaluation. The student has passed the profession’s Uniform Evaluation
Practical Experience. The student has met the profession’s practical experience requirements, including the length of the practical experience term and the demonstrated ability to perform the required depth and breadth of CA competencies.
As CA students progresses through their competency development, they will interact with a variety of people within their Training Office.
For the CA Training Office program to be a great success for your business, it’s important that everyone, including CA students, has a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities involved. While the roles of Line Manager, Training Principal and Counselling Member do not need to be filled by different individuals, it’s important that everyone understand how their role fits into the broader expectations of the CA Training Program.
When the CA student starts, the Counselling Member should meet with him or her to discuss the specific training program that has been approved by the profession. The Counselling Member can introduce the concept of the RQE and explain the competencies that will be developed throughout the term of practical experience. This will allow the student to understand how the specific CA Training Program will correlate to the competencies required. While not mandatory, this is a best practice that can help the student prepare for the term of practical experience ahead. Grandparented CA firms will not have a customized map, but can use the Sample Audit Mapping Tool to give CA students the same understanding and expectations.
While employed at the CA Training Office, the CA student will have frequent interactions with the Line Manger, who is responsible for supervising the student on assignment and liaising with the Counselling Member to ensure assigned duties are consistent with the competency matrix. While a Line Manager may not be a CA, he or she is endorsed by the CA Training Office as being technically competent in areas that the student will be working. The CA student will always be under the overall supervision of a CA.
The Line Manager typically evaluates the performance of the CA student and makes recommendations for improvement. During rotation, the Line Manager will also discuss the CA student’s performance with the Counselling Member.
The Counselling Member must be a CA in good standing with a Provincial Institute/Ordre or have been given permission by a Provincial Institute if he or she is an internationally trained accountant [note: in Quebec, Counselling Members must be members of the Ordre]. His or her primary responsibility is to act as a mentor to his or her CA student. With the important job of being a role model, providing specific guidance, assistance and insights, the Counselling Member is meant to help his or her student become an excellent entry-level CA and highly valued employee.
Through at least semi-annual meetings with the CA student, the Counselling Member will discuss the RQE and ensure the student is being exposed to the practical experience needed to develop his or her specific depth and breadth competencies. The Counselling Member is not expected to assess the specific competencies developed by the student; instead, through these meetings and discussions with the student’s Line Manager and other relevant inputs, he or she is to ensure that the student is on track to completing the CA Training Office’s specific CA Training program. The Counselling Member must document that these semi-annual meetings with the CA student have taken place, either by signing the RQE or through the CA Training Office’s internal performance management system. When the CA student is being supervised by a Line Manager who is not a CA, the Counselling Member should meet more regularly with the student; these meetings do not need to include a formal discussion of the RQE.
If the Counselling Member feels that the student is not on track to becoming a CA, he or she is responsible for making sure actions are taken. If the student is not being exposed to the required experience, the Counselling Member should request the necessary schedule or task modifications from the CA Training Office or involve the Training Principal to make such modifications. If the CA student is not performing at the level expected, a plan of action should be discussed and documented in the RQE and the Training Principal should be told of the problem and proposed solution.
The Counselling Member should also talk to the Training Principal if there are:
The role played by the Training Principal is more strategic in that it involves overseeing the program during the CA student’s term of practical experience. The Training Principal is usually a very senior employee or owner of the CA Training Office and a CA in good standing with the Provincial Institute/Ordre.
The Training Principal works in partnership with the profession to continually improve the training process in order to create the best CAs possible. Through conversations with the appropriate Provincial Institute/Ordre/Region, he or she gains answers to questions and discusses concerns or suggestions about CA student training. If the Counselling Member requires it, the Training Principal can make the necessary scheduling changes to ensure the CA student is getting the required experience as laid out in the CA Training Program approved by the profession.
If changes are required to the program, the Training Principal will liaise with the profession to make the necessary changes, which can include:
These tasks can be delegated to the Counselling Member so long as the Training Principle is aware of and approves the changes to be submitted to the appropriate Institute/Ordre/Region.
Each CA student also has responsibilities he or she is required to fulfill throughout the term of practical experience.
At least semi-annually, a student must document his or her exposure to sufficient high-quality, relevant, practical experience that provides the opportunity to develop the required depth and breadth competencies of an entry-level CA. This is done by completing the RQE, part of which includes reflecting on past successes and shortfalls as key learning experiences and tracking his or her development of the Pervasive Qualities and Skills.
In order for the CA Training Office to be able to keep track of the CA student’s development, the student must meet with the Counselling Member at least semi-annually to discuss his or her development. If the student feels that he or she is not receiving the experience necessary to develop the competencies required to be admitted into the profession, the Counselling Member should be informed.
On the final RQE, the student should be able to show that he or she has reached the necessary proficiency levels for each depth and breadth competency area. The Training Principal may wish to review it before signing off on the student’s period of practical experience, though there is no requirement to do so.
At the end of a CA student’s term of practical experience, it’s the Training Principal’s responsibility to sign off on the student’s period of practical experience. Before he or she can sign the required form, however, the Training Principal may want to review the student’s final RQE and make sure the Counselling Member has no issue with the student’s performance. Otherwise, the Training Principal is relying solely on the Counselling Member. If everything is as it should be, the Training Principal should feel comfortable in attesting to the student’s period of employment in the CA Training Office’s CA Training Program. Since the required signoff on the CA student’s period of practical experience may be integrated into a pre-designed form, it’s best to check with your local Provincial Institute/Ordre as to what’s required to be submitted.
The student is required to maintain a copy of his or her RQE for the duration of the term of practical experience and for at least one year after qualification. Unless requested, there is no requirement to submit any RQE to a Provincial Institute/Ordre. Rather, the Institute/Ordre may ask the student to submit the RQE as part of the profession’s on-going monitoring process.
Whatever your role within the CA Training Office program, whether you’re a CA student, Counselling Member, Training Principal or thinking about becoming a CA Training Office, we’re committed to helping you ensure that together we build tomorrow’s business leaders.
If you have any questions about the topics covered in this eLearning Module, you can return to it and explore it as needed. Our site also has links, resources and detailed information for you to reference at any time throughout the program. For more information, you can also contact us at your convenience.
