How to become a Chartered Accountant (CA) by the professional entry route

Follow the professional entry route to becoming an ICAS Chartered Accountant if you’re an experienced finance professional or graduate seeking to boost your career.

Our professional entry route is a pathway to the CA qualification that's suitable for accountancy and finance professionals with:

• a university degree or an international degree formally recognised as a UK equivalent (check now); or
• five years' experience in a financial environment.

Flexible study options

This is a flexible route, with opportunities to help fit the study around your current circumstances. You can even complete the first level of the syllabus, Test of Competence (TC), online through our learning management system (LMS).

Classes are delivered UK-wide, in the following locations:

• Aberdeen
• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Cambridge
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• Leeds
• London
• Luton
• Manchester
• Reading
• Jersey

You can enrol with ICAS at any time, begin your training plan and take your exams at different times. However, classes for Test of Competence generally commence in September to October of each year.

Entry criteria

If you wish to apply for entry through this route, you will be required to provide us with the following information:

• Details of your employment (including the name, address and phone number of your UK-based employer).
• An individual in your company who is qualified and willing to act as your counselling member – to sign off your Relevant Practical Experience.
• Your job role and a description of your responsibilities and work particulars.
• A detailed training plan which describes how you will meet the demands of work and study, and how you will be able to work across a broad range of activities with depth and application.
• Complete the application form and declaration for professional entry.

Please note that all professional-entry students are required to fund their own studies and that you will be liable for all associated fees before you take any classes or exams.

How to apply

Once you have gathered all the relevant information specified by our entry criteria, please contact us by email and we will send you:

• An application form.
• Our fee schedule.

Your application form must be completed and returned to students@icas.com with a subject line of ‘Professional Entry Enrolment’.