ICAB CA

Overview

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) is the national professional accountancy body of Bangladesh and awards the Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification. Students combine practical training (articleship) with a series of professional examinations.

Under the ICAB Syllabus 2025, the qualification has 17 examinations across three levels: Certificate Level (7 exams), Professional Level (7 exams) and Advanced Level (3 exams). The three-level structure, based on the ICAEW syllabus with local changes, has been in use since the November-December 2018 examinations.

Who can apply

ICAB says you can start as a CA student if you have passed SSC and HSC (or equivalent), O and A Levels, a graduate or postgraduate degree, or hold ACMA/FCMA or ACCA/FCCA. For articleship, the entry criteria include:

• SSC and HSC: an aggregate GPA of at least 8 across both. Articleship lasts 4 years.

• O and A Levels: at least 36 points at O Level (5 to 7 subjects) and at least 12 points at A Level (up to 3 subjects), using ICAB's grade-point scale. Articleship lasts 4 years, or 3 years 6 months with at least an A in 3 A Level subjects.

• Graduates and postgraduates: at least 7 points in total on ICAB's points scale, with at least 2 points at each level up to graduation, from a recognised board or UGC-approved university. Articleship lasts 3 years.

ICMAB members and qualified ACCA affiliates and members can apply for credit for prior learning (exemptions) under ICAB's published policies.

Levels or stages

Certificate Level

Seven exams on the fundamentals: Assurance; Accounting; Business, Technology and Finance; Management Information; Principles of Taxation; Business Laws; and Information Technology. Each lasts 1.5 hours, except Business Laws and Information Technology, which last 1 hour.

Since July-August 2021, Certificate Level exams have been held online at ICAB's examination centre, using objective questions: multiple choice (one or several correct answers), scenario-based questions, selecting missing words from a drop-down list, and calculated answers typed into a box.

Professional Level

Seven exams that apply technical knowledge to real-life scenarios: Audit and Assurance; Financial Accounting and Reporting; Business Strategy and Technology; Financial Management; Business Planning: Taxation and Compliance; Corporate Laws and Practices; and IT Governance. Each lasts 3.5 hours, except IT Governance, which lasts 4 hours. They are held twice a year. A student may attempt a Professional Level paper after completing all Certificate Level papers or at least the corresponding paper, as decided by the ICAB Council.

Advanced Level

Three exams: Corporate Reporting and Strategic Business Management and Leadership (3.5 hours each), and the Case Study (4.5 hours). The Case Study draws on all the knowledge, skills and experience gained earlier and asks you to solve a complex business problem, including its ethical side. Advanced Level exams are held twice a year.

Exam pattern

ICAB's curriculum rules say there is no limit on the number of attempts at each paper, and you may sit one, several or all papers of a level at one sitting.

Syllabus

Each module in the 2025 syllabus sets out learning outcomes and the weight of each topic. The taxation papers follow Bangladesh law, including income tax, VAT and customs, and ICAB updates them as tax law and the national budget change. The full syllabus for every level is in the ICAB Syllabus 2025 PDF.

Marking and results

If you do not pass, you can apply within 30 days of the result to have your answer script reviewed, on the prescribed form and with the set fee. The review only checks that no part of the script was left unmarked and that marks were added and recorded correctly.

Fees

Examination fees per paper, as listed on the ICAB site in 2026 (in taka; the page uses the older paper names):

How to apply

1. Check the entry criteria for articleship or ICAB's pre-articleship programme.

2. Apply through the ICAB Integrated Information System (iis.icab.org.bd).

3. Register your articleship with a CA firm and enrol for classes.

4. Apply and pay for each exam session as ICAB announces it.

Preparation tips

• Use ICAB's study manuals and its sample questions for the online Certificate Level exams.

• Practise with ICAB's past question papers for the written Professional and Advanced Level exams.

• Plan your sittings: you can take papers one at a time, but Professional Level papers need the matching Certificate Level paper first.