FAQ Page

You can register online or via email to become an ICIA-PAKISTAN student at any time of the year. Applying online allows you to upload all your updated resume and supporting documents. This means your ICIA-PAKISTAN application will be processed much quicker and you will know at which level you can start your studies shortly after submitting your application. If you are ready to apply please click apply now in the Related Links of the page and begin your application. To avoid delays in the application process please include all supporting documents at time of registration.

The minimum entry requirements for the ICIA-PAKISTAN Qualification is fourteen years of education , graduation (B.A, B.com, BBA) or post graduation (M.A, MBA, MPA, M.com) etc or equivalent.

You are required to submit copies of the following: Official educational documents e.g. completion certificates and transcripts detailing the modules studied Copies of any professional qualification/membership. Proof of identity (copy of birth certificate / passport / National ID Card or driver’s licence) Passport-style photograph Please note that where documents have been issued in a language other than English, we require a photocopy of the original language documents and a copy of an official English translation. You will be able to upload and attach copies of all documentation to your online application. Please note that in order to fully complete your application online you will be required to pay your registration fee after the assessment.

The online application should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, providing you have all the documents you need ready before you start. You can also save a part-complete application and return to it a later date. If you complete your application fully online, and we receive all the information and documents we require, you should be registered as a student within 5–7 working days. If you have to send documents or payment to us by post, you should be registered as a student within 10 working days. Please note this timescale is from receipt of the documents. We aim to process all applications within the timescales stated above following receipt of the application. You will then be sent a communication via email or letter confirming your application has been processed. Should we require further information to support your application we will contact you.

You will receive notification via email of your student status as soon as your registration application has been processed.

This section focuses on the fees payable when you register. For full details of all of our fees, kindly visit our fee section on the official website. There is also a charge for every exemption awarded. Please note, exemptions for the ICIA-PAKISTAN Qualification are available.

Yes, the exam and exemption fee is same.

Yes, the institute is offering the exemptions to the members of other recognized national and international professional bodies and the business graduates. For more details you can visit the official website or send us your updated resume for the free assessment.

You may be exempt from some of our exams based on the qualifications you already have. These will be assessed as part of your online application. Please note: Exemptions are not awarded until after your education documentation has been assessed and registration application completed.

As an awarding body, ICIA-PAKISTAN relies on its global network of third party tuition providers to help our students prepare for their exams. Please note, ICIA-PAKISTAN does not provide tuition for its qualifications. ICIA-PAKISTAN recommends that you use one of our registered tuition providers. You can access the Tuition Provider Directory.

Unfortunately, an application cannot be finalized without the relevant fee. Please ensure that a payment is submitted as part of your application. Please note, until your application is finalized and you have been issued with official confirmation of your registration, you will be unable to attempt any examinations. Students are also advised not to book tuition until their registration is confirmed.

Yes, you can enter for exams during the registration process. Any exams entered for during the registration process will be confirmed once your application has been successfully finalized.

ICIA-PAKISTAN will run two exam sessions per year in June and December.

Yes , if you qualify the exam and awarded the membership certificate then you will allow to use the designatory letters of “GCIA”, “CMSA”, “CITA”, CICE” after your name.

Yes. During the ICIA-PAKISTAN online registration process you will be given the option to enter provisionally for one of the next two examination sessions. Alternatively, you may enter for exams at a later date.

You have ten years to complete all the exams – which starts from the date you registered as a student, not the date when you start taking exams.

You have the choice of sitting paper-based exams in any one of exam centres around the world. More information on exam centres can be found from the office. Any changes to the available centres will be detailed on the website. Please note that, due to limited facilities being available at some centres, we reserve the right to transfer candidates to alternative centres. We also reserve the right, in exceptional circumstances, to hold exams at times and places other than those listed.

There is no restriction to the number of exams you may attempt, allowing you to choose to sit as many or as few papers as you like at each exam session. You are, however, recommended to attempt a maximum of four papers in each six-month period.

In the vast majority of cases, you will be allocated to the centre of your choice. On very rare occasions, when demand exceeds capacity, ICIA-PAKISTAN may have to allocate you to the nearest alternative centre. You will be told about this on your exam attendance docket. In some cities, where demand is very high, students may be allocated to one of a number of different halls which make up a centre. As these halls can be in different locations, it is important that you read the venue details on your attendance docket carefully.

ICIA-PAKISTAN can make special arrangements for students who are disabled or have special requirements. If you require any additional support, please email your request (attaching up to date medical evidence) .

You will be informed about the exam center and other details via official email. This includes a timetable of all the exams that you are entered for; details of the desk that has been assigned to you for each paper; and the address of your exam centre. If you are not completely sure of the location of the centre, how to get there or how long it may take you, make sure you rehearse your route before the day of the exam. Please remember that exams may start at peak times so you should allow for rush-hour traffic and possible hold-ups. You should read the exam guidelines carefully to familiarize yourself with the exam procedure and what equipment you are allowed to take with you into the exams. Please take some form of official photographic ID, such as a passport, driving license or national identity card. This will be checked during the exam together with your Examination Attendance. You should try to arrive at the exam centre about 30 minutes before the start of the exam. This will give you time to relax and prepare yourself. If you are sitting a three-hour exam, you will be given an additional 15-minute reading and planning time allowance.

Full details of the rules and regulations are available on the reverse of your examination slip or our website. Please familiarize yourself with these prior to attending the examination centre.

You are required to bring an official means of your identity to the exam, such as your passport, driving license or national ID card. If you forget your ID, you will be required to return to your centre before the end of the exam session with appropriate ID.

If you are up to an hour late for the exam, you will still be allowed to enter the exam hall, although no extra time will be awarded. However, the supervisor will not allow you to enter the hall if you arrive more than an hour late.

ICIA-PAKISTAN makes every effort to ensure that you sit the exams in the best conditions possible. However, should you need to make a complaint, please contact the exam supervisor during the exam in order that everything possible can be done to rectify the situation. If you feel that the situation has affected your performance, please inform ICIA-PAKISTAN directly by submitting details of your complaint via email. You must contact ICIA-PAKISTAN with details of any complaint within one week of the last examination in the session concerned, in order for the situation to be investigated and taken into account in the results process.

Students are not required to answer the questions in a particular order. All of your answers will be marked.

A subscription fee is charged in addition to the initial registration fee in your first year as an ICIA-PAKISTAN student if you are eligible to sit at more than one exam session in a calendar year.

The easiest and most effective way of making a payment is online to the official bank account of ICIA-PAKISTAN, through pay order, bank draft or you can make payment in cash in office.

If you already have some qualifications you may not have to take all of the exams of ICIA-PAKISTAN for the different certification programs. These are called exemptions and mean that you will start your studies at the right level for your knowledge and skill. You can also claim exemptions on the basis of practical experience if you have the sufficient experience in the relevant field then you may also apply for the exemptions. You will need to pay an exemption fee for each paper awarded. Exemption fees are charged at the early exam entry fee. Exemptions are an award of merit and ICIA-PAKISTAN reserves the right to change its exemption policy or the level of exemption awarded to accredited programs at its discretion.

There are several routes to ICIA-PAKISTAN membership and many students undertake prior learning which is equivalent to some ICIA-PAKISTAN papers. Where appropriate, ICIA-PAKISTAN wishes to ensure that students’ entry points match the knowledge and skills they have acquired from their previous qualifications. In doing so, we aim to provide students with the quickest possible route to membership.

We award exemption to qualifications offered by educational and professional institutions worldwide. Some examples are: certificates and diplomas (awarded by recognized institutions) Bachelor degrees (B.com, BBA ) Postgraduate qualifications (MBA. MPA) Professional qualifications (membership of any recognized professional institute)

If you are the member of any other recognized professional body, you may apply for the direct membership. If you are part qualified of any recognized professional body then you may send your updated resume to the exemption department. No exemptions are awarded from any of the papers if you already got exemption.

You have to send us your updated resume along with the transcripts of your academic and professional qualification. Our exemption department will assess and reply about the exemptions.

You should apply for exemptions when you first register as a student with ICIA-PAKISTAN. If you have gained additional qualifications since you first registered as a student and believe you may be eligible for further exemptions, you can apply for these at any time. You can send copies of your educational documents by post or fax, or email a scanned copy of these documents to ICIA-PAKISTAN. Please be aware that you should wait until your exemptions have been confirmed as awarded before committing to any course of study. ICIA-PAKISTAN will not be held liable for any fees incurred for changes to tuition or study materials where the award of exemptions has not been confirmed in advance.

You must send official proof of any qualifications you already have or are studying for along with your registration form so that we can assess if you are eligible for exemptions. Please submit copies of academic transcripts or award certificates as evidence. Any documentation which is not in English must be officially translated before submission. Official translations must be stamped and signed by the translator. Please ensure that original documents are not submitted with your application, as ICIA-PAKISTAN cannot take responsibility for the return of irreplaceable documents.

Our assessment of students’ qualifications takes into account a number of variables, which may cause students with similar qualifications to be awarded differing levels of exemption. These variables include: the institution or campus where studies were undertaken the type of qualification that was awarded the program of study undertaken the subject major stated on the completion certificate, transcript or other documents the modules studied during the course of the qualification the year studies were commenced or completed the date students registered with or claimed exemption from ICIA-PAKISTAN. To find out what exemptions are available for the qualifications that you hold, please consult ICIA-PAKISTAN’s exemption enquiry department.

When your exemptions have been awarded, you will be issued with an exemption notification, Please pay for your exemptions as soon as you have received the exemptions assessment.

Students are charged a one-off fee for each exemption awarded to cover administration costs.

You will need to pay a fee for each exemption ICIA-PAKISTAN awards you. The detail would be sent to you in the exemptions assessment.

It’s up to you to decide if you wish to claim the exemptions you are awarded. You may wish to consider forfeiting exemptions, for instance, if a significant period of time has passed since you gained your previous qualifications, and you have not undertaken any further activity related to your studies in the intervening time. If you do accept the exemptions, you may wish to consider whether you need to undertake any additional study or preparation to ensure you are ready to begin the higher-level papers.

ICIA-PAKISTAN recognizes the module pass marks set by educational institutions for the purposes of exemptions. If your institution has awarded a pass mark for a module, ICIA-PAKISTAN will accept this for exemption purposes. However, please note that fail or marginal fail marks and compensated or condoned passes awarded by educational institutions cannot be accepted for exemption purposes.

ICIA-PAKISTAN only awards exemption where students have sat and passed the specific modules detailed, as part of an assessed programme. If you have been awarded credit or exemption from your awarding institution for some or all of the modules specified on the exemption enquiry database, the exemption may not be awarded.

If you still intend to complete your qualification it is best to wait until you have done so before claiming exemptions. This is in order to ensure that you are able to enter for the most appropriate ICIA-PAKISTAN exams with no duplication of your studies. If you have part-completed a qualification, you may still be able to claim some exemptions depending on the level of the qualification and how much of the qualification you have completed.

Yes, you would be able to amend your exam entry right up until the standard entry deadline as you can do currently. Results for the previous session will be published two weeks prior to the standard entry deadline closing, allowing you to amend your exam entry during this period.

You will still be allowed to enter a maximum of four exams per exam session and a maximum of eight different exams each calendar year.

We try to issue the result after one month of the exam. Result would also be issued on social media and website and email to the students as well.

ICIA-PAKISTAN has a range of procedures in place to ensure that the exam results issued are correct. However if you feel that your result does not reflect your performance, you may request an administrative review in the following circumstances: you believe ICIA-PAKISTAN’s procedures have not been properly applied in arriving at your mark you were present at the exam but have been issued an absent result you were absent at the exam but have been issued a result. A review may not be requested on the grounds of disagreement with the marker’s academic judgment. If you would like to request an administrative review you can submit your request.

ICIA-PAKISTAN has formed mutual recognition agreements with several prestigious global accountancy bodies . This means ICIA-PAKISTAN members can become members of other bodies and to enjoy the benefits they offer. The detail of the MRAs and MOUs would be updated on the website from time to time.

