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SOA Preparation Program

The SOA Preparation Program is a program intended to supplement a student’s personal study program for the 2012 School of Accountancy (SOA) Examination. The program includes the following three modules:
  1. Professional Practice: five days focused on multi-subject integrative cases in five competency areas (governance, strategy and risk management, performance measurement and reporting, assurance, finance and management decision-making). Two days will be focused specifically on the comprehensive exam.;
  2. Advanced Taxation: two days focused on reviewing the more complex personal and corporate taxation topic areas; and
  3. Mock Examinations: there will be one four-hour SOA multi-question mock examination AND one five-hour comprehensive mock examination written at home and e-mailed to the Institute to be marked using an SOA evaluation guide. There will also be an opportunity (tentative) for students to write the mock examinations on-site at the ICAO. Comments will be provided by the markers on each response to help students improve their performance. The mock examinations used will be the 2011 SOA mock examinations updated for any changes in 2012.

The program is integrated with the School of Accountancy to minimize overlap of content. Further details on each module are included in the links under "Related Items".

Program Options

The program can be taken in whole or in part, as a student registers for each module separately. Program options include:

1.  Course and Materials
2.  Materials Only
3.  Mock Examinations

1.  Course and Materials

The course sessions are delivered in a seminar format and are facilitated by experienced instructors. Technical knowledge examined at the university level and on the Core-Knowledge Examination is assumed. 

The program will be offered in Toronto, subject to minimum enrolment, on weekends commencing in late January 2012 and ending in March 2012. In 2012, we will open registration for sessions to be held on Saturdays and second sessions to be held on Sundays. Both dates are subject to minimum enrolment. If this minimum enrolment level is not reached for either date, students will have the option of transferring to another session or to receive a refund, without penalty. In addition, space will be limited for each session.

Detailed information regarding session locations will be provided when registrations are confirmed.

2.  Materials Only

To enable students who live in remote areas and students unable to attend sessions to benefit from the Institute’s SOA Preparation Program, the course material is available for purchase. However, studying only the course material is not intended to be a substitute for attending the lectures/workshops. Students able to do so are urged to apply for and attend the sessions.

Firms or firm consortia and district associations may also purchase the materials for "in-house" presentation. Those wishing to do so are subject to a copyright fee equal to the number of students in their program multiplied by the per diem course material fee less an appropriate discount based on the number of students.

Course material will be sent in two shipments. One or two modules will be sent in February and the balance of the material will be sent in March. We will make every effort to send the material as early as possible.

If students who have registered for materials only in the current session would subsequently like to switch to the course and materials option of the program, they are able to do so, subject to both space availability in the program and a transfer fee of $50 (plus HST), in addition to the fee differential owing.

3.  Mock Examinations


Students who register for this module will be e-mailed the SOA mock examination(s) to write at home and return to the Institute via e-mail by 9am on Friday, March 30, 2012 (multi) and by 9am on Friday, April 13, 2012 (comp), to be marked by a professional marker, including personalized comments, using an SOA evaluation guide. Students will be permitted to purchase the multi or the comprehensive mock examination separately.

Note that a limited number of spaces will be available on Friday, March 30 and April 13 (for the multi and comp respectively) for students to come to the ICAO building in Toronto to write the exam as a group. An e-mail will be sent to those who have purchased the practice exams in March with details on the writing centre.

The material for the mock examinations will be e-mailed to students in February to allow sufficient time to return the completed examination by the deadline of 9am on Friday, March 30, 2012 (multi) and 9am on Friday, April 13, 2012 (comp).