In this series focused on EVR reporting, CPA Alberta’s Practical Experience team provides information on the technical competency practical experience requirements and tips on reporting EVR experience. If you haven’t read the previous posts, click here for part 1 and here for part 2. Part 3 focuses on CPA Alberta’s review process and common issues.
When a candidate submits a CPA Review request in PERT, it is assigned to one of our CPA reviewers. Each of these individuals is a CPA with experience across public practice and industry. Their role is to assess the candidate’s experience, provide guidance on completion of the Practical Experience Requirements, and when appropriate, advise candidates they are eligible to apply for membership.
CPA reviews most commonly occur at the 12-month point and at 30-months. However, depending on prior experience or if the Practical Experience (PE) team has any concerns with the role, a review may occur earlier or more frequently. Finally, if a candidate changes jobs, then they will have to undergo a Change of Job CPA review. All candidates will have at least two reviews conducted.
When reviewing a candidate’s experience, our CPA reviewers will review their job description along with their experience report. If necessary, the reviewers will conduct research into the organization the candidate works for or the industry they are working within. The reviewer is seeking to gain a strong understanding of the candidate’s duties as they relate to the CPA competencies, specifically the complexity of those duties and the frequency and autonomy with which they are performed. Candidates are requested to give three examples demonstrating each competency area—this is to give the reviewers a good sense of their work and help them understand the items just noted.
Revisions are common and should be expected by candidates. Firstly, the reviewers almost always has questions about the role or duties that haven’t already been reported by the candidate. Secondly, the reviewer, who is more well-versed in the CPA competencies, will advise the candidate on where they have accurately or inaccurately claimed proficiency, and guide them in what they need to demonstrate in order to be awarded proficiency in a particular area.
While the questions may feel frustrating, it’s important to keep in mind that CPA reviewers and candidates have a common goal—to ensure candidates’ are appropriately awarded competencies demonstrated in their experience. If at any time a candidate has questions or concerns about their review, they are encouraged to reach out to their CPA reviewer.
The most common revisions requested by CPA reviewers are to gain information on the complexity, frequency, and autonomy of tasks and to gain additional examples of reported duties.
After all revisions have been addressed and the reviewer is comfortable with their assessment, they will have the candidate submit the report for a final supervisor verification; this ensures that all changes still accurately reflect their position. As such, supervisors can expect to verify the report twice—once before the CPA review and once at the end of it.
We hope that this post provided more context around the CPA review process. The next topic in this series will focus on mentor meetings. Post four will be posted soon, so stay tuned!
