Chartered Accountants are more qualified than a normal accountant - which means they’re in more demand. So what are the practical steps you need to take if you want to join this most sought after profession?

The path to gaining your Chartered Accountant status has two main streams: your technical knowledge, and your practical experience.

For the first, you will need to complete the academic modules or the Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting. This consists of five modules, and will take around two years.

Whilst studying your modules, you must also complete three years work experience, employed by an organisation that is recognised by the Institute.  During this time, you will also need to be mentored by a Chartered Accountant.

In other words, you will be both working and studying at the same time. It’s this combination that sets a Chartered Accountant apart from other accounting professionals.

And in terms of the qualifications you need before you apply, there are - again - two options: one for those with an accounting degree and the second for those with a non-accounting degree.

A graduate with an accounting degree

A graduate with a non-accounting degree

You can enrol online - see our article on how to enrol, for further details.

How long will it take?

Your practical work experience will take at least three years.  During this time you will complete the five modules of the Chartered Accountant Program (GradDipCA) which will take around 14 weeks each.