Bill 61, Chartered Professional Accountants Act, was passed on May 16, 2012. Once the Act comes into force, the three orders will join to become the new Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés, which will have a membership of 35,000 accounting professionals in Quebec, making it the third largest professional order.
It was at the invitation of the Office des professions du Québec that the Ordre des comptables en management accrédités, the Ordre des comptables agréés and the Ordre des comptables généraux accrédités had entered into discussions about the future of the accounting profession in Quebec at the end of 2010. These discussions led to the preparation of a concrete proposal to unify the accounting profession in Quebec that is based on the full recognition of the fields of expertise of the three accounting groups.
After presenting the guiding principles and highlights of the proposal to unify the accounting profession to their members using a wide range of methods, including a provincewide tour conducted by the leaders of the three orders and an on-line information session that was accessible until Bill 61 was adopted, the respective boards of directors of the three orders issued a favourable recommendation to the Quebec government on the unification of the accounting profession.
Given the favourable recommendation of the three orders, the Minister of Justice and Minister responsible for the application of professional legislation, tabled Bill 61, Chartered Professional Accountants Act, that will constitute the Ordre des CPA du Québec, on March 28, 2012.
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The pan-Canadian initiative
The leaders of CMA Canada, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and CGA-Canada are currently discussing the issues common to the entire accounting profession in Canada and the best way to position the profession and the members of these organizations for the future.
All information about the development of this initiative can be found at www.cpacanada.ca.