Evaluation of Qualifications

You can contact the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario and ask them to assess your qualifications before or after you arrive in Canada. The Institute will evaluate your education, training and work experience and will let you know what additional requirements you will need to complete in Ontario to get the CA designation.

Members of Recognized Accounting Bodies

If you are a current or past member of a recognized accounting body, you do not need to have your qualifications evaluated before you register as a membership candidate. As a membership candidate, you are exempt from the Institute's Professional Program requirement and the Uniform Evaluation (UFE). The Institute will evaluate your work experience when you submit your registration documents. If the Institute determines that you have three years of accounting work experience that is equivalent to the work experience acquired by an entry-level chartered accountant in Ontario, you will be exempted from the practical work experience requirement. You must successfully complete the CA Reciprocity Examination (CARE).

Members of Non-Recognized Accounting Bodies

If you are a member of a non-recognized accounting body outside Canada, you are automatically exempt from most of the academic requirements. You need to complete only one university course in Canadian business law.

You can ask the Institute to evaluate your professional education and work experience to determine if you are eligible for any additional exemption from the professional education or practical work experience requirement. The evaluation is currently free.

Administrative staff at the Institute will make a preliminary assessment of your eligibility for exemptions and will notify you in about three months. Then you will attend a hearing before members of the Applications Committee at the Institute's office in Toronto, Ontario.

At the hearing, you will be invited to present information that supports your request for full or partial exemption from the professional education and/or practical experience requirements. The Applications Committee will make a decision about whether you are eligible for any exemption.

There is a waiting time of approximately three to four months to schedule a hearing before the Applications Committee.

Members of Non-assessed Accounting Bodies

If you are a member of a non-assessed accounting body, you can have your qualifications as well as the qualification process of your accounting body evaluated by the Institute. The Institute will decide if you are eligible for any exemption from the academic, professional education, or practical work experience requirement. This evaluation is free. The process can take anywhere from three months to one year.

If you are not satisfied with the assessment of your qualifications, you can petition the Applications Committee for a review. You will be invited to attend a hearing before members of the Applications Committee at the Institute's office in Toronto, Ontario.

At the hearing, you will present information that supports your request for full or partial exemption from the professional education and/or practical work experience requirements. The Applications Committee will make a final decision about whether or not you are eligible for any exemption.

There is a waiting time of approximately three to four months to schedule a hearing before the Applications Committee.

 

If you are not a member of any accounting body outside of Canada

If you are not a member of any accounting body outside Canada, but you have a university degree, you can apply to the Institute to have your academic qualifications evaluated. The cost of this evaluation is $480.00 CDN. Based on the Institute's assessment, you may be granted some exemption from the academic requirement. You should hear from the Institute within four to six weeks after submitting your transcripts.