CGA in Canada & Worldwide
The national and provincial Certified General Accountants' Associations combined represent more than 73,000 CGAs and students in Canada and around the world. CGAs across Canada acquire their professional designation after completing the CGA Program of Professional Studies. CGAs work throughout the world in industry, commerce, finance, government, public practice and other areas where accounting and financial management is required. Whether it is as the CEO of a company, a university professor, CFO of a not-for-profit or a public practitioner, CGAs have the education and experience to provide technically proficient, strategic and real world skills and professional judgement to their employers and clients.
The Provincial and Territorial CGA Associations derive their authority from charters granted by their respective provincial or territorial governments. Mobility Agreements between provincial CGA Associations allow CGAs to practice across Canada. Each province has at least one voting representative on CGA Canada's Board of Governors. The CGA Program of Professional Studies is also offered through education centres in Bermuda, the Caribbean, China, and Hong Kong.
International Agreements
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) signed a global mutual recognition agreement (MRA) in 2006. In 2008, the Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia (CPA Australia) and CGA Canada announced a Mutual Recognition Agreement and in June 2009, signed a third MRA with CPA Ireland. These agreements provide a route for qualified members of either body to become a member of the other and enjoy the benefits of membership in each organization.
CGAs working internationally or with multi-national organizations will find the ACCA and CPAA designations open a large network around the world.
Find out more information about CGA international partnerships here.
History
The CGA designation has come a long way in just over 100 years, from a small group of likeminded CPR staff accountants in Montreal in 1908, to the worldwide leader it is today. In fact, once formed, the Association grew to 83 members in more than 50 companies in the five short years after formation. That was the year the Association gained official recognition, when the Canadian House of Commons passed an Act incorporating the [Certified] General Accountants' Association as a self-regulating professional organization. Important milestones like the certification of CGA's first female member, Ivy Thomas, in 1932 and the first international offering of our program of studies to the Caribbean and the Bahamas in 1964 have all contributed to the success we are today.
Though the present program bears little resemblance to the Association a century before, the values remain the same. Each and every professional graduate of the CGA Program of Studies is a representative of the rigorous approach to education, examination, and professional development, which have acted as the three cornerstones of the CGA organization from as far back as 1910. Technology-based learning techniques, distance education, mandatory professional development, and new partnerships with Canadian universities give students the skills and hands-on practical experience they need to succeed.
The Association spread out slowly but steadily from its Montreal headquarters; branches opened in regional centres across the country to support an ever-growing number of members and students. By the end of World War II, there were offices from Halifax to Vancouver. Along with that growth came changing regional requirements that saw provincial branches lobbying for, and receiving, their own charters.
Ever adapting to the global nature of education and business, the CGA Program of Professional Studies was launched in China in 1993, in partnership with the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. In addition, the CGA program has been offered in Hong Kong since 1989, in conjunction with the School of Professional and Continuing Education at the University of Hong Kong.
To meet the ever growing need for training CGAs abroad, CGA offices in Hong Kong and the Caribbean were established to deliver the CGA program in their jurisdictions. CGA-Hong Kong gained affiliate status in July 2003, giving it the authority of a provincial or territorial CGA Association.
