A reminder that the new Quality Management Standards are effective December 15, 2023 for firms that perform Compilation and Agreed-upon Procedures engagements for their clients.
Canadian Standards on Quality Management (“CSQM”) 1 & 2 were issued in May 2021 and were effective December 15, 2022 for firms that perform audit and review engagements.
Firms that do not perform audits or reviews but do perform Compilation and/or Agreed-upon Procedures engagements received a one-year deferral to meet these standards. As of December 15, 2023, these firms must also have a documented system of quality management. This is a new requirement for these firms.
Developing a Quality Management System for your firm will require some time and effort, so you will want to start the process early to ensure things are in place by December 15, 2023.
There are resources available to assist you in developing and documenting your quality management system, including:
- The standards themselves (CSQM 1 & CSQM 2), available through Knotia. All Alberta CPAs have access to Knotia as part of their membership;
- The Quality Management Guide, published by CPA Canada and available through the CPAstore on a subscription basis;
- Various free Quality Management guidance resources from CPA Canada (here);
- PD courses offered by CPA Alberta:
- Overview of the Standards (here)
- Application workshop (here);
- Courses and workshops offered by several independent service providers;
- Direct support from CPA Alberta via email to cpainfo@cpaalberta.ca; and
- Many of these and other resources are included in CPA Alberta’s Online Resource Centre (here).
The primary goal of the CSQM standards is to increase the quality of your work product and services through implementation of a risk-based system of quality management.
