Common Final Evaluation

The Common Final Evaluation (CFE) is the last examination CPA Students took in pursuit of the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation in Canada. The 3-day CFE is also reputed to be among the world's most challenging professional exams where students are required to use an integrative business thinking model to obtain the designation. Previously known as the Uniform Final Evaluation (UFE), the UFE has been discontinued following the unification of the three accounting designations (CA, CMA, CGA) in Canada and Bermuda in June 2015.

Administered nationally by CPA Canada, and conducted regionally by the provincial/regional orders, the CFE is written over the course of three sequential days and is the culmination of years of study in financial accounting, management accounting, corporate finance, performance management, taxation and other business-related university courses. Writing the CFE requires successful completion of preliminary education requirements including CPA preparatory courses and Professional Education Program (PEP). Upon passing the CFE and 30 months of approved practical experiences, the candidate will become a Chartered Professional Accountant[1].

CPA Competency Map

Technical Competency

  1. Financial Reporting
  2. Management Accounting
  3. Strategy & Governance
  4. Audit & Assurance
  5. Corporate Finance
  6. Taxation

Enabling Competency

  1. Professionalism
  2. Ethical Behaviour
  3. Written & Oral Communications
  4. Leadership
  5. Problem Solving
  6. Decision Making

Old UFE Competency Map:

  1. Governance, Strategy, & Risk Management
  2. Performance Measurement and Reporting
  3. Assurance
  4. Finance
  5. Management Decision-Making
  6. Taxation
  7. Pervasive Qualities (Including both business and professional ethics and other overarching considerations such as fraud awareness)

Exam structure

Students must demonstrate the depth and breadth of their abilities according to the CPA Competency Map. Students answer questions which are presented in the form of business cases that include a combination of both explicit and implicit requirements for each case's "users", followed by a list of exhibits that provide case facts from which observations, suggestions and conclusions are derived. Common scenarios include providing advice on how to conduct an audit, advising a client on the pros and cons of investing funds in a given business venture, and providing support to an organization as an internal accountant or auditor.

The 3-day exam consisted of case based simulations[2]:

  • Day 1: candidates will have 4 hours to write a case in relation to the Capstone 1 group project. Candidates will be assessed on enabling competencies such as communications skills and professionalism, as well as some technical competencies.
  • Day 2: students would choose an elective "depth" area from 4 competency areas - Performance Management, Finance, Assurance and Taxation. Day 2 will last 5 hours and students must be "Competent" in the chosen elective area as well as Financial Reporting and Management Accounting. Note that students wishing to pursue a Public Accounting Licence must have passed Assurance and Taxation[3].
  • Day 3: multiple (usually 3) multi-competency cases would be provided within a time frame of 4 hours.

All students must demonstrate "depth" in financial reporting or management accounting for the CFE, and one of the elective areas. Students should also demonstrate "breadth" in all 6 competency areas.

Evaluation Criteria

All CPA cases are evaluated based on "Competency Ratings". They are:

  • Not Addressed (NA): Candidate has not addressed the Assessment Opportunity.
  • Not Competent (NC): Candidate has addressed the Assessment Opportunity, but the analysis is incorrect or not related to the issue.
  • Reaching Competent (RC): RCs and Cs are both counted towards "Breadth" test for day 3. RC candidates demonstrate more proficiency and understanding than NC, but not at the Competent level.
  • Competent (C): the amount of Cs are used for the "depth" test on day 2. Competent candidates demonstrate the required competency levels as expected by a CPA.
  • Competent with Distinction (CD): Candidates are not expected to achieve this high level of competency. CDs are essentially Cs in terms of exam grading.

Pass Rates

The exam is administered once per year during September and approximately 5,500 students attempt the exam each year. National pass rates for 2003 to 2008 have been 65.5%,[4] 74.5%,[5] 74.0%,[6] 79.3%,[7] 74.6%,[8] and 71.7%[9] respectively. Exam results are released in late November following each September sitting of the UFE.

Beginning with the September 2009 UFE, the Board of Evaluators no longer releases statistics on pass rates.

Beginning in September 2015, the Board of Evaluators began releasing statistics on pass rates. The following are the first attempts of CFE Pass Rates[10]:

  • 2017 September CFE 77.6%
  • 2016 September CFE 76.8%
  • 2016 May CFE 68.7%
  • 2015 September CFE 82.9%

Exam Entry Method

Since 2005, students have been able to type in their responses on laptop computers secured with Securexam (CA) lockdown software in all regions of Canada.[11] Use of computer is no longer voluntary. It became a requirement to use a computer starting with the 2009 UFE.

CFE Honour Roll & Gold Medal

In recognition of the highest standing UFE candidates annually:

2015 - http://www.cpaontario.ca/ck35/2015_Honour_Roll_E.pdf

2007 - http://www.cpaontario.ca/MediaRoom/MediaReleases/1009page8298.aspx

Successful Candidates

2014 BC - http://www.albertacas.ca/docs/events/here.pdf?sfvrsn=0

References

  1. ↑ "The new Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) certification program: Overview". CPA Canada. CPA Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "How each day of the CFE works". CFE Blog. CFE Blog. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "Elective Depth Role". CPA Ontario. CPA Ontario. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  4. ↑ Institute of Chartered Accountants in Canada and Bermuda: "Uniform Evaluation Report 2003", page 12. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, 2004.
  5. ↑ Institute of Chartered Accountants in Canada and Bermuda: "Uniform Evaluation Report 2004", page 12. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, 2005.
  6. ↑ Institute of Chartered Accountants in Canada and Bermuda: "Uniform Evaluation Report 2005", page 12. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, 2006.
  7. ↑ Institute of Chartered Accountants in Canada and Bermuda: "Uniform Evaluation Report 2006", page 12. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, 2007.
  8. ↑ Institute of Chartered Accountants in Canada and Bermuda: "Uniform Evaluation Report 2007", page 12. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, 2008.
  9. ↑ "CA School of Business UFE Statistics". Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  10. ↑ "CPA certification program: Examination performance rates". CPA Canada. CPA Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Computers in the UFE". Retrieved 2008-12-25.
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