Sunday News Roundup 26.01.18: CPA Canada membership model, fatiguing AI slop, the dealbook and more Canadian accounting news

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get all the week’s stories. Click here to sign up. 

TORONTO, Jan. 18, 2026 – This past week, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, or CPA Canada, announced a new membership model that will be starting April 1 ,2026. CPA Canada will transition to a fully voluntary membership model in which all chartered professional accountants will be able to sign up directly with the national body rather than through provincial regulators. 

The new model is a major change for the accounting profession as fees will no longer be routed through provincial bodies. The more direct relationship between the national body and individual CPAs will provide more clarity as to both fees and the benefits of membership — for both the national and provincial bodies — than under the previous model. 

The benefits of national membership look attractive. There are three membership tiers, complimentary CPD and credits, a substantial discount for those aged 65+, and tiered access to CPA Canada’s Tax 360 online platform, which was launched late last year. You can read CPA Canada’s frequently asked questions webpage for more information on the new membership model. 

As part of the launch, CPA Canada announced that seven of the largest public accounting firms in Canada will sign up their employees to become national members under the new model. In addition to the Big Four, the seven include BDO Canada, Doane Grant Thornton, and Canada’s homegrown national firm, MNP LLP. The group also includes Canada’s national audit regulator, the Canadian Public Accountability Board, and the industry body for financial planners, FP Canada. 

Overall, it’s a strong show of unity from the major players in the Canadian accounting profession, that establishes a reliable revenue stream for the national body that they can build upon. There are other national and regional accounting firms that should by all means follow suit. And the more direct relationship with CPAs should satisfy the innate, intrinsic, and inherent need of accountants to receive value for money. 

Of course, the story’s online commentary in the Globe and Mail quickly devolved into the usual tirades about the merger 10 years ago and how chartered accountants were clearly superior to CGAs and CMAs — followed by the usual rebuttals. While there were a few insightful Globe comments, Reddit users simply ignored the story, which likely speaks to the very different age groups of their readers. 

And now, on to the rest of the news from the past week in Canadian accounting. 

AI is exhausting accountants and hurting businesses

Speaking of Reddit, users had a field day with news that EY Canada is battling AI fatigue, and is developing “bespoke learning” for accountants that are feeling overwhelmed and hitting the “silicon ceiling.”

The article was posted from “The Oracle of Guelph,” which are least tells you that the commenters are largely Canadian. Accountants are complaining that their firms are pushing artificial intelligence platforms — particularly Microsoft Copilot — but the platforms are not that much better than using Google search. 

Then there are the usual concerns about outsourcing jobs and the impact on junior and intermediate partners. As one wit positioned it: “People are tired of AI. AI evangelist trying to sell a product or training course: we just haven't told them about AI in the right way.” 

Meanwhile, online accounting platform Dext released a new survey of accountants and bookkeepers, revealing Canadian businesses are losing money after relying on general-purpose AI tools such as ChatGPT for financial, bookkeeping and tax advice. Fifty per cent of those surveyed were aware of businesses that have suffered direct financial losses as a result of incorrect or misleading AI-generated advice and “AI slop” in the books. 

KPMG Canada to be sued by NWT First Nations Tribe

According to the CBC and Cabin Radio, the Northwest Territories Supreme Court ruled this past week that Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation can proceed in its lawsuit against KPMG Canada. The tribe alleges the Big Four accounting firm “knowingly assisted the former chief executive officer of Denesoline Corporation — the First Nation’s business arm — in misappropriating millions of dollars from 2016 to 2023.” 

It’s a truly extraordinary and very messy case dating back several years. There are other lawsuits and players involved. KPMG wanted the allegations dealt with through private arbitration in British Columbia and lost the case. The judge’s decision contains some extraordinary language, comparing alluding to KPMG as one of two “standard bearers of colonial capitalist power — big law and big accountancy.”

Accounting Dealbook: Doane Grant Thornton, MNP acquisitions

Doane Grant Thornton has kicked off the new year by announcing several acquisitions in Ontario. This month the accounting firm announced that Andrew Fynn, CPA and his team in Markham, and Gerald Duthie & Co LLP in Windsor would join Doane Grant Thornton. In December they added Neamtan & Associates CPA Professional Corporation of North York. 

But DGT has also snapped up firms outside of Ontario recently. The firm acquired Vohora LLP in British Columbia and Pharos Business & Taxation Advisors in Southern Saskatchewan. Meanwhile, homegrown national firm MNP LLP just announced the acquisition of Kanish & Partners LLP, which is based in Toronto, and its team of more than 20 CPAs. MNP also closed 2025 strongly, with acquisitions in Montreal (MLSG LLP), Regina (Green Finance), and Lanaudière, in the Québec-Centre Region (Boisvert et Chartrand).

Accounting Software News: BDO & Intuit deal, Xero analytics

BDO Canada and Intuit announced the launch this past week of “BDO Powered by Intuit QuickBooks” for small and mid-sized Canadian business owners. The strategic partnership “combines the innovative technology of Intuit's platform with BDO advisors' human insight, to redefine BDO's service offering by providing forward-looking and actionable insights for small and mid-sized businesses across Canada.” 

Meanwhile, Xero has announced the global launch of its new AI-powered analytics capabilities, which offers enterprise-grade analytics embedded within the Xero platform. Since acquiring Syft in 2024, Xero has been working to integrate that company’s AI-power features within the Xero ecosystem.

Quick Hits: Articles of Interest 

Canadian
How a self-employed accountant grew her TFSA from $190,000 to $575,000 in a year (Globe and Mail) 
Alberta couple fighting the CRA after being asked to repay $33K in COVID benefits (CBC)
Canada isn't the only one proposing a wealth tax, but it can learn a lesson from this American example (Financial Post)
The hoarded wealth of the superrich can do more good in the public’s hands, so let’s tax it: a book excerpt (Toronto Star)

International
UK accounting body to halt remote exams amid AI cheating (Guardian UK)
Meet the Silver Fox Accountant Who Stole the Spotlight at the Golden Globes (Hollywood Reporter)
The career ceiling no one warns you about in offshore US CPA Firm (The Finance Story)
The Autistic Accountant (The CPA Journal)

By Canadian Accountant staff.