General Information about the CA course and different options students can choose to become a professional accountant in Nepal.

Chartered Accountancy( CA ) is regarded as one of the best and respected professional course in Nepal. CA members from major boards like ICAN,ICAI and ACCA are given masters/bachelors level (see more on this) equivalency by Tribhuwan University (TU). CA from ICAN  (Nepal board) can directly get licence for public accounting practice (giving opinions on financial statements as external auditors). CA from ICAI (India board) get the licence after one year of training under Nepali audit firm and passing the test for ICAN membership conducted by ICAN.

Apart from CA from Nepal board and CA from Indian board, if you are thinking of studying ACCA in Nepal or CFA in Nepal we have you covered in this article.

The main feature of CA courses are the in-depth knowledge and the three years of practical exposure students gain during the theoretical classes and on training that is mandatory for completion of the degree. CA institutes in Nepal are not less brilliant than the institutes in Delhi or Banglore. In Nepal, there is seen a massive improvement in course delivery and instructors selection for the CA institutes in recent years. However , there are no any institute to conduct full CA course outside Kathmandu. There are few institute who say they conduct the CA and ACCA classes in other cities except kathmandu namely Butwal, Pokhara, Biratnagar but studentsnepal could not find any promising institute that run the complete CA and ACCA classes outside Kathmandu.

CA course in comparison to other accountancy/management courses

Talking back about the Chartered accountancy course, another notable feature of CA course is that it is relatively cheaper than other management and professional courses. Also it is relatively easier to get admission to any of the CA boards after fulfilling some basic criteria. This however doesn’t mean that it is easy to get the degree too.No any preparation course or bridge courses are generally required to be done to get admission to CA. (however, studying the basic accounting concepts and gaining related knowledge before joining institute is always better)

After completing CA course, a lot of opportunities are open to the members.  One can start his/her own auditing firm or work as a senior auditor in one of the established firms. Chartered accountants are sought by many top organizations for the positions like chief accountant,CEO, external/internal auditors and other top-level management positions.

The brief description and key points of the various Accounting boars recognized in Nepal:

ICAN (Nepali board)

ICAN is generally referred as Nepali board in the pools of professional accountancy boards. ICAN stands for Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal. ICAN was established under Nepal Chartered accountants act 1997. The course under ICAN is divided primarily into three sections namely CPT,intermediate and finals (with three years of practical training). Currently students can give the written exams in the exam centres at Kathmandu only.  There are some institutes outside Kathmandu valley that run classes up to the CPT level. Lumbini Banijya campus of Butwal is one of the colleges outside valley which run CA classes. But one has to go to Kathmandu to give the exams.

The qualified members get the auditing license in Nepal directly. There are many audit firms in Kathmandu for CA course to choose from. Also few audit firms outside the valley. The website of ICAN has listed 789 members under ICAN( as at 03/24/2015). The ICAN office is at Satdobato, Lalitpur (previously at Babarmahal,Kathmandu). There are few facebook pages and groups run by ICAN students that are very interactive and informative. NCASA (Nepal Chartered Accountants Students Association) is one of the notable facebook group for interested and existing students of Nepali CA board as well as that of ICAN and ACCA.

ICAI (Indian Board)

ICAI is generally referred as Indian board. ICAI stands for Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. As that of ICAN, the course under ICAI is also divided primarily into three sections namely CPT,intermediate and finals (with three years of practical training). One can give the exams under ICAI in Kathmandu or in one of the exam centres of India or Dubai. The ICAI membership is more recognized  abroad than the ICAN  membership. ICAI  has  MOUs and other agreements with various big accounting boards across the globe. In Nepal, ICAI members can get the public accounting(auditing) license after passing a ICAN membership exam and completing one year of training under one of the Nepali CA firms. ICAI degree gets bachelors equivalency if achieved after intermediate level and gets masters equivalency if persued after completing Bachelors level by Tribhuwan university in Nepal.

Many students choose Delhi for studying CA in India. One will not feel alone or lonely in India because hundreds of students move to India to study CA as well as other courses from Nepal. The cultural similarities between India and Nepal will also help to adapt Nepali students well. Best and recommended approach to study CA from ICAI board is taking CPT classes from one of the institutes in Kathmandu and asking them to arrange for further study in Delhi. Many institutes of Kathmandu offer this service.

ACCA in Nepal

ACCA stands for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.It is the professional accountancy body based in the UK. ACCA is currently recognized in 170 countries including Nepal. Along with global recognition and frequently updating syllabus ACCA carries a long history of 111 years. ACCA was established in November 13, 1904. ACCA has mutual recognition with the accounting boards and universities  of many countries.Like any other Chartered Accountancy bodies such as ICAN and ICAI , ACCA has an easy entry route and an ultra flexible course structure.

