Chartered accountancy is a dynamic profession. Its education requirements are geared to meet the increasing demand for the many services CAs provide -- as well as the ones they will provide in the future.

There are several possible entry routes to becoming a CA. The core academic requirement for qualification consists of a 4-year, 120-credit-hour university degree, one that either includes or has been augmented by 51 credit hours of prescribed university degree-credit courses, or by an Institute accredited university program/stream. Students are required to successfully complete university degree-credit courses so that they have covered all the topics in The UFE Candidates' Competency Map (Competency Map) of the profession's Uniform Evaluation(UFE). Business degree programs at most Ontario universities offer all or most of the prescribed courses.

Students are encouraged to fulfil the credit-hour requirement as part of an integrated university 4-year, 120-credit-hour degree program. When the prescribed courses are obtained through more than one university program, there is serious risk of duplication or omission of material.

The prescribed courses may be completed on either a full-time or part-time basis before registration with the ICAO. For those not enrolled in a co-operative degree or professional school of accounting program, the courses may be completed on a part-time basis after registration with the ICAO.

Some non-business university degree courses may also qualify for ICAO credit. Students should contact the ICAO before registering in any non-business degree courses to find out whether the courses qualify for credit. Further details on the several possible entry routes to CA qualification are provided in another section.

51 Credit-Hour Requirement

A -  Traditional University Courses/Program

The CA program is designed to enable potential CA students to obtain comprehensive coverage of the Competency Map for entry to the Chartered Accountancy Profession through university courses. This 51 credit-hour requirement consists of a series of degree-credit courses approved by the ICAO. The specific areas of coverage are:

In May of 2002, the Institute’s Council approved the introduction of a computer requirement as part of the education reform Regulation I changes.

Regulation I – 201 (5) states that an applicant who seeks to be registered as a student must have access to a computer that meets the minimum configuration requirements as set out by the Institute from time to time.

The current computer requirement is as follows: