A chartered professional accountant's (CPA) email signature displays a title governed by a precise code of ethics. This guide summarizes correct use of the CPA title, what to avoid, and when a public accounting permit number should be identified. To standardize these signatures across a whole firm, see ATOM Signatures.
Correct use of the CPA title
Since May 16, 2022, members of the Ordre des CPA du Québec must use the unique CPA title, without reference to their original title (CGA, CMA or CA). The recognized formats depend on your situation:
- Regular member — “First Last, CPA”.
- Holder of a public accounting permit — “First Last, CPA auditor”.
- Fellow — “First Last, FCPA”, or “FCPA auditor” with a permit.
The term “expert-comptable” (chartered accountant) is prohibited as a title for every member, even though it may describe the nature of certain services. The code of ethics also requires using, in any document, opinion or report where you present yourself as a CPA, the name under which you are registered with the Order (art. 96).
Member or permit number
Nothing requires displaying a number in a general email signature. The code of ethics does require that a document, opinion or report produced in the practice of public accounting be identified by the public accounting permit number, or by the name followed by the prescribed titles (art. 97). If you send that type of document by email, adding that number to your signature keeps your communications consistent with that requirement.
Sample signature
This model groups the mentions described above, with fictitious data:
Marc-André Gagnon, CPA auditor
Public accounting permit No. A78452
Gagnon Accountants Associates
450 555-0176 · marc-andre.gagnon@example.com
Frequently asked questions
Should I use a title other than CPA (CGA, CMA, CA) in my signature?
No. Since May 16, 2022, members of the Ordre des CPA du Québec must use the unique CPA title, without reference to their original title. The common format is “First Last, CPA”, or “First Last, CPA auditor” for a public accounting permit.
Can I use “expert-comptable” (chartered accountant) as a title in my signature?
No. The Ordre des CPA du Québec specifies that using the term “expert-comptable” as a title is prohibited for everyone, including CPA members, even though the term may describe the nature of certain services.
Should I include my public accounting permit number in my signature?
This is not required for a general email signature. The CPA code of ethics does require that any public accounting document, opinion or report be identified by the permit number or by the name followed by the prescribed title (art. 96-97): for those specific communications, adding that number to your email signature remains good practice for consistency.
Does the name I use in my signature need to match my Order registration?
In any document, opinion or report where you present yourself as a CPA, the code of ethics requires using the name under which you are registered with the Order (art. 96). Use that same name in your professional email signature.
How do you standardize the email signature across an accounting firm with several CPAs?
When each CPA repastes their own signature on every device, titles and formats eventually drift apart. A signature deployed directly in Outlook from the Microsoft 365 directory keeps the CPA title and mentions consistent across the whole firm, with no manual work.
Deploy this signature to the whole firm. Instead of asking every CPA to repaste their signature, ATOM Signatures deploys it directly in Outlook from your Microsoft 365 directory — desktop, web, Mac and mobile — keeping the CPA title and mentions consistent for everyone.
To go further: professional email signature templates.
Sources
- Use of the CPA title, Ordre des CPA du Québec — cpaquebec.ca
- CPA code of ethics, art. 95 to 97 (name and identification) — cpaquebec.ca
This article is provided for information purposes only and is not ethics advice. For questions specific to your practice, consult the Ordre des CPA du Québec.