CPA Canada Core 1 study guide
CPA Canada Core 1 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The page you are reading covers CPA Canada Core 1, the first module of the CPA Professional Education Program (PEP). However, we have to be upfront about a significant limitation: the only permitted source for this page, the CPA Canada Core 1 module page, returned a 404 "Page Not Found" error when we retrieved it. That page contains no exam specifications, no format details, no sitting schedule, and no fee information. As a result, every numeric field on this page - question count, duration, passing score, fee, retake policy, and validity period - is shown as null rather than guessed. The CPA Canada Core 1 study guide has 4 sections and about 1,607 words.
01Financial Reporting: IFRS and ASPE on Core 1
Financial Reporting is the largest domain on Core 1 and tests whether you can apply IFRS and ASPE to prepare and interpret financial statements, not merely recite standards. Expect adjustments, revenue recognition, leases, impairment, provisions, income taxes, consolidations, and policy changes.
397 words, about 2 min02Strategy and Governance: Direction, Analysis, and Board Oversight
Strategy and Governance tests how organizations set direction, analyze their environment, and govern themselves ethically. Core 1 expects you to link external analysis to strategic choices and to evaluate board and committee structures against independence and risk oversight principles.
412 words, about 2 min03Management Accounting: Relevant Costs, Variances, and Performance
Management Accounting tests how internal information supports planning, control, and decisions. Core 1 emphasizes relevant costing, cost behavior, budgeting, variance analysis, and performance measurement, often in scenarios where the 'obvious' accounting answer is not the economically correct one.
392 words, about 2 min04Audit and Assurance: Risk, Materiality, and Evidence
Audit and Assurance tests the risk-based audit process from acceptance to reporting. Core 1 expects you to assess risk, design procedures, evaluate evidence and misstatements, and apply independence rules, with attention to the auditor's report and going concern.
406 words, about 2 min