How to become a CA (Chartered Accountant) in Nepal?

How to Become a CA in Nepal? how much it costs to complete CA? What are the requirements for getting admission in CA course? How difficult it is to complete CA course in Nepal? Can I be a Chartered Accountant of Nepal with a science background?

“How to become a CA in Nepal?” is one of the most asked questions by students willing to pursue a career as a chartered accountant. We will try to answer these very common and basic questions regarding the CA course in Nepal in this article. For more common and frequently asked questions, we have created a list of FAQs for CA in Nepal in a different article. Becoming a CA, or Chartered Accountant is not a simple thing. There is a lot of education and training, as well as testing that an accountant must undergo in order to become a CA.

Logically, the first step in becoming a CA is to have a desire to go into accounting.  The next step is to ensure that you have the aptitude, desire and strong ambition to be a CA; that is, you must have an aptitude for math and numbers, as well as organization and management to some degree.  A CA candidate should also have a good sense of moral values and business ethics and firm determination.

Once you have determined that you are a good candidate for an accounting career, you need to determine if becoming a CA is the right accounting career for you. Because there are other alternatives (which might be easier to achieve) to CA such as masters/bachelors in Accounting, other professional accounting courses etc. To do this, you must understand what a CA does.  A CA can be employed individually or within a public accounting firm in tax or audit services.  A CA is, of course, a public accountant.  That means that the CA provides services on a fee basis, basically meaning that the CA works for the public in general rather than a specific corporation or company.  This can translate into variety in your CA career.

CAs make an average of Rs.4,00,000 per year as a starting salary within local firms.  Within national firms, a CA can have a starting salary of around Rs.10,00,000 per year.  These figures may not seem fantastic, but for starting salaries they are very competitive.  A CA can easily start out making enough money to be considered middle-class income level, which is not a bad place to start in today’s society and economical status of Nepal.

Once you have decided that you want to become a CA, you can take foundation level classes in one of the CA tuition providers (these are not regular colleges, so you have a great flexibility for studies). In Nepal, institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) regulates the auditing license so the qualification is regulated by ICAN. After the foundation level exams or CPT exams (which generally completes in 1 year), you need to take the exams of Intermediate level. This is the level which most students find difficult to pass. Most of the skills and knowledge is developed in the Intermediate level of CA qualification.

Once you have completed your Intermediate level, you are required to do a 3 years internship in one of the audit firms of Nepal or Industrial training for 3 years. After completing 2 years of the training period candidates can sit for the Final level examination. The training(internship) is designed to grasp the techniques and expertise to work as an accountant in real life situation and also boost up your knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles, accounting laws, and accounting regulations for your state, as well as tax law and principles.

Once you have passed all CA examinations and completed the three years internship in audit form of Nepal, you can apply for the Audit license in the ICAN office, Satdobato. After meeting all these requirements,ICAN will issue you a license to practice as a CA (A class Auditor of Nepal). You can then take this license to any firm and apply for a position as a CA.  If you prefer, you could start your own small firm and practice as a CA alone or in partnership.  For more information about becoming a CA, you should contact ICAN office or one of the tuition providers of CA papers in Nepal. Also, you can send us your queries or questions to us at arjun @ bizsewa.com.