CPA Canada releases September 2019 CFE statement

TORONTO, September 19, 2019 – The Chartered Professional of Accountants of Canada has provided an update on the writing of the Common Final Examination (CFE) in September 2019:

During the administration of the three-day Common Final Exam (CFE) there were technical delays resulting in a challenging exam writing experience for many students. We extend our sincere apologies to everyone who was affected as we know how much work goes into preparing and writing this important examination and how stressful it has been for our students. 

In response to issues caused by technical problems with the CFE, CPA Canada is retaining a third-party expert to conduct an independent, comprehensive review. The mandate includes evaluating the integrity and reliability of the September 2019 examination process. 

To inform our review, we are actively gathering information from students, proctors, and others to understand what happened and how it impacted the exam-writing experience. We are committed to maintaining the integrity of the profession and the Common Final Examination. 

An independent board of examiners oversees the CFE evaluation process. Over many years, they have developed a robust system for taking into account extenuating circumstances that affect exam-writers. Given what occurred during this year’s exam, this CFE evaluation process will be supplemented by the third-party review. 

We will proceed as quickly as possible, but our main priority is to provide the time necessary for a fair, accurate and equitable outcome. 

At the same time, we are also immediately reviewing the technical issues that arose across the country and are working with our service providers to do everything possible to avoid a future reoccurrence. 

We recognize what a difficult time this has been for many and we want to reassure exam-writers we have the people and processes in place to resolve the situation as quickly and effectively as possible.

The CPA Canada statement was provided to Canadian Accountant by Tobin Lambie, director of corporate communications, CPA Canada. Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay.