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Information Regarding Transfer of Foreign Designations

The Canadian Chartered Accountant (CA) designation is internationally recognized for high professional standards in the accounting field. Chartered Accountants hold positions in business, commerce, industry, government, education and public practice.

Please note that use of the CPA designation is not permitted in BC unless you are a member of the BC Institute.

If you have a recognized foreign designation you may be exempt from some or most of the requirements to become a Chartered Accountant in British Columbia. Reciprocity is based on the recommendations of the International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB) regarding the equivalence of a foreign accounting body's qualification process. Equivalency is based on educational, practical experience and examination requirements, as well as professional standards for admission to and continuance of membership.

Application for Membership by International Reciprocity

Experience Certification form

CARE Course and Exam Information

Find more information on:

Approved Foreign Accounting Designations
Eligibility Requirements
Members of Other Foreign Accounting Bodies
The Exam
Experience Requirement
Required Fees
Time Limits
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
Requirements to Receive a Practice Licence

 Approved Foreign Accounting Designations

The following accounting bodies are currently approved for reciprocity:

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of South Africa
  Note: applicants who have obtained the CA designation after November 1998 will be restricted to a Review Practice Certificate at this time, unless they have completed ICA- SA's Part II Auditing option or an equivalent course in Canada, and 625 chargeable audit hours while employed with an approved training firm.
• The Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• L'Ordre des Experts Comptables et des Comptables Agréés (France)
• Netherlands Institute of Register Accountants
• Instituto Mexicano de Contadores Publicos
• Institut des Reviseurs d'Entreprises de Belgique
• Some State Boards of Accountancy in the United States of America
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand (ICANZ)
• The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants
  Note: applicants must have completed the Qualification Program including the Final Professional Examination in or subsequent to December 2000.

Members of other foreign accounting bodies should contact the CA School of Business at 1-866-420-2350 or check their website at www.casb.com. See more information below.

 Eligibility Requirements for other than US CPAs

To be eligible to apply as a membership candidate by reciprocity, a person must, at the time of filing such application and fee with the Institute:

1. be a member in good standing of one of the designated accounting bodies listed above, having been admitted there after passing the final examinations and satisfying the admission and experience requirements;
    
2. have acquired at least two years of public or other qualifying accounting experience acceptable to the Institute in the jurisdiction of the certifying/licensing accounting body. Applicants who achieved the foreign designation based on experience in another jurisdiction (ie-out of country) are not eligible for reciprocity even though that experience was recognized by the certifying/licensing body under which application is being made ; and
    
3. be resident in Canada . 

Eligibility Requirements for US CPAs

Applicants from some of the U.S. State Boards of Accountancy are eligible for reciprocity provided that the applicant :

1. holds a CPA certificate in good standing issued by a state board of accountancy which is compliant with the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) (July 2007);
2. has written the CPA exam while ordinarily resident outside of Canada for a period of two continuous years immediately prior to passing the exam,
3. has acquired while outside Canada at least two years of public or other accounting experience acceptable to the Institute.

The list of UAA compliant states changes from time to time. You may refer to a list provided by the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants ( www.icao.on.ca > Admissions > Membership Candidacy). Note: this should be used as a guide only. Eligibility will be confirmed once an application to register as a reciprocity candidate with the BC Institute is submitted.

The state board must also accept B.C. CAs for licensure based on the IQEX Examination. Residence (or citizenship) is not required of U.S. CPAs unless their State Board itself requires residence (or citizenship) of foreign applicants.

Good standing with the parent accounting body must be maintained until admission to ICABC membership.
All reciprocity candidates must submit an Application For Membership By International Reciprocity form. All candidates are expected to have experience that is equivalent to that required of a CA student. In order to assess this, the candidate must submit employment verification forms for all employers within the last five years.

 Members of Other Foreign Accounting Bodies

Applicants who are members of the following Institutes are, at this time, not eligible to apply for membership by reciprocity and must apply as a student to the CA School of Business.

The Institutes of Chartered Accountants of:

• India
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka
• Zimbabwe
• The Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants
• The Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (United Kingdom, ACCA)

Please view their website at www.casb.com or call 1-866-420-2350.

 The Exam

Membership candidates eligible for reciprocity will be required to pass the CA Reciprocity Exam offered annually in October. This exam, consisting of two three-hour papers, covers commercial law, taxation, the CICA Handbook and the Institute rules of professional conduct. To prepare for this exam, the one-week optional CARE preparatory course offered annually in late September through the Institute is recommended. To assist in preparation for the course and exam, applicants may download a copy of the Institute's Member's handbook from our website here. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) Handbook must be ordered directly from CICA. Their telephone number is 416-977-3222 or toll free 1-800-268-3793.

 Experience Requirement

A membership candidate by reciprocity must have satisfied the equivalent of the Institute's experience requirement for domestic applicants prior to applying for admission to membership in the Institute. A candidate’s experience is assessed in six different competency areas:

• Performance Measurement and Reporting
• Assurance
• Taxation
• Governance, Strategy and Risk Management
• Management Decision-Making
• Finance

The specific competencies within each of the six areas are detailed in the Experience Certification Form. Qualifying experience is defined in terms of both the duration of the experience (i.e. the number of years) and the breadth and depth of competency development during the period(s) of experience. To meet the depth of competency development requirement, you must demonstrate all of the specific competencies within one or the other of:

• Performance Measurement and Reporting, or
• Assurance

To meet the breadth of competency development requirement, you must demonstrate at least one-half (50 per cent) of the specific competencies in at least two of the five other competencies.

Membership candidates by reciprocity may have met all or part of these requirements during the qualification process in the foreign jurisdiction granting the designation used to request reciprocity or subsequent to qualification in the same jurisdiction.

It is recognized that some of the accounting bodies currently approved for reciprocity have introduced qualification routes involving training outside public practice.

Where an applicant has not completed sufficient length of employment (but has obtained the two years of accounting experience required to qualify for reciprocity), or has not met the depth or breadths requirement, he or she will be required to fulfill their deficiencies prior to making application to membership.

 Required Fees

The non-refundable application fee to become an international reciprocity candidate is currently $50.00 + GST. Upon acceptance by the Registrar, an international reciprocity candidate may enroll in the CARE preparatory course and/or the CA Reciprocity Exam. Course and examination fees are set annually. Upon completion of all requirements, an admission fee must be submitted prior to final approval for membership.

Forms may be downloaded from our website. Click here to obtain the Application for Admission by International Reciprocity form. Go here to read about the CARE course and exam, and click here to obtain the CARE Course and Exam Enrollment form

 Time Limits

If the requirements for membership by international reciprocity are not completed within thirty months of the date of acceptance as an international reciprocity candidate, the application for membership shall expire and the application fee shall be forfeited. An applicant is permitted, however, to submit another application form and fee after expiry of the thirty month period. The requirements respecting courses, examinations, experience, residence and time limitations relating to such subsequent applications shall be subject to the requirements then in effect.

 Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

All ICABC members are also members of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. The only way to obtain membership in the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants is for individuals to first be admitted to membership in a provincial institute.

 Requirements to Receive a Practice Licence

In the province of British Columbia, ICABC itself, through the Practice Review & Licensing Committee, administers the requirements to receive a practice licence. Only those applicants intending to set up a public practice firm in the province are required to obtain a practice licence. Information regarding the requirements for a licence is available by calling the Institute office.