Foreign Educated Individuals

If you are foreign educated individual and hold no professional accounting designation, the ICAA can help you to gain the necessary requirements to obtain a CA designation.

All foreign education must be assessed by the International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) to determine the Canadian education equivalency. Once you receive your assessment from IQAS, the CA School of Business (CASB) can help you to determine what additional requirements you need to enter the CA education program.

If you hold the equivalent to a four-year (120 credit hour) Canadian bachelor’s degree as determined by IQAS, you will need to send your IQAS transcripts to CASB to review what business and accounting prerequisite courses you have already completed, as well as to determine any additional courses you may need. All required business and accounting courses can be completed through the CA Bridging Program. For more information on the CA Bridging Program at the University of Lethbridge Edmonton and Calgary campuses, click here.

How to become a CA in Alberta

The typical route for qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in Canada requires individuals to have completed the following:

Education

• A four-year bachelor’s degree with the required business and accounting courses,
• A professional education program—in Western Canada, students complete online modules through the CA School of Business (CASB)

Experience

• CA students must gain approximately three years of work experience in a CA Training Office under the supervision of experienced CAs

Evaluation and Assessment

• Throughout the professional education program and during the practical work experience, students undergo assessments and evaluations.
• Every CA student must write the Uniform Evaluation (UFE) to qualify as a Chartered Accountant.