Students interested in becoming a Chartered Professional Accountant can take most of the required courses for direct entry into the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) Professional Education Program (PEP) in the Bachelor of Commerce program at UCW.

The CPA PEP is a two-year graduate-level program leading to the Chartered Professional Accountant designation.

UCW has an articulation agreement with the Chartered Professional Accounts of British Columbia and students can transfer UCW credits towards being eligible for the Professional Education Program.

The UCW professors teaching these courses are CPA certified.

“The articulation agreement will provide more career options for students in our Bachelor of Commerce degree program,” said UCW President Brock Dykeman. “Our students are already learning about accounting so this will allow them to pursue the designation after they finish their degree at UCW.”

Students interested in becoming a CPA must first complete an undergraduate degree in any discipline. Then, they must check to see if their undergraduate degree covers the 14 finance and accounting courses required for entry into the CPA program. The Bachelor of Commerce degree at UCW is a great choice for aspiring accountants since students can take up to 10 of the required courses while pursuing their degree. The remaining four courses can be taken through the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC or other institutions.

Once a student has successfully completed all 14 courses with an average grade of 65% or better, they can complete the 24-month CPA Professional Education Program (PEP) and the 30-month Practical Experience Requirements concurrently. They must then pass the Common Final Examination to become a Chartered Professional Accountant in British Columbia.