Academic Requirement
To register as a student and begin the CA qualification program, you need to have a 4 year, 120 credit hour university degree that either includes or has been augmented by 51 credit hours of prescribed university degree - credit courses. Most public accounting offices in Ontario approved for training CA students hire individuals who have completed or almost completed the academic requirements.
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 |
Exemption
If you are a current or past member of a recognized accounting body outside Canada, you are automatically exempt from the academic requirement.
If you are a current or past member of a non-recognized accounting body outside Canada, you are exempt from:
- The university degree requirement, if a degree is not held;
- 48 credit hours (16 courses) of the 51 credit hours (17 courses) of prescribed university degree credit courses (exemption from the 3 credit hour, 1 course, requirement in Canadian business law is not automatically granted); and
- The 5 day Staff Training Program
If you are a current or past member of a non-assessed accounting body outside Canada, or if you are not a current or past member of any accounting body, you must complete the academic requirements. You can ask the Institute to evaluate your qualifications to determine if you are eligible for any exemptions from the academic requirements. See the section Evaluation of Qualifications.