Hands-on, industry-relevant skills
The PCP and CPM certifications are granted by the Canadian Payroll Association upon successful completion of the required courses and fulfilment of the necessary payroll experience. The passing grade for all courses in the CPA program is a minimum 65%. This includes non-payroll courses ACCT1115, ACCT1117, ORGB1135 and HRMT3328.
The Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) certification is the foundation for a career in payroll. It provides candidates with the legislative content required to keep an organization compliant throughout the annual payroll cycle, effectively communicate payroll information to all stakeholders, and understand the accounting function as it relates to payroll.
The Certified Payroll Manager (CPM) certification builds on the PCP compliance knowledge by developing seasoned professionals to manage a payroll department. It provides you with the knowledge to make decisions, supervise and manage, and contribute a payroll perspective to organizational policy and strategy discussions.
Learn more about payroll certifications
Entrance requirements
You must register with the CPA (Canadian Payroll Association) and pay separate fees for the following courses: CPAY455, CPAY460, CPAY465, CPAY470, CPAY475
To register with the CPA, visit the CPA website at www.payroll.ca
For students to be successful in the program it is strongly recommended you have the equivalent of Math 10C and English 10-1 or 10-2.
If you don’t have the English requirements noted above, the following are considered acceptable levels of English Language Proficiency.
- Minimum of 73% on all four sections of NAIT's ESL Assessment Exam
- IELTS overall score of 6.5 with no band less than 5.0 Learn more about IELTS
- Successful completion of the University of Alberta’s ESL 140/145 course