Your Path to Becoming a CA: Not a current or past member of any accounting body, but you have a university degree in accounting or business

You are not a current or past member of any accounting body outside Canada, but you have a university degree in accounting or business. You have three years of work experience in accounting, business, or related areas

 

Step 1) Evaluation of Qualifications

You can ask the Institute to evaluate your academic background to determine if you are eligible for any exemptions from the academic requirement. The cost of this evaluation is $513.60. Based on the Institute's assessment, you may be granted some exemptions from the academic requirement. You should hear from the Institute within four to six weeks after submitting your transcripts.

Application Process

You need to complete the Preliminary Evaluation of Advanced Standing for Foreign-trained Accountants form [Adobe PDF] and send it to the Institute with the following documents:

• A chronological résumé showing you have completed at least three years of accounting, business, or other relevant work experience.
• A copy of your university degree.
• Official transcripts of all courses you completed at university as part of your degree program. Be sure to send original transcripts issued by your university and not photocopies.
• A copy of your university's course calendar or syllabus with descriptions of all the courses you completed.

Step 2) Academic Requirement

After evaluating your qualifications, the Institute may determine that you have not met the academic requirement. In this case, you will be asked to complete specific university courses to meet the requirement. Review the Settlement.Org University Education page for more about universities in Ontario.

Most public accounting firms in Ontario approved for training CA students are interested in hiring individuals who have completed the academic requirement. Therefore, it is recommended that you complete the academic requirement before seeking employment as a student CA.

51-Credit-Hour Academic Requirement

The 51-credit-hour requirement consists of 17 three-credit (or equivalent) courses approved by the Institute in the following areas:

Financial accounting	15
Cost and management accounting	6
Advanced accounting elective	3
Auditing	9
Taxation	6
Business information systems	3
Finance/financial management	3
Economics	3
Law	3
Total	51

Step 3) Practical Work Experience

Your next step to becoming a Chartered Accountant is to obtain employment as a student CA in a public accounting office in Ontario and begin your practical work experience. There are approximately 600 firms in Ontario approved for training CA students.

To qualify as a CA in Ontario, you must complete 30 months of work experience in an Ontario public accounting office approved for training CA students. Your work experience must include 2,500 chargeable hours. Half of these hours must involve audits.

For more information about the practical experience requirement, see the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants publication CA Practical Experience Requirements.

Once you have obtained either full- or part-time employment as a student CA, you will be eligible to register with the Institute as a student candidate.

Employment Support for Newcomers

Communities throughout Ontario offer a variety of free and low-cost resources and supports to assist newcomers to find employment in their field. For information about employment programs, click here.

For more information about student CA jobs, click here.

Step 4) Registration with the Institute as a Student

To register with the Institute as a student candidate in this path, you must:

• have a university degree
• have three years of work experience in accounting, business, or related areas
• be a resident of Ontario
• be employed in a public accounting office in Ontario approved by the Institute for training CA students.

Step 5) Staff Training Program

Within the first 12 months of beginning your practical work experience, you are required to complete a five-day staff training program. The objective of this program is to familiarize you with:

• the performance of audit and non-audit engagements
• the operation of a public accounting office
• the rules and regulations that govern the practice of public accountancy in Ontario

Many firms that train CA students offer an Institute-approved program. If your employer does not offer this program, you can attend one of the programs offered by the Institute throughout the year.

Step 6) Professional Program

Most student candidates enroll in the Institute's Professional Program at the end of their first year of practical work experience. The Institute's Professional Program has two components:

• the Core Knowledge Examination (CKE)
• the School of Accountancy (SOA)

Core Knowledge Examination

The Core Knowledge Examination (CKE) is a four-hour, multiple-choice examination that tests your knowledge about the fundamentals of accounting. You must pass this examination before you are eligible to attend the School of Accountancy (SOA). You can write the CKE in January or May.

School of Accountancy

The School of Accountancy (SOA) is a four-week period of full-time study in June. In the months before the School of Accountancy begins, you will be provided with readings and assignments to prepare for the School. The Institute also offers lectures and workshops during the winter months before the School of Accountancy to help you prepare.

End-of-School Examination

At the end of the four-week School of Accountancy, you will write the End-of-School examination. This examination consists mainly of essay questions based on cases.

Step 7) Uniform Evaluation (UFE)

You can write the Uniform Evaluation (UFE) at any point after completing the School of Accountancy. The UFE is held over a three-day period and covers the basic knowledge needed by a public accountant working at an entry level. During the exam, you will write three papers, one paper each day. You will respond to descriptions of business situations that represent the kinds of challenges you have faced during your work experience or will soon be facing in your professional career as a CA.

The UFE is held every year in September at several locations across Ontario. To be eligible to write the Uniform Evaluation, you must successfully complete the Professional Program.

Step 8) Practical Work Experience

Complete your practical work experience requirement.

Step 9) Application for Membership

When you have completed all the requirements, you will be eligible to apply for membership in the Institute. This membership allows you to use the CA designation and the title Chartered Accountant. Also, the CA designation makes you automatically eligible for a licence to practise public accounting.

Application and Membership Fees for this Path

Note: Prices do not include GST.

Academic Credential Assessment

Credential assessment (for individuals who are not a member of any accounting body outside Canada)

480.00

 

	Jan. 1 - June 30	July 1 - Dec. 31
Student registration processing fee	100.00	100.00
Annual maintenance of student registration	250.00	125.00
Chartered Accountants Students' Association of Ontario (CASAO) annual membership	30.00	15.00
	380.00	240.00

Examination and Professional School Fees

School of Accountancy (including the Core Knowledge Exam and the End-of-School Exam)

1,450.00

 

Uniform Evaluation (UFE)

1,150.00

Membership Fees

Student admission (after fulfilling the student requirements)

500.00

 

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) annual membership

470.00

 

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) annual membership

425.00