CPA Canada Core 1 study plan
CPA Canada Core 1 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Financial Reporting
Map every IFRS and ASPE topic in the Core 1 financial reporting competency list to a personal confidence rating from 1 to 5 so weak areas are identified before study begins.
Reconstruct the five-step revenue recognition model from memory and apply it to three multi-element contracts, documenting each performance obligation and transaction price allocation.
Prepare a lease classification and measurement working paper under IFRS 16 covering initial recognition, remeasurement triggers, and lessor accounting differences from ASPE.
Build a one-page decision tree distinguishing IFRS from ASPE treatments for development costs, investment property, and borrowing costs.
Your checkpoint
A 10-page personal financial reporting gap map listing each competency, its confidence rating, and the top five topics scheduled for weeks 2 and 3.
Financial Reporting
Work through full consolidation mechanics for a parent with one subsidiary, including goodwill calculation, non-controlling interest at fair value, and intra-group eliminations.
Draft adjusting journal entries for three scenarios involving impairment of property, plant and equipment and reversal rules under IFRS versus ASPE.
Explain and apply the effective interest method to a bond issued at a discount, recording interest expense and amortization across two periods.
Summarize the presentation and disclosure requirements for financial instruments under IFRS 7 and IFRS 9 classification categories in a comparison table.
Your checkpoint
A completed consolidation case with elimination entries, consolidated statement of financial position, and a 300-word memo explaining the NCI measurement choice.
Financial Reporting & Audit and Assurance
Solve three multi-step financial reporting cases under a 45-minute timer each, then mark them against model answer criteria and log every lost mark by cause.
Identify the audit-relevant assertions embedded in a set of financial statement line items and connect each to the evidence that would address it.
Explain the auditor's responsibilities relating to subsequent events and going concern, and apply both to a year-end scenario with a post-balance-sheet receivable default.
Compare the treatment of a material misstatement discovered after the report date under CAS 560 with management's own correction options.
Your checkpoint
A timed case log with three scored responses, a cause-of-error tally, and a ranked list of the top three recurring weaknesses to fix in week 4.
Financial Reporting & Audit and Assurance
Write a complete audit planning memo for a mid-sized private company, covering risk assessment, materiality calculation, and planned response to significant risks.
Distinguish the requirements of CAS 315 risk identification from the evidence-gathering standards in CAS 330, and apply both to a fraud risk scenario involving revenue cut-off.
Evaluate the appropriateness of an audit opinion for three fact patterns: scope limitation, departure from GAAP, and lack of independence.
Prepare a review engagement communication under CSRE 2400 and contrast it with a compilation engagement under CSRS 4200.
Your checkpoint
A full practice audit case response including planning memo, materiality computation, and opinion selection, self-marked against a rubric with a score out of 40.
Milestones
Week 4: Score at least 60 percent on two timed mixed financial reporting and audit cases, and confirm the gap map shows no financial reporting competency still rated 1.