Society of Professional Accountants of Canada, North York, ON

The Canadian Institute of Accredited Public Accountants (CIAPA) was founded in 1938 and was granted letters patent under the provision of part II of Canada Corporation Act on May 7, 1946. The Society of Professional Accountants of Ontario (SPAO) is the largest zone of the CIAPA and represents the Ontario members of the CIAPA. The Society of Professional Accountants of Ontario is also the largest chapter of The Society of Professional Accountants of Canada, which has members in provinces other than Ontario.
The Society is a Professional organization established for the on-going educational and setting of qualifying standards to ensure professional competence of its members in the practise of accountancy. Established in 1978, the Society has members across Canada and internationally with proven capability in their chosen profession. The Society proudly exudes the singular distinction of being the premier professional accounting organization in Canada offering a unique perspective with a special emphasis on small business. A Federal Charter has been granted to the Society as a corporation by letters patent under the provision of part II of Canada Corporation Act.
The objects of the Society are the promotion of the accounting profession through increasing knowledge, skill and proficiency of the Society's members and students, to protect and promote the Society's welfare and interest and to devise and impose means for testing the qualifications of the candidates for admission to the Society as members and for fitness, practise and character, subject to any statute in this behalf to practise accountancy
Members convene in regional and national professional development seminars and focus groups and are informed of or kept abreast of contemporary issues concerning accounting standards, taxation updates, management consulting practices, financial planning and topical concerns with a special emphasis affecting small business.