McGill.CA / Desautels Faculty of Management / Programs / Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting / Admissions

Admission Requirements

Admissions for Summer 2023 have closed.

COVID-19 & Admissions 2023
Due to the exceptional circumstances surrounding COVID-19, many universities have offered an S/U option for impacted courses. For admission to the McGill GCPA program in 2023, we will recognize S/U grades for all prerequisite courses completed in winter 2020 (January to April 2020), as long as the overall minimum GCPA requirement is met. Please note that all other S/U grades in any prerequisite course will not be accepted as having met the minimum requirements for admission into the program.

Currently for students admitted to the full-time GCPA Program at the Desautels Faculty of Management the only complementary courses offered during the program will be those that allow CPA’s to practice Public Accounting (Practice of Taxation and Assurance Services). Students wishing to pursue other CPA paths such as Financial Analysis or Performance Measurement (management accounting) should contact the McGill School of Continuing Studies or apply to the National Program.
 

Development of Professional Skills

Strategic thinking and professional skills including report writing and making presentations are useful skills for a professional accountant.  Students are encouraged to develop those broader skills in their undergraduate studies whether through course selection (your electives) or by participation in case competitions or similar activities.
 

Before Applying

If you have not met the minimum grade requirements of B- or are missing any of the prerequisite courses, you will be refused on the basis of not meeting all of the requirements to the GCPA program. You will be asked to re-apply after you have completed all of the prerequisites, which would involve another application and application fee.

NOTE: Applicants must also meet the requirements outlined by the OCPAQ for the university where they obtained their undergraduate degree.
Admission to the program is highly competitive and meeting the minimum requirements does not secure entry into the GCPA program. 

Please select from the following options:

If you completed a Canadian BCom

Applicants who complete a BCom program must complete the following courses, or their equivalents, with minimum grades of B-. 

ACCT 351 Intermediate Financial Acct 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ACCT 352 Intermediate Financial Acct 2 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ACCT 361 Management Accounting 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ACCT 362 Cost Accounting 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ACCT 385 Principles of Taxation 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ACCT 453 Advanced Financial Accounting 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ACCT 463 Management Control 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ACCT 475 Principles of Auditing 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

ACCT 486 Business Taxation 2 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

BUSA 364 Business Law 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

FINE 342 Corporate Finance 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

NOTE: Applicants must also meet the requirements outlined by the OCPAQ for the university where they obtained their undergraduate degree.
Applicants who obtained their undergraduate degree in a different province must also verify the requirements outlined by the CPA Order of that province.

If you completed a BCom degree at Concordia University

Requirements for Concordia University applicants:

ACCO 310 Financial Reporting I
ACCO 320 Financial Reporting II
ACCO 330 Cost and Management Accounting
ACCO 340 Income Taxation in Canada
ACCO 420 Financial Accounting III
ACCO 435 Strategic Case Analyses
ACCO 440 Advanced Taxation
ACCO 450 Assurance Services (or ACCO 360 Principles of Auditing as of Fall 2017)
COMM 315 Business Law (Core course)
COMM 305 Managerial Accounting (core course)
FINA 385 Theory of Finance I or FINA 395 Theory of Finance II

Note: Applicants must also meet the requirements outlined by the OCPAQ for the university where they obtained their undergraduate degree.

If you did not complete a Canadian BCom degree, you must complete the Diploma in Accounting

Students holding a different Canadian degree must complete the Graduate Diploma in Accounting (30 credits) at the School of Continuing Studies and additional courses as necessary to satisfy the following required 14 prerequisite courses, with minimum grades of B-.

The prerequisite courses required within the Graduate Diploma in Accounting are:

CCAU 511 Auditing 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CCFC 511 Financial Accounting 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CCFC 512 Financial Accounting 2 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CCFC 513 Financial Accounting 3 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CCMA 511 Managerial Accounting 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CCTX 511 Taxation 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CFIN 512 Corporate Finance 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

Complementary and additional courses required:

CCLW 511 Law 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CCMA 522 Managerial Accounting 2 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CCMA 523 Managerial Accounting 3 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CCTX 532 Taxation 2 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CFIN 522 Applied Topics:Corporate Finan 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CMIS 541 Info Systems for Managers 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

CPL2 552 Strategic Management 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

If you have any questions about the Diploma in Accounting program, please call the School of Continuing Studies directly.
688 Sherbrooke Street West, 11 floor
Montreal, QC H3A 3R1
Tel: (514) 398-6200
Email: info.conted [at] mcgill.ca
 

Students who have not completed a Canadian B Com degree with a major in accounting may want to consider the national PEP program route instead of the McGill GCPA. For the national PEP program students will be able to complete missing prerequisites through the CPA PREP (PreRequisite Education Program) program, a series of on-line modules that cover topics required to enter the National PEP program. More information can be obtained from Canadian CPA Certification Program website.

NOTE: the CPA PREP courses are not acceptable as prerequisites for the McGill GCPA programs.

 

You completed your degree outside Canada

If an applicant has an accounting degree from a foreign university, this does not imply that the student has fulfilled all the requirements for direct entry to the Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting. Most courses may have to be taken in order to ensure that the student obtains the Canadian perspective on financial accounting, auditing and taxation rules and regulations (Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Generally Accepted Auditing Standards and the Canadian Income Tax Act).

In almost all cases, L'Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec will require students with foreign degrees to take the Diploma in Accounting offered through the School of Continuing Studies.

Applicants can save time by going directly to the School of Continuing Studies to inquire about their Diploma in Accounting program before contacting L'Ordre.

If you have any questions about the Diploma in Accounting program, please call the School of Continuing Studies directly.
688 Sherbrooke Street West, 11 floor
Montreal, QC H3A 3R1
Tel: (514) 398-6200
Email: info.conted [at] mcgill.ca


L'Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec can be contacted at:
5 Place Ville Marie
Office 800
Montreal, Quebec H3B 2G2

Tel: (514) 288-3256
Toll free: 1- 800-363-4688              
Fax: (514) 843-8375
Email: info [at] cpa-quebec.com 

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