Yes, we provide a direct route to membership for members of other recognized professional bodies I have been removed from the register, why? This can be for one of the following reasons: Members who do not pay their subscriptions in full each year will be removed from the ICIA-PAKISTAN register and will lose their right to use the ICIA-PAKISTAN letters after their name. Members who do not comply with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements will be removed from the ICIA-PAKISTAN register and will lose their right to use the ICIA-PAKISTAN letters after their name. . An individual may also be removed on disciplinary grounds or due to bankruptcy. Members or affiliates who were removed from the register for non-payment of subscription fees You must pay the current year’s subscription, the reinstatement fee, any unpaid sums owed at the time of removal and all outstanding years’ subscriptions. Those members with outstanding annual continuing professional development (CPD) declarations must also complete the declaration. Members who were removed from the register for non-compliance of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) obligations You must submit a CPD declaration and provide any outstanding CPD evidence. You will also have to complete the reinstatement form and pay the reinstatement fee. Members or affiliates who have previously resigned from the ICIA-PAKISTAN register You will be required to pay any unpaid sums at the time of resignation and the current year’s subscription and reinstatement fee but you will not be required to pay subscription fees for the period during which you were off the register. Those members with an outstanding annual CPD declaration must also complete the declaration form. Individuals who were removed from the register on disciplinary grounds or due to bankruptcy In addition to completing the reinstatement form and paying all fees due, you will need to supply character references. You may be subject to the preparation of a report by an ICIA-PAKISTAN approved practitioner on your conduct in the period since your exclusion, for which an additional fee may be payable. Applicants may also be required to pass further examinations and/or tests and be subject to further conditions for reinstatement. Advice on these procedures will be given on receipt of this form.

Some members can apply to pay a reduced subscription or they can pay the fee in installments. Please feel free to contact to the office.

Members are required to undertake relevant CPD to ensure that they maintain and develop the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in today’s dynamic and demanding business environment. All ICIA-PAKISTAN members who are active in the workplace are required to complete CPD on an annual basis. Members on the retired register are exempt from CPD. If personal circumstances mean you cannot participate in CPD, then you may be eligible for a CPD waiver.

Members can choose one of the following routes when meeting their CPD requirement: unit route unit route – part-time or semi-retired ICIA-PAKISTAN Approved Employer route other International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) member-body route. The unit route is for members who plan and organize their own CPD. If you follow the unit route, you are required to complete 40 units of CPD each year, where one unit is equal to one hour of development. Twenty-one units must be verifiable; the other 19 can be non-verifiable. If you work for an organization which is an ICIA-PAKISTAN Approved Employer – professional development, you may achieve your CPD by participating in your organization’s employee development program; you are not required to follow the unit route. If you have worked for an ICIA-PAKISTAN Approved Employer – professional development for all or any part of a CPD year, you can indicate that you have taken the employer route when you make your annual CPD declaration. If you are also a member of another professional accountancy body, then you can choose to follow your other body’s CPD program instead of ours.

All members are required to submit an annual CPD declaration each year, no matter what CPD route is followed. You can submit your annual CPD declaration online at any point in the year.

Send it to ICIA-PAKISTAN as soon as possible.

Yes. If you were awarded a full CPD waiver, you can make your CPD declaration straight away indicating this. You will still need to meet the non-verifiable requirement ie reading activity and keep evidence of this and evidence to support your waiver. If you were awarded a partial waiver, you will need to meet your remaining CPD obligations and submit an annual CPD declaration, selecting Option A – unit route. Remember to keep evidence of your CPD and evidence to support your waiver.

We recognize that sometimes members will not be able to fulfill their CPD requirements. Members may have a long-term or serious illness, be caring for a family member, be on maternity or paternity leave, be unemployed or taking a career break. You can apply for a waiver for the period when you are not active in the workplace. A minimum of one month’s absence from work is required in order to be eligible. Waivers will be granted pro rata to the period of absence from work. You can apply for a waiver in one of the following ways: an online self-declaration via the myICIA-PAKISTAN page as found in ‘Related links’ section of this page filling in a CPD waiver form and sending it to us in writing. You can download this form from the ‘Related documents’ section of this page. In all cases, you should retain documentary evidence related to the waiver application for a period of three years. You will still have to complete your annual CPD declaration. Please refer to the ‘CPD waiver guidance notes’ (please see the ‘Related documents’ section of this page) for further details.

There are many other forms of professional development that are acceptable to ICIA-PAKISTAN. For instance, work-based learning, coaching, mentoring, e-learning, networking, discussion groups, reading and undertaking research are just some of them. We also have a comprehensive range of services and tools to support you in planning, sourcing and achieving your CPD.

All members, regardless of their role, are required to meet the CPD requirement. However, we ask members to undertake CPD relevant to their current roles. For example, if you work in IT, we will recognize your CPD activities which are focused on IT.

Studying for an additional qualification is an acceptable CPD activity. Members undertaking such study may even have exceeded the CPD requirement. Send in your annual CPD declaration as soon as possible and keep evidence of your studies in case we require it.