By Tim Carson, FCIRP (ret,), LIT, (Interim) Director, Education Programs, CAIRP

Rebuilding. It’s what we do. Renew, rebuild. And, so it is with the CQP Renewal Program.

For anyone who hasn’t been told recently, ‘CQP’ stands for ‘Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional Qualification Program.’ ‘CNIE’ stands for ‘Competency-based National Insolvency Exam’… thank goodness for acronyms.

The CNIE pass rates were not meeting expectations; we knew the candidates were educated and experienced – at the very least in one practice area or the other – but they struggled to pass CAIRP’s comprehensive, competency-based exam. At its core is the requirement that candidates analyze the facts in the question scenario, identify the issues and APPLY their knowledge in a constructed-response answer, and in that fashion, demonstrate their competency. Regurgitation of knowledge facts didn’t cut it. Candidates were required to demonstrate their abilities to apply their knowledge.

It was determined that the CQP could be more effective if it adhered to the premise that candidates should learn to apply their knowledge of insolvency to the process of insolvency.

The CQP Renewal initiative started in 2020 with a rewrite of the CIRP Qualification Program Competency Profile. Not big changes, but tailoring the profile more to the process of insolvency. Then started the complex task of renewing the course material. This is a fair place to note that nearly 30 CAIRP members have participated in the CQP renewal process to date, sharing their ideas, authoring and reviewing course material, and creating practice test questions and answers. Additionally, outside professionals have provided academic, legal and editorial reviews and as well, translation of all the material into both official languages.

The ‘New CQP’ is a 4 course Program that starts with the Introduction to Insolvency (“Intro”) course. This course is open to anyone with an interest in learning about insolvency in Canada. Registration for this course does not require a sponsor, however, candidates in the profession are advised to engage with a sponsor very early on in the program in order to benefit from the exchange of knowledge (and wisdom) that a sponsor can offer. The course is delivered 100% online, introduces the Competency Profile, has self-test sections throughout, and provides detailed references to the BIA, Rules, Directives, CCAA, CAIRP Standards of Professional Practice and CAIRP Rules of Professional Conduct. The online exam is multiple choice, self-administered, is on-demand and is intended to be a knowledge check for the candidate without the pressure or cost of a high stakes’ exam.

The Intro Course is a three-part course comprised of:

1. Background to Insolvency - includes discussions of types of credit, business structure in Canada, the language of insolvency and the nature of insolvency proceedings;
2. Types of Insolvency Proceedings - includes a discussion of the various types proceedings that can be taken to resolve an insolvency situation, and
3. Typical Insolvency Activities of an LIT - introduces the process of insolvency. This process becomes the background of the second course in the program.

The second course in the CQP is called Insolvency Principles, Processes and Practices (“iP3”). This is the course where the heavy learning is done. Like the Intro course, it is delivered online through the D2L (“Desire to Learn”) platform. There are a variety of learning aids, such as podcasts, webinar references, interactive self-assessments, an online discussion forum and practice questions. There are also two case studies – one consumer case and one corporate case. The online discussion forum is monitored by an LIT; candidates can post questions, answer each other’s questions and if/when necessary, the LIT monitor will participate to give appropriate answers and directions to candidates. The course layout is reflective of the process of insolvency as described in the Intro course. The 10-module course sets out and discusses the different steps in the insolvency process. Each of these modules is set up in three phases:

• the first phase discusses the insolvency principle involved, with cross references to the Competency Profile, the Act, Rules, Directives, Forms and other material with which the candidate should become familiar.
• the second phase sets out when and how the principle introduced applies to a consumer insolvency – bankruptcy, Division I or Division II proposals.
• the third phase applies the principles to a corporate insolvency – bankruptcy, Division I proposal, receivership and CCAA proceeding.

The modules are set up to flow from one topic to the next, but in fact, each module could be consumed as a stand-alone module for the purpose of learning a specific topic, helping candidates with study questions or easily reviewing grouped information on a certain process or subject. The course modules are set up in this order:

