Fast-Track Your Path to the CPA
4-month Summer Program
A Redesigned GDA
Beginning May 2027, Smith’s GDA will feature a redesigned curriculum aligned with the new CPA Professional Program, with greater emphasis on integrated learning, applied skills and the evolving needs of the accounting profession.
Graduate Diploma in Accounting
The Graduate Diploma in Accounting from Smith School of Business gives you an accelerated pathway toward the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation while preparing you for the changing demands of the accounting profession.
Get Ahead on Your CPA Journey
The Smith GDA allows you to complete a significant portion of your professional accounting education before you begin full-time work.
Over four intensive months, you'll learn alongside other recent business graduates and develop your skills with support from faculty and practitioners with deep academic and industry expertise.
Aligned with the new CPA Professional Program beginning in 2027, the GDA can reduce the amount of CPA coursework you'll need to complete while working — giving you more time to focus on building your career.
Explore the CPA PathwayAt a Glance
4 Months
In-Person
8 Courses
Built for the Future of Accounting
Accounting is changing. Today’s professionals are expected to do more than understand the numbers — they need to interpret information, assess risk, use emerging technologies, exercise sound judgement and help organizations make better decisions.
The GDA is designed to prepare you for those expectations.
Through eight integrated courses, you’ll strengthen your accounting expertise while developing capabilities in areas that are becoming increasingly important across the profession:
AI & Analytics
Use data and emerging technologies to inform accounting and business decisions.
Professional Judgement
Build the critical thinking and case-analysis skills expected of accounting professionals.
Strategy & Value Creation
Connect financial information to strategy, performance and organizational decision-making.
Sustainability, Governance & Transparency
Understand evolving expectations around governance, sustainability and corporate reporting.
Leadership & Ethics
Strengthen the communication, ethical reasoning and leadership skills you'll need throughout your career.
Four Months That Move Your Career Forward
Graduate from your undergraduate degree. Spend the summer completing your GDA. Start your career further along your path to the CPA. Ready to take the next step?
Learn by Doing
The GDA is designed to help you make the transition from undergraduate learning to professional practice.
Through cases, simulations, applied exercises and CPA-style assessments, you'll learn to bring together technical knowledge, professional judgement and business decision-making.
Your experience culminates in the Accounting Lab, where you'll put your learning into practice through simulated CPA professional examinations designed to build your confidence and exam readiness.
Explore the Curriculum
“I learned that completing Smith's GDA program would accelerate my timeline to write the CFE, bypassing CPA core and elective modules that would ordinarily be completed while working full time. The convenience of completing this program immediately after my bachelor's degree made it a very attractive option for me. And let's not forget — Kingston is a great place to spend a summer!”
Director, Strategy and Transactions
EY-Parthenon
Build a Career with Opportunity
A CPA designation can open doors across industries and career paths. From professional services and financial institutions to technology, government and organizations of all sizes, accounting professionals bring skills that support informed decision-making.
Projected job openings for financial auditors and accountants in Canada by 2033.1
Median total compensation reported by Ontario CPAs in 2024.2
Growth in Canadian median CPA compensation from 2022 to 2024, outpacing inflation over the same period.3