Review Proceedings

CPAB’s review proceedings process provides the opportunity for an independent review of certain CPAB decisions.

Administrative review of CPAB’s decisions

Pursuant to Section 700 of the CPAB Rules CPAB maintains a roster of independent review hearing officers who may preside over review proceedings. The review hearing officers and the roster Chair are appointed by CPAB’s Council of Governors^[1] and are independent of CPAB. After a firm, or an individual, petitions for a review proceeding, the Chair of the roster will appoint an independent panel of three review hearing officers to preside over the review proceeding. A bilingual panel will be appointed where, prior to the initial selection of the review panel, a party to the proceeding requests that it be conducted in French.

Roster of review hearing officers

There are ten members on the roster of review hearing officers, and the Chair. Their expertise includes accounting, legal, and other professional experience from various Canadian jurisdictions:

Chair of the roster of review hearing officers: Lawyer, Ontario.
Review Hearing Officer 1: Accountant, Quebec (bilingual).
Review Hearing Officer 2: Accountant, Quebec (bilingual).
Review Hearing Officer 3: Accountant, British Columbia.
Review Hearing Officer 4: Lawyer, Ontario.
Review Hearing Officer 5: Accountant, Ontario.
Review Hearing Officer 6: Lawyer, Manitoba.
Review Hearing Officer 7: Engineer, Alberta.
Review Hearing Officer 8: Accountant, Ontario.
Review Hearing Officer 9: Accountant, Alberta.
Review Hearing Officer 10: Lawyer, Ontario.
Review Hearing Officer 11: Accountant, Ontario (bilingual).
Review Hearing Officer 12: Accountant, Ontario.

Petitioning for a review proceeding

A firm may petition for a review proceeding by filing Form A with the Hearings Coordinator.

During a review proceeding a firm may:

Seek a review of CPAB’s proposal not to invite an applicant firm to become a participating audit firm (see Rule 209).
Seek a review of CPAB's proposal to publish information regarding the participating audit firm (see Rule 416).
Seek a review of CPAB’s proposal to impose enforcement actions on a participating audit firm (see Rule 603).

CPAB Rules 701 through 720 detail the powers of the review panel and the review hearing process. In accordance with the CPAB Rules, the review panel determines its own procedures and practices – see the Procedures and Practices.

[1] Pursuant to CPAB By-Law No.1, the Council of Governors shall consist of the following individuals:

The Superintendent of Financial Institutions of Canada;
The Chair of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC);
The Chair of the Autorité des marchés financiers of Quebec (AMF);
The Chair of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), unless that individual is already the Chair of the OSC or the AMF, in which case the CSA shall select the fourth governor;
A fifth governor selected by the CSA; and
A person who is a professional accountant and has audit oversight regulatory experience.