1. Assessing the Situation/End Game where the debtor’s situation and ‘end game’ are assessed, assets identified, barriers and challenges identified, (potentially) competing claims are identified. It includes examples of what to look for in assessing an individual debtor, a corporate debtor, a business review and a situation where there’s conflict between what’s good for one party vs. what’s good for another.
2. Stay of Proceedings and Appointment Documents outlines the necessity for pre-engagement reviews, accuracy and completeness of appointing documentation and ensuring that a stay is going to achieve what the debtor thinks it’s going to achieve;
3. Administrative Matters which discusses the process of asset identification, possession taking, valuation and the development of a disposition plan, including dispositions to related parties;
4. Interim Reporting which discusses the various statutory and informational reporting required of the LIT within each of the different appointments;
5. Obtaining Authorization/Direction to Take Action which details where an LIT’s authority comes from to act within an estate and to dispose of property. The statutory authority of trustees, creditors and inspectors is discussed. There is a lengthy analysis of when an LIT (or other stakeholder in the process) MAY, and when they MUST, apply to the court for approval or direction and several examples of what role the court takes on a variety of issues within the administration of an estate;
6. Administering Assets covers issues of realizing on assets in various appointed capacities, preparing and filing tax returns, analyzing cash-flows, considering issues of financing, staffing, continuation of supply etc. in order to make the go-no-go decision of operating a business in an insolvency setting;
7. Administering Competing Claims discusses the various types of creditors that may have competing claims vis-à-vis other creditors, both secured and unsecured creditors, s.81 claims, and the manner in which the LIT is required to deal with proofs of claim in each instance;
8. Managing the Bankrupt/Consumer Debtor is mainly about managing the individual, natural person, who is in an insolvency proceeding, types of discharges available, opposing discharges, reporting to the court and the result of a trustee discharge where the bankrupt is not discharged;
9. Finalize Asset Disposition/Finalize Reporting and Distribution is the part of this course where the candidate is taken through a review of the process of each type of file as though they were completing an inter-office (or intra-office) file review to ensure that all the appropriate steps have been completed and properly documented in a file in various different proceedings;
10. Obtaining Practitioner’s Discharge discusses, in depth, the report content and assembly that is required to obtain a discharge from the file.

The iP3 exam will be offered annually, and success in the iP3 exam is required in order to continue in the program.

The iP3 exam introduces “testlet-style’ multiple choice questions in its online exam. Testlets are similar to traditional style multiple choice questions but designed to effectively assess professional competency. Testlet questions are built from a scenario that can evolve with additional facts, so that the progressive questions can be built on a common theme. Testlet style questions can assess the candidate’s ability to analyze the facts of a scenario and apply their insolvency knowledge to those facts. In that manner, testlets measure higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making, in an objective and easily scored format.

The final course in the program is Applications in Insolvency/Competency-based National Insolvency Exam Prep Course (“AICP”). The design of this course highlights two points from CAIRP’s survey of CNIE writers in May 2023. These were that CAIRP should:

• continue to improve the CNIE training with (more) examples of previous exams with answer keys, more exam practice writing and student-created study groups, and
• remind future program candidates of the importance of studying the BIA closely in order to succeed.

AICP is not designed to introduce any new course material, though it may introduce examples of sections of the Act, Rules etc. that may not have been specifically covered in iP3. The course will follow the same process-based topic structure as iP3 but will focus exclusively on analyzing exam question style scenarios and applying candidates’ insolvency knowledge to develop solutions and the writing skills to construct the correct response. AICP will apply the same three phase style of topic delivery: first, the general principle being discussed; second, more specific examples relating to personal/individual insolvency, and third, more specific examples relating to corporate/commercial insolvency.

The course is proposed to start June 3, 2024. In future years, the course is proposed to begin with an in-person 3-day Workshop where the first order will be to have the candidates attempt a mock CNIE exam in an exam-like setting. The balance of that future workshop will lay the groundwork for the rest of the course, developing the analytical skills necessary to identify and apply their iP3 knowledge to the model exam. For 2024, the “transition year” for the CQP Program, this “Workshop” will be an in-person online workshop that focuses on exam writing skills and will follow a program of scenario, question and response analysis and the development of strategies to effectively apply knowledge to the scenarios presented. The AICP course will also be supplemented with learning aids such as podcasts, webinars, interactive self-assessments and on-line monitored discussion boards.

The fourth course of the CQP Program is the Practical Course on Insolvency Counselling (“PCIC”). This continues to be a mandatory requirement for CIRP’s who move on to challenge the Oral Board Exam. The PCIC is offered online with an online exam twice yearly.

The Intro Course, and the iP3 course along with the PCIC course are currently available for student and candidate registration.

The legacy courses, CKC, AKC and CNIE 2023 are now closed. Here’s how the transition works for candidates who are mid-stream in the program:

• Candidates who were successful on the 2023 CNIE will move on to the Oral Boards at the invitation of the OSB;
• Candidates who were qualified to write 2023 CNIE and chose not to, or wrote the CNIE and were unsuccessful, will be provided access to all the CQP Renewal course material, being Intro, iP3 and AICP courses at no additional charge. They will be invited to attend the AICP Workshop that launches AICP. Whenever they do write the CNIE, they will pay the CNIE exam fee, whatever that is at the time;
• Candidates who were qualified to write the 2023 CKE and chose not to, or wrote and were unsuccessful, will be provided access to the CQP Renewal course material for the Intro Course and iP3 at no additional charge. Whenever they write the iP3 exam, they will pay the iP3 exam fee, whatever that is at the time;
• Candidates who have completed the Introduction to Insolvency Program (the legacy course) will be eligible to enroll in the iP3 course and will be required to pay course registration and exam fees, whatever those are at the time.

The next steps in the CQP Renewal are :

• development of testlet style exam questions for the iP3 exam;
• case and scenario/assessment guide development of the AICP cases, and of course
• development of the 2024 CNIE exam.

There are plenty of opportunities for members to participate. Speak up!! We would love to hear form you. If there are any questions about the “New CQP” or any member would like to participate in question writing or AICP topic delivery, please contact me directly.