CPA Canada CFE

Overview

The Common Final Examination (CFE) is the capstone exam of the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) certification programme in Canada. It is a three-day, case-based exam that asks you to show both depth and breadth of competence against the CPA Competency Map. Day 1 is tied to the business case you worked on in the Capstone 1 module of the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP).

The exam is set nationally by CPA Canada and administered by the provincial and regional CPA bodies, which handle enrolment, fees and exam locations.

Who can apply

You write the CFE as part of the CPA PEP, after completing the Capstone 1 module. The first time you write, you must attempt the Day 1 case linked to the Capstone 1 module you completed, if that case is offered at your sitting. This also applies if you took Capstone 1 through an accredited programme.

You choose your Day 2 elective depth role in advance. CPA Ontario recommends choosing one of the two elective modules you completed in the CPA PEP.

Levels or stages

Day 1: the Capstone 1 case

• Up to 4 hours.

• Common to all candidates.

• Tests enabling skills: critical thinking, decision-making, professional judgement and integration, using a case linked to your Capstone 1 group work.

• You have access to your Capstone 1 case during the exam, but not the solution or your group work.

Day 2: the role case

• Up to 5 hours. CPA Canada designs it to be finished by an average candidate in about 3.5 hours; the extra time is for sorting case information and organising your answer.

• One large case, answered from the point of view of one of four elective roles chosen in advance: Assurance, Finance, Performance Management or Taxation.

• Tests depth in the core competencies of Financial Reporting and/or Management Accounting, plus depth in your elective.

• If you want a Public Accounting Licence, you must choose Assurance as your role. Licensure candidates must show depth in the Assurance role's elective competencies on Day 2 and depth in Financial Reporting across Days 2 and 3 combined.

Day 3: the multi-competency cases

• 240 minutes in total, made up of 3 or 4 shorter cases. No single case is longer than 90 minutes or shorter than 45 minutes.

• Common to all candidates, set at the knowledge level expected at the end of Core.

• Tests breadth across all six competency areas and gives further chances to show depth in Financial Reporting and Management Accounting.

Syllabus

The CFE draws on the CPA Competency Map. Day 1 uses the common knowledge from the Core and Entry levels; Day 2 focuses on Financial Reporting or Management Accounting and one elective; Day 3 covers all six competency areas.

Standards and tax rules that are testable are those in effect, or substantively enacted for tax, as of 31 December of the year before the exam. Anything released between 1 December and 31 December is not testable. On all three days you have access to restricted resource material, including the CPA Handbooks, the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act and tax reference information. Tables with ten or more lines of financial information are pre-loaded into the exam spreadsheet so you can copy them into your answer.

Marking and results

• Day 1 is assessed on your enabling skills and how well you link your answer to the Capstone 1 case.

• Days 2 and 3 together decide whether you have shown enough depth; the number of chances to show depth across the two days is equated for fairness.

• If you fail Day 1, you can retry Day 1 at the next sitting without repeating Capstone 1. A Capstone 1 case is used for Day 1 twice before it is retired, so after a second Day 1 fail you must prepare the new Capstone 1 case.

• If you fail either Day 2 or Day 3, you must rewrite both days.

• If you fail all three days, you rewrite the whole CFE at the next sitting.

Important dates

For CPA Ontario students, enrolment for the June 2026 CFE ran from 2 February to 2 March 2026, and for the September 2026 CFE from 27 April to 25 May 2026.

CPA Ontario states that June 2026 is the final spring sitting of the CFE, and that 2028 is the last opportunity to write the September CFE.

Fees

Fees are set by each provincial body. CPA Ontario's fees for 2026, in Canadian dollars plus HST:

A change of exam location within Ontario costs $50 plus HST.

How to apply

Enrol through your provincial CPA body. In Ontario, log in to My Portal, choose Manage My Journey, then CPA PEP, then Enrol, and complete the enrolment, acknowledgements and declarations. CPA Ontario accepts online payment by Visa, Mastercard or Amex, or payment by your employer.

You cannot defer the CFE. To move to a later sitting, you withdraw and enrol again. Withdrawing before the start of your first writing day does not count as an attempt; attending Day 1 and then missing Days 2 and 3 counts as an attempt at all three days.

Preparation tips

• Know your Capstone 1 case well, since Day 1 builds directly on it.

• Pick your Day 2 role from the electives you studied in the CPA PEP.

• Practise with past CFE cases and marking guides in the CFE Board of Examiners' reports published by CPA Canada.

• Check the latest technical update for examinations so you know which standards are testable.