The Investment Dealers Association of Canada says that it will no longer be accepting the Partners, Directors and Senior Officers exam as a substitute for the Conduct and Practices Handbook Exam.

As an administrative practice, the IDA currently allows individuals to substitute completion of the PDO exam for the CPH, as the contents of the CPH are included in the PDO exam study material.

However, the Canadian Securities Institute, following consultation with the Education and Proficiency Committee, is revising the PDO Exam to focus more on corporate governance issues. The revised PDO will no longer cover the CPH in its entirety.

As a result, the IDA now says that anyone completing the PDO exam after May 24, will not be able to use it to qualify for registration in a trading category, but will also have to complete the CPH.