Upcoming Events

13 Jul
IBC ~ Exciting Training Opportunity for Students (1 Day Quickbooks Workshop)
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13 Jul
Webinar on ICMA to CPA Canada - Sunday - 13th July 2025
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14 Jul
Seminar on Amendments in Tax Laws through Finance Act
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All Events

ENTRY ROUTES FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION HOLDERS

The candidates who have obtained 12-year, 14-year and 16-year academic qualifications from recognized board/ university or have professional certifications from professional accounting bodies are eligible to join CMA according to following entry routes to get CMA certification:

1. Entry Routes for Academic Qualification Holders

16-Year Education in Commerce or Business Studies

14-Year Education in Commerce or Business Studies

12-Year Education


2. Entry Routes for Members/ Affiliates of National and International Professional Accounting Bodies

Member/ affiliates of following national and international professional accounting bodies are eligible to apply for waiver from CMA courses:

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICA Pakistan)

Pakistan Institute of Public Finance Accountants (PIPFA)

3. Waiver in Courses for Partly Qualified of National and International Professional Accounting Bodies

Partly qualified students of ACCA-UK, ICA Pakistan and PIPFA are eligible apply for waiver from different courses of CMA. Details of courses are as follows.

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICA Pakistan)

Pakistan Institute of Public Finance Accountants (PIPFA)

Other professional certification (IFAC members' bodies) may be considered for waiver subject to the approval of competent authority

4. Paper-to-Paper Assessment Route for Partially Qualified Students of IFAC Professional Accounting Bodies.

According to assessment the partially qualified students of IFAC professional accounting bodies are eligible for waivers in the applicable courses subject to pass relevant courses from approved professional accounting bodies. List of approved professional accounting bodies with the courses waived-off may be downloaded

Download List

  • Under the paper-to-paper assessment route, a student will pay lump sum of Rs. 25,000/- as registration fee; therefore, no waiver fee will be charged separately to grant waivers in different applicable courses on paper-to-paper basis;
  • Students choosing a paper-to-paper assessment route will have the option to select either an academic or any of the professional entry routes (including paper-to-paper assessment), as they will not be allowed to get benefits of all qualifications simultaneously;
  • If such students decide to change their entry route from paper-to-paper to academic or any of the other professional entry routes or vice versa in the future, they will be required to pay the differential amount of the applicable registration fee to update their entry route. However, any waivers granted for higher/lower-level courses under the previous entry route will be canceled and no longer available;
  • Any surplus in differential amount resulting from updating entry routes will not be refundable/carried forward/adjustable.
In addition to above, students of other professional accounting bodies, which are member of IFAC and not mentioned in the above list may also be considered for waivers on case-to-case basis as per the following criteria:
  • Accounting bodies should be a member of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC);
  • At least 70% course coverage in the relevant courses in which waivers is sought;
  • Waivers in Laws based papers can only be granted if he/she studied and passed Pakistan variant laws and course coverage must be at least 70%;
  • Paper-to-paper waiver shall not exceed to /other than the total papers have been offered to Affiliates/Members of IFAC Accounting bodies under existing MOUs/MRAs arrangements.
  • Attested copy of relevant course contents and official result from the respective professional accounting body will be provided by the applicant for assessment before applying for waivers.

5. Optional Admissions and Coaching Classes

Subject to providing an attendance certificate and the exam results for the applicable courses, students who have fulfilled their coaching obligations in the relevant courses from any registered education providers of IFAC member accounting bodies would not be required to get enrolled in and paying for relevant CMA courses.