CHARTERED PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF ONTARIO
CHARTERED PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF ONTARIO ACT, 2017
DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE
IN THE MATTER OF: Allegations against Fathi Abu-Farah, CPA, CA, a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, under Rule 206.1 of the CPA Ontario Code of Professional Conduct.
BETWEEN:
Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario Professional Conduct Committee
-and-
Fathi Abu-Farah
APPEARANCES:
For the Professional Conduct Committee: Julia McNabb (she/her), Counsel
For Fathi Abu-Farah: Present (he/him) Joshua Freedman (he/him), Counsel
Heard: January 27 and 28, 2026
Decision: January 27, 2026
Order: February 12, 2026
Release of written reasons: April 16, 2026
REASONS FOR THE DECISION MADE JANUARY 27, 2026 AND ORDER MADE AND REISSUED FEBRUARY 12, 2026
I. OVERVIEW
1The Professional Conduct Committee (“PCC”) of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (“CPA Ontario”) made Allegations that Fathi Abu-Farah (“the Member”) failed to perform his professional services in accordance with generally accepted standards of practice of the profession, contrary to Rule 206.1 of the CPA Ontario Code of Professional Conduct (“the Code”).
2The Member has been a member of CPA Ontario since 2020, and has held a Public Accounting Licence (“PAL”) since 2021. He had previously been associated with a Big Four accounting firm for over 10 years in Kuwait and Jordan before setting up the Jordan branch another large international accounting firm in 2003.
3In 2017, the Member began working in Canada and founded the International Professional Group (“IPG”), to provide bookkeeping, accounting assistance and business advisory services. IPG was not registered with CPA Ontario.
4The Member also owned and operated Abu-Farah Professional Corporation (“the Firm”) which was registered with CPA Ontario. The Firm offered complete accounting, tax, audit, and advisory services. As of January 2026, the Firm had four reporting issuer audit clients, one private company audit client, two review engagement clients, and one compilation engagement client.
The Complaint and Investigation
5The matter was referred to Standards Enforcement (“SE”) by the Practice Inspection Committee (“PIC”) following an initial inspection of the Member’s practice in October 2023 and a full reinspection in January 2025. Practice Inspection (“PI”) inspected four files during the reinspection: two audits, one review and one