ABSTRACT
Many of the founders of the accounting profession in Canada were accountants who had emigrated from the United Kingdom so it was natural that the foundations of the profession were essentially British in nature. Thus in Canada, a Quebec Institute of Chartered Accountants was formed in 1880, an Ontario Institute in 1883 and a Manitoba Institute in 1886. The only nation-wide organisation of accountants, other than the chartered accountants, is the Society of Industrial and Cost Accountants which has branches in every province and a national body to co-ordinate the work of the affiliated provincial branches. Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and of the Certified Public Accountants Association of Ontario are entitled to be licensed upon application and other accountants practising at the date of the legislation were also made eligible for licences without examination. The legislation in Ontario and Quebec covers approximately two-thirds of the public accountants in Canada.
