Effective January 1, 2021, all RPA members in professional accounting practice are required to go through education, training and complete evaluation process to become a Certified Accounting Practitioner. RPA members who wish to engage in the public accounting practice, issuing compilation engagement reports (Former Notice to Readers), and/or who wish to operate a professional accounting practice providing related services will need to hold an active Certificate of Accounting Practice (CAP).
The framework for certification is outlined as follows:
Starting January 2021, RPA members must attend eight mandatory online education and training sessions which will outline specific aspects of professional practice. Current online training sessions are as follows:
PPC-1: Basics of Compilation Engagements
PPC-2: Compilation Engagements (In-Depth)
PPC-3: Pro-forma Financial Statements & Projections (Forward Looking)
PPC-4: Bookkeeping/ File management & Cybersecurity and confidentiality
Case Study A
PPC-5: Ethics & Professional Code of Conduct
PPC-6: Basics of Review Engagements
PPC-7: Basics of Audit Engagements
PPC-8: Professional Communication & Correspondence
Case Study B (cumulative)
Upon completion of the first four sessions, member will be required to complete and submit a case study for evaluation before being able to continue to the remaining four sessions. Completion of the final four sessions will culminate in a final case study to be submitted for evaluation which will cover material from all eight seminars.
Starting January 2022 RPA members also need to take the following compulsory courses designed for the RPA – Certification of Accounting Practice:
Effective December 14, 2021, all accounting practitioners are required to prepare compilation engagements under the new CSRS 4200 standards. This in-depth course by Zaed Yousif, CPA, CA provides hands-on opportunities to apply the standard to different scenarios, provides a comparison with the previous standard and with other non-assurance standards, outlines all the checklists and steps required in the planning/ acceptance stage, and how to properly reference and tie trial balance amounts to the compiled financial information. The course also provides best practices for compilation engagements and addresses frequently asked questions from practitioners with respect to CSRS 4200.
Furthermore, the course offers you a look into how to easily navigate a compilation report through CaseWare software and how to lockdown and archive your working papers to make sure they are inspection-ready.
Ethical behavior is critical for the protection of public interest, the success of your career and your practice. But ethics are not always black and white. Many factors can affect how people respond in ethically gray situations, including conflicts of interest, fear of failure, and business pressure. To ensure you have a strong ethical compass, you need to be informed and prepared. In this course, filled with practical examples and live-action scenarios, expert Robert Finlay, RPA helps you understand what business ethics are and why they are so important. Robert also describes how to promote ethical behavior from top to bottom and explains how ethics are evolving in a rapidly changing world.
Members – Please review the upcoming changes and ensure that you understand your obligations and responsibility to complete these requirements before starting your accounting practice. It is imperative that every member complies with these requirements before applying CSRS 4200.