Flexibility,mobility and global recognition along with quality syllabus are the main attractions of ACCA globally and these attractive characteristics of ACCA have made ACCA one of the best choice for management students in Nepal too. There are many colleges/tuition centers which conduct the ACCA classes in Nepal. ACCA exams in Nepal are conducted by the technical collaboration of ACCA with the British embassy in one of the pre-confirmed exam centre. There is only one ACCA exam center in Kathmandu currently. If students opt to move abroad during their studies,they have choices to sit for examination in one of the global exam centers conducted by ACCA. Students can choose from many of the ACCA tuition centers of Kathmandu to prepare for their exams.However for students outside the Kathmandu valley, there are no many tuition centers currently.

ACCA recognition in Nepal

Tribhuwan university has recognized ACCA (after full membership) as equivalent to bachelors degree if pursued after intermediate level. One can join institute that provide ACCA course in Kathmandu or can also do self-studies with the help of tons of study materials found online. Joining Institute is not mandatory for gaining the degree. However taking a course from reputed and well reviewed ACCA institute increases the chances of completing the course fast and learn better. One can expect a promising career in Nepal and abroad after the completion of ACCA.

To get the license for external auditing ACCA members must complete all the papers of ICAN final level and complete 2 years of practical training by working under Nepali audit firm.

ACCA in Nepal Fee structure:

The fee to study ACCA in Nepal is around 10000 rs per paper in tuition fee + the fee charged by ACCA for taking exams. Also ACCA students are required to pay yearly subscription charge to ACCA,UK. In Nepal, the payment can be done through bank draft or credit card. Other modes of payment like paypal are not popular/valid in Nepal (unless you use Paypal of friends/relatives who are in foreign countries. The total cost to study ACCA in Nepal including tuition fee, subscription charges, admission fees and materials(books,notes) charge currently (2016) will be in the range of 5-6 lakhs. The expenses will increase if you fail in the papers because you will need to pay the tuition fee in full again.

To know more about ACCA in Nepal, you may consider reading an article written by one of the most prominent figures among ACCA instructors of Nepal; Mr. Rabin Katwal (Executive Director of NCA).

Link to the article- All about ACCA in Nepal

CFA in Nepal

CFA stands for Chartered Financial Analyst. CFA in Nepal is relatively a new course.The increasing queries of students regarding CFA in Nepal seen by our website in recent months also proves that students as well as professionals in Nepal are interested in CFA course and also it proves that CFA is gaining popularity in Nepal. CFA is an American based global professional course focusing on the insights on investment and financial analysis.As the global marketplace becomes increasingly competitive, employers are using the CFA charter to identify the most qualified job applicants and the most committed employees.

CFA is considered as one of the toughest and challenging professional course in management stream. CFA has become the most respected and recognized investment designation worldwide. CFA is gaining popularity among employers and organizations in Nepal also in recent years. CFA specially focuses on investment knowledge. The self-study format and globally located examination centers makes CFA a flexible and charming course among management and accounting students or professionals.

How much does it take to complete CFA in Nepal?

Requirements and procedures to complete the CFA in Nepal are same as the general requirements.
Each exam requires approximately six months of preparation.
The Level I exam is offered in June and December; the Level II and Level III exam are offered once annually, in June.
There is no restriction on number of attempts per exam. You can take each exam as many times as you need to in order to pass.
You must have 48 months of qualified professional work experience.

About CFA exams In general:

The CFA Program includes a series of three exams; Levels I, II, and III. The exam content, format, and learning focus increase in complexity with each level.

Level I exams consists of basic knowledge and comprehension questions focused on investment tools; some questions will require analysis.
Level II exams emphasize more complex analysis, along with a focus on valuing assets.
Level III exams require synthesis of all the concepts and analytical methods in a variety of applications for effective portfolio management and wealth planning.

To enroll in the CFA Program and register for your first exam, you must have:

• An international travel passport (read the ID policy here -> http://www.cfainstitute.org/about/governance/policies/Pages/identification_policy.aspx) and
• One of the following:
  • Undergraduate education: A bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree or be in the final year of your bachelor’s degree program (you will be required to update your education information before you can register for the Level II exam), or
  • Work experience: Four years of professional work experience (does not have to be investment related), or
  • A combination of professional work experience and education that totals at least four years (part-time positions do not qualify, and the four-year total must be accrued prior to enrollment).

Useful Resources (Links)

For scholarships in Nepal or Abroad for CA ACCA or CFA in Nepal:  Scholarships

For Notes and question banks of CA ACCA CFA in Nepal: NotesZone

For group discussion regarding the course: Groups

For any assistance or inquiry regarding the CA ACCA CFA courses in Nepal: Contact

For other related course information: All Courses

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Forum for CA ACCA and CFA

See the forum for more information and find out what other students like you are discussing. The forum will solve all your queries related to the course. If you still don’t find what you are looking for, you can create a new topic as well.