Why Certification?

IPBC Members are eligible to apply for CPB Certified Professional Bookkeeper designation - Join Now.

Apply for Certification Now

To find the exam location nearest you, contact ac.cbpi@ofni

The bookkeeping industry in Canada is still unregulated. Without certification, anyone with minimal bookkeeping knowledge is free to offer those services. Respectable Bookkeepers know that there is so much more to responsible bookkeeping than simply knowing how to complete one task or simply input data.

A Knowledge Guide has been provided to IPBC by the same company that designed the CPB Certified Professional Bookkeeper exam and is available to members after they have registered for the exam. To access the order form for the Knowledge Guide, log in as a member and select Exam from the left menu. The order link for the Knowledge Guide will only appear after application for the exam has been processed.

Only Members registered for the exam have access to purchase this booklet at the special price of $49.95 (+GST).

The purpose of the Knowledge Guide is to provide basic to mid-level bookkeeping information to assist members to prepare for the exam. The Knowledge Guide is non-refundable.

What is a Certified Professional Bookkeeper?

The CPB Certified Professional Bookkeeper designation reflects the level of knowledge, education, and skill necessary to carry out all key functions through the adjusted trial balance, including basic payroll, for all-sized companies.

Certification:

• elevates the bookkeeping industry to the appropriate level of professionalism and recognition
• demonstrates efficiency and current knowledge
• distinguishes the CPB in the same way that CA/CGA distinguishes accountants
• demonstrates that you are the elite of your profession
• advances your career
• increases your compensation
• provides new opportunities

A recent survey of Certified Bookkeepers (CBs) in the US by Lewis & Clark, Raleigh, NC, revealed that:

• 41% of CBs got a promotion or new job because they were certified
• 32% of CBs got a raise because they were certified
• 56% of freelance CBs used certification to get new clients
• 33% of freelance CBs used certification to raise their rates to clients
• 97% of all CBs, employed and freelance, recommend certification to other bookkeepers

IPBC’s goal is to achieve similar statistics for Canada.

Purpose of Certification

Clients requiring the services of a bookkeeper are entrusting their most important possession to a stranger – intimate knowledge of their business or personal finances. They need to know that they are not putting their precious asset at risk. Yet, most people have no way of effectively and independently evaluating a bookkeeper—and they know it. This is why the CPB-Certified Professional Bookkeeper designation is so important. Certification assures a client that their chosen bookkeeper has the proven skills and knowledge needed to make the end-of-period adjustments, perform the monthly bank reconciliation, process payroll, compute, and record depreciation for both book and tax purposes, cost out and record inventory, as well as install the internal controls needed to protect company assets.

Use of Certification

Obtaining the CPB-Certified Professional Bookkeeper designation is voluntary, and the Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada confers such certification solely for the purposes stated here. Those persons or organizations that choose to include the CPB-Certified Professional Bookkeeper designation as a condition of employment or advancement do so of their own volition. Such persons or organizations must determine for themselves whether the use of such a certification process, including its eligibility and recertification requirements, either alone or coupled with any other requirements imposed by such persons or entities, meets their respective needs and complies with any laws applicable to them.

2 Steps - Certified Professional Bookkeeper (CPB) Designation

1. Pass the national examination.
2. Submit evidence of at least 2 years’ bookkeeping experience as an employee or freelancer: either a letter from a long term client or an employer.

To maintain certification, the CPB must meet continuing professional education requirements and adhere to the Code of Professional Conduct. See Maintaining Certification below for more information.

Registration Fees

Registration fees are payable to IPBC and are non-refundable.

The registration fee is $175.00.

Scheduling Tests

We offer over 300 exam invigilation locations across Canada. Upon registration of your application, IPBC will provide you with exam locations and fees in your community. Invigilation fees are payable directly to the location where you will write the exam. Fees range from $0.00 up to $90.00. You will complete the examination, of multiple choice questions, on a computer provided at the exam location.

Find an exam location.

Test Scores, Retests and Getting Your Document of Certification

You receive your score immediately upon completion of the exam. You must have a score of 75% or better to pass; if you do not pass, you must retest. The retest can be taken immediately or later by re-registering on the IPBC website http://www.ipbc.ca/. A retest fee is applicable. Retests are $175.00 per retest. When you pass the national exam, you will receive your certificate within four weeks. You are now entitled to use the new IPBC logo representing your ‘Certified Professional Bookkeeper’ designation.

Maintaining Certification

CPB-Certified Professional Bookkeepers are required to maintain their high standards through continuing professional education. They must acquire 15 Continuing Education credits (CEs) every year from the anniversary of the last certification exam passed. Please file your course receipts and issued credits for verification. Credits may be earned anywhere, at a local college, a seminar, a webinar, the Knowledge Bureau, or through the courses advertised on our web site ~ 1 hour of education = 1 credit. Failure to meet CE requirements will result in loss of certification.

Apply for Certification Exam.