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CA Reciprocity Examination (CARE)

2010 Chartered Accountancy
Reciprocity Examination

To become a Chartered Accountant in Ontario, a member in good standing of an accounting body outside Canada that has signed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with the CICA and the provincial and territorial CA institutes must apply to the Institute to become a membership candidate and must fulfil the Chartered Accountancy Reciprocity Examination (CARE) and practical experience requirements prescribed by the Institute’s Council.

The CARE is the means by which the provincial and territorial CA institutes measure the requisite professional competence in a Canadian context. Specifically, the CARE examines candidates on their knowledge of Canadian taxation, Canadian business law and the Canadian CA profession’s rules of professional conduct.

The successful completion of the CARE by a membership candidate is required in order to qualify for admission to membership in the Institute, to use the Chartered Accountant designation and CA initials in Ontario, and to hold out to be or to offer services as a Chartered Accountant in Ontario.

Intending to practise public accounting following admission to membership in the Institute?

If you are intending to practise public accounting following your admission to membership in the Institute, please note that a public accounting licence is not required in order to be a member of an engagement team, including the quality control reviewer or other expert.  However, a member of the Institute is required to have a licence issued by the Institute if the member is the lead engagement person responsible for signing a statement or report when:

• the engagement statement or report is issued in Ontario, or the engagement work is primarily performed in Ontario; and
• the statement or report is issued in respect of
  • an assurance engagement for which a licence is required, including an audit or review engagement; or
  • a compilation engagement for which it can reasonably be expected that all or any portion of the compilation or associated materials will be relied upon or used by a third party and which is not accompanied by the prescribed Notice to Reader.

If you intend to be the lead engagement person on any such engagements, you should be aware that you will be required to fulfill prescribed public accounting experience and other requirements as set out in the Institute’s bylaws, which may include the successful writing of a prescribed licensing examination in addition to the CARE, in order to qualify for a public accounting licence.

The New CARE

In keeping with the global move to International Financial Reporting Standards, beginning in 2010 the CARE will no longer test a candidate’s knowledge of any significant differences between Canadian accounting and assurance standards and those of a membership candidate’s home country.  As a result, the new CARE is a four-hour, 100-multiple-choice-question, non-disclosed examination that covers Canadian taxation (50 marks), Canadian business law (20 marks) and the Canadian CA profession’s rules of professional conduct (30 marks). The CARE tests knowledge, comprehension and limited application of knowledge but not higher-order skills.

The CARE remains a closed-book examination, in that membership candidates are not permitted to bring any reference materials with them into the examination writing centre. However, please note that the CARE is now non-disclosed in that the examination booklets are collected at the writing centres and the examination questions and solutions are not published.  Practice sets of multiple choice questions will be available to membership candidates who registered for the CARE Preparation Program to help them prepare.

While the new CARE is intended to satisfy the examination component of the requirements for eligibility to practise public accounting across Canada, Ontario’s Public Accountants Council (PAC), which prescribes the standards for the licensing of public accountants in Ontario, is currently reviewing the changes to the CARE and has not yet determined whether the new CARE meets its standard.

Should the PAC ultimately determine that the new CARE does not meet its standard, an additional licensing examination covering Canadian accounting standards and Canadian auditing standards may be required for those who, following admission to membership in the Institute, wish to be licensed as public accountants in order to fulfil the role of lead engagement person on assurance engagements or compilation engagements for which a public accounting licence is required.  The Institute will notify all applicants of the outcome of the PAC review and post a notice on the Institute’s website as soon as it is known, along with any related implications for eligibility to be licensed as a public accountant.

CARE Preparation

The Institute will host a CARE Preparation Program that will be held in Toronto from Wednesday August 11 to Friday August 13, 2010.

The CARE Preparation Program will review Canadian taxation, Canadian business law and the Canadian CA profession’s rules of professional conduct over a three-day in-class program. Participants will be given a practice multiple-choice-question examination with commented solutions as a take-home exercise.

Registration Due Dates

CARE Preparation Program

• • Registration will be allowed until August 10, 2010 without a late fee.

CARE

• • The completed registration form and examination fee is due at the Institute no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday September 17, 2010.
  • A late registration fee of $45.00 will be applicable for forms received at the Institute after Friday September 17, 2010 and before 5:00 p.m. on Friday October 15, 2010.
  • NO registrations will be accepted after Friday October 15, 2010.

Examination Dates, Time and Location

The 2010 CARE will be held on Monday October 25, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. in the Institute’s offices at 69 Bloor St. East, Toronto.

Release of Results

Results are reported as a successful or an unsuccessful attempt.  No alpha or numeric grades are reported.

The results of the CARE will be mailed to membership candidates on December 10, 2010.

The names of the successful membership candidates who consented to the publishing of their names will be posted on the Institute website on December 10, 2010, after 10:00 a.m. Membership candidates who did not consent to the publishing of their names may call the Institute after the website release, if they wish to receive a verbal result.

CARE Examinable Standards and Examinability Dates

For detailed coverage of the CARE, please download the 2010 CARE Brochure.

You can expect the 2010 CARE to examine the following materials to the extent that it is integral to the demonstration of your knowledge of Canadian taxation, Canadian business law and the Canadian CA profession’s rules of professional conduct.

Federal Taxation Legislation

• • You are responsible for federal taxation legislation enacted as at March 31, 2010.
    

Business Law, Canadian CA profession’s Rules of Professional Conduct and Council Interpretations

• • You are responsible for the fundamental principles of Canadian business law as at March 31, 2010.
  • You are responsible for the Rules of Professional Conduct and Council Interpretations published by your provincial or territorial CA institute and updated on or before March 31, 2010.

You are not responsible for provincial tax legislation or tax law applicable only to specific industries.

Queries

General questions related to RECIPROCITY ELIGIBILITY, MEMBERSHIP CANDIDACY AND REGISTRATION for CARE should be directed to Brenda Lun, Co-ordinator, Member and Student Records.

Specific questions related to the 2010 CA Reciprocity Examination and the CARE Preparation Program should be directed to Dominique Charles Lecocq, CA, Associate Director, Education.