| Certified General Accountants (CGAs) are professional accountants and
members of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada), which
was founded in 1908 and was officially established by an Act of Parliament on
June 6, 1913. Having over 40,000 certified members and 23,000 students in 2004, CGA-Canada is the second largest and fastest
growing professional accounting association in Canada. Canada’s CGAs are represented by CGA-Canada and by their local CGA
association.
In order to become a CGA, one must successfully complete the CGA professional studies program, which consists of 14 foundation
and advanced courses, four professional admission certification examination (PACE) courses, and two business cases. A candidate
must also hold a post-secondary bachelor degree and satisfy practical experience requirements before certification.
Taking a general approach to accounting, CGA is the only professional accounting program in Canada that provides students the
opportunities to complete their entire accounting education within the accounting body. CGA is also the only Canadian accounting
body, which has partnership agreements with post-secondary institutions that assist students to earn bachelor degrees
concurrently with the professional accounting program.
The CGA program of professional studies is currently being offered in Canada, in
Bermuda, in several Caribbean
countries, and in a number of universities throughout China and Hong Kong. CGA currently has about 2,000 international members.
CGAs are employed by businesses of all sizes and from all sectors. A number of them are partners in public practice firms;
others work in government, industry, commerce, or non-profit sector. As of 2005, CGAs are authorized by provincial legislations
to perform audits of public companies in every province and territory in Canada, except Quebec. Judicial rulings have granted CGAs the rights to audit a selected list of public bodies in Quebec. Pursuant
to the terms of the Agreement of Internal Trade (AIT), CGA-Canada has commenced challenges to the audit restrictions in
Quebec.
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