Canada was the second nation in the world to formally organize its accounting profession, after the United Kingdom, but it occurred in a fragmented manner by both locality and specialty.
[na 7] The latter two bodies were organized in an irregular manner compared to those of other provinces,[a] which resulted in their qualifications not being recognized by Nova Scotia until 1925,[10] and by Quebec and Ontario until 1926.
[11] Outside Canada, the Dominion of Newfoundland incorporated the Institute of Accountants in 1905,[na 8] but was pressured to revoke statutory protection of its designation the following year.
[na 10] Tensions erupted following a disciplinary hearing in 1890 held by the Institute of Accountants of Ontario into an audit conducted with respect to Confederation Life.
[12] The early CA bodies, with the exception of the AAM, also started to relax their entrance requirements to allow the admission of accountants who were not in public practice.
Ontario passed an Act in 1908 granting the ICAO exclusive rights to the CA designation,[na 12] and, on DACA's petition, the Governor in Council disallowed it in 1909, on grounds of federal paramountcy in having created a national body, as described in a memo by Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Sir Allen Aylesworth recommending the measure.
[c][na 17] Despite initial assurances that its members would refrain from practicing public accounting, it began advertising examinations in that field in 1917, thus triggering conflicts with the CA bodies that would last for decades.
[27][na 22] This initiative was generally accepted in most provinces, but there was resistance in British Columbia as the promoters of that effort were only CGAs and independent accountants.
[35] The "International Society of Commerce" ("ISC") was first noted in an advertisement in Hamilton, Ontario, as early as 1921,[9] and its members were conferred with the designation of "Accredited Public Accountant" ("APA").
As no future licenses would be conferred on APAs after 1962 as a result of that year's reorganization of the Public Accountants Council, it would gradually cease to exist over time.
[46] While the three national bodies supported merger discussions, there was significant tension among their memberships, notably within the CAs,[47] and at one point the CGAs and CMAs in Ontario withdrew from talks because of concerns over the potential loss of their identity.
[48] Proponents of the proposal argued that it would strengthen the influence, relevance and contribution of the Canadian accounting profession with domestic and international stakeholders and serve the public interest through common codes of conduct, disciplinary systems and licensing regimes.
[74] On March 28, 2012, a bill was tabled in the National Assembly of Quebec to create the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec.
In a news release (subsequently affirmed during debate on the bill's second reading),[97] the Province noted that this was the first of two steps in the process, with merger of the three accounting bodies and updating the regulatory framework taking place at a later date.
A companion Act was passed at the same time to expand the role of the Public Accountants Board of Nova Scotia, so that it can issue separate licenses for performing auditing and non-auditing functions.
The 2010-2011 CA/CMA position paper on the proposed merger gave five reasons why it should be pursued:[102] There was significant resistance by the CA membership at the time, who were concerned that their collective image would be diminished as a result.
[103] Following the consolidation, the following observations have been made: As possession of a Canadian professional accounting designation is not generally a mandatory requirement to hold a Canadian financial position, other professional bodies have members who also work in Canada, of which the most significant are: The provincial CPA bodies have been active in seeking to protect the designation.
In October 2019, however, CPA Ontario and the Quebec Ordre failed in their oppositions filed at the Trademarks Opposition Board with respect to certain trademark applications filed by AICPA and CIMA, as the protections secured by provincial statutes were irrelevant in the face of their prior use by the foreign bodies as governed by federal law.