{"id":1699,"date":"2025-07-02T15:13:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/the-cpa-profession-and-the-protection-of-the-public\/coup-doeil-sur-la-profession-de-cpa\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:22:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:22:46","slug":"the-profession-at-a-glance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/general-public\/the-cpa-profession-and-the-protection-of-the-public\/the-profession-at-a-glance\/","title":{"rendered":"The profession at a glance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do CPAs&nbsp;do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>CPAs are involved in every sector of the economy. Their skills allow them to play a role in their organizations that goes beyond accounting and finance.<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"block-accordions-group accordion-container aligndefault wp-block-vortex-blocks-accordions-group\">\n  \n\n<div id=\"cpas-in-public-practice-or-sole-practitioners\" class=\"accordion ac\" data-open-by-default=\"false\">\n  <div class=\"accordion__accordion\">\n    <button class=\"accordion__header-row accordion-toggle ac-header ac-trigger\">\n      \n      <p class=\"accordion__header__title\">          CPAs in public practice or sole practitioners      <\/p>\n      <span class=\"accordion__header__icon\" role=\"presentation\">\n          <span class=\"plus\"><\/span>\n      <\/span>\n    <\/button>\n    <div class=\"accordion__sub-rows wysiwyg ac-panel\">\n      \n\n<p>Many CPAs work in public practice where they may be called upon to provide services in such areas as business and accounting consulting, for instance in assurance, taxation and indirect taxes, financial reporting, information technology, financial planning, business valuation and turnarounds, insolvency and forensic accounting.<\/p>\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"cpas-and-public-accountancy\" class=\"accordion ac\" data-open-by-default=\"false\">\n  <div class=\"accordion__accordion\">\n    <button class=\"accordion__header-row accordion-toggle ac-header ac-trigger\">\n      \n      <p class=\"accordion__header__title\">          CPAs and public accountancy       <\/p>\n      <span class=\"accordion__header__icon\" role=\"presentation\">\n          <span class=\"plus\"><\/span>\n      <\/span>\n    <\/button>\n    <div class=\"accordion__sub-rows wysiwyg ac-panel\">\n      \n\n<p>Under the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/ShowDoc\/cs\/C-48.1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Chartered Professional Accountants Act<\/em><\/a>, public accountancy&nbsp;is the activity reserved to CPAs. This activity consists in expressing an opinion to provide a level of assurance about a financial statement or any part thereof, or about any other information related to the financial statement; this corresponds to an assurance engagement, which comprises the performance of an audit or a review engagement, as well as the issue of special reports. Public accountancy also includes compilation engagements, which are not intended exclusively for internal management purposes and which give rise to the issue of a Notice to Reader.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"cpas-and-management\" class=\"accordion ac\" data-open-by-default=\"false\">\n  <div class=\"accordion__accordion\">\n    <button class=\"accordion__header-row accordion-toggle ac-header ac-trigger\">\n      \n      <p class=\"accordion__header__title\">          CPAs and management      <\/p>\n      <span class=\"accordion__header__icon\" role=\"presentation\">\n          <span class=\"plus\"><\/span>\n      <\/span>\n    <\/button>\n    <div class=\"accordion__sub-rows wysiwyg ac-panel\">\n      \n\n<p>Almost all organizations turn to CPAs for their strategic leadership. CPAs add value and credibility to an organization\u2019s management. They manage finances and cash, develop financial and administrative policies, analyze information and manage computer systems. Because they possess a high-level view of the organization and apply advanced management practices, many CPAs hold key positions in organizations as CEOs and CFOs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"cpas-in-government\" class=\"accordion ac\" data-open-by-default=\"false\">\n  <div class=\"accordion__accordion\">\n    <button class=\"accordion__header-row accordion-toggle ac-header ac-trigger\">\n      \n      <p class=\"accordion__header__title\">          CPAs\u00a0in government      <\/p>\n      <span class=\"accordion__header__icon\" role=\"presentation\">\n          <span class=\"plus\"><\/span>\n      <\/span>\n    <\/button>\n    <div class=\"accordion__sub-rows wysiwyg ac-panel\">\n      \n\n<p>The expertise of CPAs is needed at all levels of government to guide financial planning and control public finances. In addition to the provincial auditor general, who is always a chartered professional accountant, CPAs are employed in various government departments, Crown corporations and organizations as senior public servants, internal auditors or financial analysts. Some are appointed ministers or deputy ministers and become leaders who can suggest and implement innovative solutions to improve the performance of government bodies.<\/p>\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"cpas-in-education\" class=\"accordion ac\" data-open-by-default=\"false\">\n  <div class=\"accordion__accordion\">\n    <button class=\"accordion__header-row accordion-toggle ac-header ac-trigger\">\n      \n      <p class=\"accordion__header__title\">          CPAs\u00a0in education      <\/p>\n      <span class=\"accordion__header__icon\" role=\"presentation\">\n          <span class=\"plus\"><\/span>\n      <\/span>\n    <\/button>\n    <div class=\"accordion__sub-rows wysiwyg ac-panel\">\n      \n\n<p>Many CPAs make a significant contribution to society by teaching future leaders what they need to know not only about accounting and taxation, but also about finance, management, values and ethics. They are also key contributors to the advancement of accounting sciences in innovative fields.<\/p>\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/section>\n\n\n<div class=\"notification-message aligndefault notification-message--warning notification-message--outline\"\n>\n   \n\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">Being an accountant is not the same as being a&nbsp;chartered professional accountant!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike accountants, CPAs are supervised by a professional order, the Ordre des CPA du Qu\u00e9bec, whose primary mission is to protect the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-text-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\">See what sets CPAs apart from accountants<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-text-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/general-public\/find-a-cpa\/orders-membership-roll\/\">Check whether your accountant is a CPA<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-text-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/general-public\/the-cpa-profession-and-the-protection-of-the-public\/the-profession-at-a-glance\/the-different-cpa-designations\/\">Learn more about the various CPA designations<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do CPAs&nbsp;do? CPAs are involved in every sector of the economy. Their skills allow them to play a role&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1680,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1699","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-05 20:21:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"translation_priority","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1699"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15096,"href":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1699\/revisions\/15096"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpaquebec.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}