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The Public Accountants Council for the Province of Ontario (the Council) is a corporate body that was
continued under the Public Accounting Act, 2004 (the Act). Its purpose is to ensure that public
accounting in Ontario is practised in accordance with internationally respected
public accounting standards that reflect the public interest in the delivery of
superior quality public accounting services.
The Council oversees the regulation of public accounting in the public
interest by:
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Developing and maintaining the standards that a designated
body must meet in order to be authorized to license and govern the
activities of its members as public accountants and raising the standards
as required; |
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Determining which designated body meets the standards,
when it meets them and whether it continues to meet the standards after it
is authorized to license and govern the activities of its members as
public accountants; |
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Overseeing the designated bodies in their capacity to
license and to govern the activities of their members as public accountants; and |
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Maintaining public confidence in public accounting through
the appropriate prosecution of offences under the Act. |
The designated bodies named in the Act are the:
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Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario |
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Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario |
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Society of Management Accountants of Ontario |
Public accounting is the business of expressing independent assurance and
certain other services in respect of financial statements and other financial
information of enterprises where it can reasonably be expected that the services
will be relied upon or used by a third party.
The Standards of the Council require a designated body that seeks to be authorized to license and govern the
activities of its members as public accountants to meet certain minimum
standards relating to its:
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education, examination and practical experience
requirements; |
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rules of professional conduct, mandatory practice
inspections of public accountants, the use of generally accepted
accounting principles and generally accepted assurance standards,
discipline procedures, the issuing of new licences to former licensees,
the issuing of licences to persons who are permitted to practice in other
jurisdictions, and mandatory professional liability insurance; |
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governance standards respecting the licensing and
governing the activities of its members as public accountants. |
The Council's Standards were
finalized and adopted on June 20, 2006.
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