Key takeaways
- Alternative practice structures (APS) in accounting create new regulatory requirements in Ontario, aiming to clarify effective control of CPA firms.
- The amended Regulation 10-1 introduces a definition of ‘effective control’ and requires disclosure of arrangements that affect it.
- Firms must now obtain registrar approval for changes related to effective control and significant structural changes, with advanced notice required.
Alternative practice structures (APS), already firmly established in the United States, are generating significant interest and activity in the Canadian market, particularly in regard to accounting firms.
At a basic level, implementing an APS involves an accounting firm transferring all lines of business not required to be held in a Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA)-owned firm, together with back-office and administrative functions, to a service company that is not subject to regulatory ownership constraints and can
