Frequently Asked Questions

If you are a new Professional or Associate Member, or the Payroll Representative for a new Organization Member, a receipt will be included in the membership kit mailed to you 4-6 weeks after your application and payment have been processed.

If you are renewing a membership, a receipt will be emailed to you within 7 business days to the preferred email address on file.

If the course was completed outside of Canada, you must get an educational credential assessment from an accredited assessment agency. You must mail the original assessment and the Transfer Credit Application to the Certification Department.

The CPA conducts random audits of CPE hours to ensure certified members are adhering to the CPE requirement of certification. In the event of an audit, you will be contacted by the Association and asked to provide evidence of CPE fulfilment.

Certification holders are asked to keep a personal record of their CPE activities, along with documentation to prove completion (where applicable) for at least three years, in the event they are chosen for an audit.

If you started the PCP courses after January 1, 2015, you have to complete the 4 educational requirements of the PCP certification within 5 years and obtain at least one year of weighted payroll experience obtained within 5 years before or 5 years after the start of the Payroll Compliance Legislation course if you are taking courses online or through continuing education.

For students taking the PCP courses through a full-time program at a recognized college, university or private career college, the PCP Work Experience Requirement timeline begins once you complete the Payroll Fundamentals 2 course. 

If the organization does not have an official job description for the position you would like to submit for the Payroll Experience Prerequisite Application (PEPA) assessment, you must prepare a detailed job description yourself and submit it to your verifier for approval.

This problem most often originates in the settings of your web browser or your Internet connection. Try adjusting the Internet Options of your MS Internet Explorer web browser. (This problem does not typically affect Netscape/Firefox users). There are two separate adjustments that can be made, the first of which should correct the problem. If not, attempt the second and try again.

1. Open your browser's Advanced options. (Click the Tools menu and select Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab.)

Find the heading marked HTTP 1.1 Settings, and ensure that HTTP 1.1 protocol is ENABLED (checked) for use with Proxy Servers. (Both items under this heading should be checked.)

While on the Advanced page, make sure the Friendly HTTP Errors and Friendly URL's settings are DISABLED (unchecked). These can unhide additional information helpful in diagnosis and troubleshooting.

Make these adjustments and try to connect again. If this fails to correct the problem, try the second adjustment below.

2. If it is permitted by your administrator, you can bypass proxy servers entirely. This is controlled from the Connections section of the Internet Options screen. (Look under Connections, LAN Settings.) You may wish to contact your Internet service provider or network administrator first to find out if your connection will still work properly with proxies bypassed.

If neither of these steps rectify the situation, you will need to speak with your Internet service provider or network administrator about other network factors outside of our control.

If you need detailed assistance with locating the options noted above or making the adjustments described, contact us. You will need to know your web browser type and version number so we can provide specific instructions for your system.

Employers can securely and easily post, edit and delete jobs; be notified instantly of potential qualified candidates; search our extensive resume database; and take advantage of extremely competitive pricing plans.

It is the employer’s responsibility to issue an amended ROE when additional money is paid. Once received by Service Canada, the employee’s Employment Insurance (EI) claim will be recalculated to determine if it affects their benefit rate or duration. It is the employee’s responsibility to report any money to Service Canada to determine if their entitlement for a particular week of benefits is affected.

A bonus earned prior to the period of the leave of absence should not impact the employee’s EI benefits; however, the employer will often be asked by Service Canada to confirm within which periods of time the bonus was actually earned.

Only Professional, Associate and certain Organization Members receive membership cards and kits.

For Organization Members, only Payroll Representatives, Second Payroll Representatives and Additional Representatives receive membership cards as well.

If you fall under any of these categories, you will receive your membership kit, which includes your membership card, receipt and information on upcoming seminars and events in the mail 4-6 weeks after your application and payment have been processed.

To maintain your certification, you must comply with the following three requirements:

• Maintain membership with the CPA through a Professional membership or the Organization membership of your employer (annual membership fees apply).
• Adhere to the CPA's Code of Professional Conduct.
• Meet the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) requirements.

The CPE Declaration is an online form that requires certified members to declare annually that they have fulfilled the required CPE hours to maintain certification. When a PCP or CPM has completed the requisite number of CPE hours in their given cycle (14 hours for a PCP and 21 hours for a CPM), they must submit CPE Declaration to affirm their CPE compliance, by December 31 each year.

If your Work Experience Requirement Application (WERA) is not approved, you will be provided with details on what information and/or documentation is outstanding. You can reapply once you meet the requirements.

The weighting of the payroll work experience requirement is determined by the number of hours per week spent completing payroll-oriented tasks. Using the standard 35-hour work week, the number of months spent completing qualifying work experience can be calculated. For example, if you spend 50% of your time (17.5 hours per week) on payroll-oriented tasks and have held the position for 24 months, you would be granted a total of 12 months (17.5 / 35 * 24 = 12). Only a full completed month of experience will be counted (no fractions, decimals or rounding).

If payroll is only one of your functions, you may require more than 2 years in the position to meet the requirement.

A-list candidates are the candidates that match or exceed 75% of your job posting’s criteria; all others are designated as B-list candidates. Based on the criteria you have entered into your job posting, applications are classified as A-list or B-list candidates.

To obtain the CPM certification, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Have a PCP certification in good standing. 
2. Submit your Payroll Experience Prerequisite Application (PEPA).
3. Complete all the required courses.
4. Ensure you have an active membership with the CPA.

Once these requirements are met, the Certification Declaration will be emailed to you. You must read and submit the declaration online within the CPM certification timeline to receive the certification.

The CPM certificate will then be mailed to the preferred address in your file 6-8 weeks after your declaration is processed.

If the organization does not have an official job description for the position you would like to submit for the Work Experience Requirement Application (WERA) assessment, you must prepare a detailed job description yourself and submit it to your verifier for approval.

You will be sent an acknowledgment email when your Payroll Experience Prerequisite Application (PEPA) is received. You will be advised of the status of your application within 20 business days.

To post a job on JobConnect, you need to have previously purchased a job credit.

You can view your available JobConnect credit(s) by logging into your account. Once logged in, you can see how many job credits you have available in the Account Summary located directly under the Welcome [your name] heading at the top of your account toolbox page.

If the bottom line of the summary indicates, "Your firm has 0 remaining job posts,” you will need to purchase a JobConnect credit. Follow the Click here to purchase additional jobs or services link to do so.

If your current employer has an Organization Membership with us, they can add you under their membership by having the payroll representative send a request to membership@payroll.ca with your name, work email address and CPA number.

Alternatively, to establish an individual membership, you can apply by filling out the Professional membership application form (if you are certified) or the Associate membership application form and return it to the CPA with payment.

If you cannot remember your CPA number, first access the CPA Login page. Once there, click on the latter part of “Forgot my CPA Number.” Enter your email and click on “Submit.” You must enter the preferred email address you have on file with the CPA. Otherwise, you will not receive the email with your CPA number.
           
If you need help, contact membership@payroll.ca.