Becoming a chartered accountant in Pakistan is a challenging task. Giving the required examinations and passing all of them is a feat not many students achieve. However, once you end up successful, there is a significant number of opportunities available. This is one of the reasons people are still so interested in chartered accountancy as a profession. While this acts as a motivator for pursuing this field, one reason why applicants are hesitant to pursue chartered accountancy is due to the difficulty level and the fear of having to retake exams continuously. Apart from how stressful it is to sit through the same exams repeatedly, one of the major concerns of students is the need for more information present when it comes to CA exams retake. If you are a student looking for the CA exam retake policy, you have come to the right place. This blog will cover everything you need to know about having to retake your exams.
Enrolment Process
To completely understand how the policy of CA exams retake, you need to have some background information regarding the registration process and enrollment. Once you register as a student, you will have to appear for eight exams in Certificate in Accounting and Finance, six in Certified Accounting and Finance Professional, and two in Multi-Subject Assessment exams. Once you pass all these exams, your training for becoming a chartered accountant ends, and you get the membership.
Examination Registration
While student registration for chartered accountancy is open throughout the year, it is separate from signing up for examinations. The schedule for CA exam date admission comes separately and is announced by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Pakistan every year. You must submit the exam admission form if you want to appear for exams in a particular year. You can check the ICAP website to remain up to date with the latest schedule. However, all candidates need to remember that you can only appear for pre-requisite competencies assessment within the first twelve months after you pass your qualifying assessment test.
Examination Limits
Different time periods are available for passing your CA examinations at various stages. For pre-requisite competencies, you must give at least three exams within the first twelve months from the date of the first attempt. After this, you will have three extra months to pass any remaining papers that you might have left.
At the Certificate in Accounting and Finance stage, you will have four years after the first attempt to clear at least six exams. If any exam is left after this or there is a possibility of CA exams retake, you will have an additional year to clear those.
Furthermore, you need to pass at least four Certificate in Accounting and Finance Professional within the first ten years of the start of your training. There is no available limit after you reach the four-limit benchmark. You also do not get any extra years to give the remaining exams. Lastly, for the Multi-Subject Assessment, you do not have any limit regarding time. You can appear for these exams whenever you want; however, there is one exception to this rule. This will only be effective if you have not been debarred from sitting in your examinations by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Pakistan due to having passed the Certificate in Accounting and Finance time limit.
Minimum Paper Requirement
An essential aspect of the CA exams retake is understanding the requirement for the minimum number of papers you can appear for. This will help you gauge whether you will have to retake any exam and, if yes, the subjects you will have to reappear in. This will help you plan. The minimum number of papers you can give for Certificate in Accounting and Finance in one sitting is 3. The minimum paper requirement for Certificate in Accounting and Finance Professional is 2. As for the maximum number of papers a student can appear in during one attempt, there is no set limit.
The information mentioned above will help you figure out how to divide time between your papers and understand the requirements in case you want to resit for exams. ICAP expects you to know this information when you are registering for your exams. The possibility of failing a chartered accountancy exam is vast. If that happens, it would be best for you to be prepared beforehand to take the following steps for the CA exams as strategically as possible.