New CPA Rules in BC: What Rule 219 Means for Clients

If your CPA in British Columbia asks for more information about you, your business, or where money in a transaction is coming from, this is now part of the professional rules they must follow.

Rule 219 requires CPAs to identify clients for certain services and to verify identity and ask about source of funds for certain higher-risk transactions.

What changed

Rule 219 introduced formal client identification and verification requirements for CPAs in BC.

Your accountant must know who they are dealing with, and in some situations they must also confirm that identity and understand where transaction funds are coming from.

For individuals, this usually means collecting basic information such as legal name and contact details.

For businesses and organizations, it usually means collecting the legal name, business address, contact information, a main contact person, and business registration details in many cases.

When your CPA must identify you

Your CPA must identify you when providing certain services, including advice about a specified transaction, advice on the use of corporations or other legal entities, and private-sector bookkeeping services.

Once this information has been properly collected for an ongoing client, it usually does not need to be repeated unless something changes or the earlier information appears unreliable.

This means clients should expect more upfront questions at the start of an engagement.

It also means businesses may be asked for corporate documents and basic ownership or registration information before work begins.

What a specified transaction means

A specified transaction is not every service your CPA provides. It refers to situations where the CPA is directly involved in moving money, cryptocurrency, or securities, or helping complete the purchase or sale of major assets or entities.

In practical terms, a specified transaction includes situations where your CPA, on your behalf:

• Receives or pays funds or virtual currency.

• Buys or sells securities, real estate, business assets, or entire entities.

• Transfers funds, virtual currency, or securities by any method.

• Gives instructions to a bank, lawyer, broker, exchange, or another party to carry out one of those steps.

Here is the simple distinction: if your CPA is only recording a transaction after it happened, that is usually not a specified transaction. If your CPA is helping make the payment, move the funds, transfer the assets, or direct another party to do it, that is a specified transaction.

What happens in a specified transaction

When a specified transaction is involved, your CPA must do more than basic identification.

They must verify your identity using a reliable method and make reasonable inquiries about the source of the money, crypto, or other property involved in the transaction.

That means you may be asked for government-issued identification, corporate records, or supporting documents that show who you are and how your business is set up. You may also be asked direct questions about where the funds came from, such as whether they came from operations, a loan, an investor, a sale, or another source.

Common examples

If a CPA calculates payroll but the client releases the payments, that is usually not a specified transaction.

If the CPA actually initiates or instructs the payroll payments, that can become a specified transaction because the CPA is involved in moving funds on the client’s behalf.

If a CPA prepares bookkeeping records after a real estate purchase closes, that is usually not a specified transaction.

If the CPA is involved in directing or handling the money flow for the closing, it is a specified transaction.

If a CPA gives general tax or business advice, that is usually not a specified transaction by itself.

If the CPA directs the transfer of funds, securities, or crypto as part of carrying out the plan, it is.

Why clients are seeing more questions

These rules were introduced to help stop money laundering and other financial crime and to bring the profession in line with broader anti-money laundering expectations in Canada.

Similar types of checks already exist in other regulated sectors, and CPAs in BC are now required to apply them in defined situations.

For clients, the result is simple: some engagements now come with mandatory ID checks and source-of-funds questions.

This is not optional for the CPA and it is not a sign that the client has done anything wrong.

In Conclusion

Rule 219 means your CPA must know who you are before doing certain work for you. If they are directly involved in moving money, crypto, or securities, or helping complete the purchase or sale of major assets or businesses, they must also confirm your identity and ask where the money is coming from.

Clients should expect this to be part of normal onboarding and transaction work with BC CPAs.

The purpose is straightforward: protect the public, protect the profession, and reduce the risk that professional services are used to move illicit funds.