The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) is the governing body of Ontario's Chartered Accountants and CA students. The Institute protects the public interest by maintaining high standards of qualification and enforcing the CA profession's rules of professional conduct. The Institute works in partnership with the other provincial institutes of Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants to maintain national standards and programs.

No, you don't have to be a CA to work as an accountant in Ontario. As an alternative to qualifying as a CA, you can qualify as a Certified General Accountant (CGA) or a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). For some other accounting jobs and for clerical accounting and bookkeeping jobs, you do not require an accounting designation.

You can work in the accounting field. However, you can't call yourself a CA in Ontario unless you are a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

The Institute has reciprocity agreements with some international accounting bodies to recognize the qualifications of each other's members. If you are a member of one of these accounting bodies, you may be able to qualify as a CA in Ontario by successfully completing the CA Reciprocity Exam and having the Institute assess your work experience to determine whether it meets the 3 year prescribed practical experience requirement. See the Your Path to Becoming a CA section of this website.

Yes, there are many clerical accounting and junior accounting positions that you can work in before you get a professional accounting designation. See the Related Occupations section.

The Institute has reciprocity agreements with some accounting bodies outside Canada to recognize the qualifications of each other's members. If you are a member of one of these accounting bodies, you are exempt from the professional program. However, the Institute must assess your work experience to determine whether it meets the 3 year prescribed practical experience requirement. If you are not a member of one of these accounting bodies, you are required to complete the education, examination, and experience requirements. In very rare cases, exemptions from the professional program are granted. See the Your Path to Becoming a CA section of this website.

You may be eligible for full or partial exemption from the practical experience requirement. The Institute will evaluate your work experience and compare it to the work performed in an approved training office in Ontario. Based on this evaluation, the Institute will determine if you are eligible for any exemption from the practical work experience requirement.

Your first step is to determine whether the accounting body that you belong to has been assessed as “recognized” or “non-recognized” by the Canadian Chartered Accountants' International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB). The IQAB’s results are based on a review of the qualification program, including the academic, professional education and practical work experience requirements of your accounting body. If your accounting body has not been assessed by IQAB you will register as a member of a “non-assessed” accounting body. Your registration category determines what requirements you will need to fulfill to get the CA designation. Refer to Your Path to Becoming a CA for detailed information on the requirements of each registration category.
All candidates must fulfill the 3 year practical experience requirement. Please note that you must have obtained an accounting designation in your country to apply to have your work experience recognized by the Institute.  Qualifying practical experience is defined in terms of both the duration of the practical experience (i.e. the number of years) and the breadth and depth of competency development during the period(s) of practical experience. Refer to The CA Practical Experience Requirements 2009 and The UFE Candidates’ Competency Map [PDF] for detailed information regarding the professional competencies. Your practical experience must demonstrate the level of proficiency across the competencies that are expected of an entry level CA.

No, you can send documents related to your academic background, professional education and affiliation, and work experience to the Institute even before you come to Canada. The Institute will evaluate your qualifications and let you know if you are eligible for any exemptions from the requirements to become a CA in Ontario.

If you are not a member of any accounting body outside Canada, and the Institute is evaluating your academic background only, you can expect to hear from the Institute within four to six weeks of submitting your university transcripts.

If you are a member of a non-assessed accounting body or non-recognized accounting body outside Canada, and the Institute is evaluating your academic qualifications and work experience as well as the qualification program of your accounting body, you can expect the process to take a minimum of 3 to six months. In some cases, the process can take up to one year, if you are required to wait to attend an oral hearing before the Applications Committee.

If you are a member of a recognized accounting body, the Institute will evaluate your work experience when you submit your registration documents. You should hear from the Institute within one month after supplying all your documentation.

If you are a current or past member of a professional accounting body outside Canada, the Institute does not charge you anything to evaluate your qualifications. If you are not a member or past member of an accounting body outside of Canada, and you wish the ICAO to evaluate your academic (university) background only, you must pay a fee of $480 CDN for the evaluation. A portion of the assessment cost, $380 CDN, is credited towards the student registration fees if the student registers within 3 years of the first assessment.

If you are not a current or past member of any accounting body outside Canada, the Institute's fee for evaluating your academic background is $513.60.

A membership candidate is someone whose accounting body has a reciprocity agreement (also called a "mutual recognition agreement") with the Institute to recognize the qualifications of each other's members. Therefore, membership candidates are exempted from the Core knowledge Examination, the School of Accountancy and the National Uniform Evaluation and may be exempted from some or all of the 3 year practical experience requirement.

If you are a current or past member of a non-recognized or non-assessed accounting body outside of Canada, or if you are not a current or past member of any accounting body outside of Canada, you will register with the Institute as a student candidate. A student of the Institute normally has to complete the Institute's Core Knowledge Examination, School of Accountancy, National Uniform Evaluation (UFE) as well as the 3 year work experience requirement in order to qualify as a Chartered Accountant.

Your status with the Institute depends on which accounting body you are a current or former member of. See the Your Path to Becoming a CA section of this website.

Yes, in order to register with the Institute as a student you must be employed either full-time or part-time by an office in Ontario approved for training CA students. The Governing Council of the Institute has waived this requirement. This may be subject to change in the future. Visit the ICAO website for a list of approved training offices in Ontario.

There are approximately 600 firms in Ontario designated for training CA students. There is strong competition for student positions in these firms. For information on employment programs designed to help newcomers secure employment in Ontario, see the Contacts section of this website.

No, you don't have to pass an English language test to become a CA in Ontario. However, to work in an approved training office in Ontario and to complete the CA professional education and exams, you will require excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

English upgrading classes are available through local school boards, community-based organizations, community colleges, and universities throughout Ontario. Visit the Services Near Me section of the Settlement.Org website to find English language classes in your area. If your English skills are low intermediate and you are a recent immigrant to Canada, you can take government-sponsored English classes through the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program. In Ontario, you need to visit a YMCA Assessment Centre to have your language skills assessed and to register for classes. A list of these centres can be found on the Settlement.Org website.