Exemptions
Do I qualify for an ICAG exemption under the August 2026 communiqué?
You may qualify if your completed qualification appears in one of the five groups below. The exemption is not automatic: ICAG must verify your transcript and certificate, and you must submit a certified true copy of your completion certificate.
For the qualifications named in ICAG communiqué ICAG/EXMPTNS/1/26, dated 21 August 2026.
Next source check due by . After that date, confirm this guidance before acting on it.
How to use the communiqué
Begin with the exact qualification name on your completion certificate. Find that name in the table, then read across to see the Level 1 and Level 2 papers attached to that group.
A match in the table is only the starting point. ICAG must successfully verify your academic transcript and certificate with the tertiary institution. You must also submit a certified true copy of your completion certificate.
Once those checks are completed and ICAG approves the exemption, you write the other papers that apply to you. The communiqué gives no exemption from a Level 3 paper.
If your qualification is not listed, this communiqué alone cannot support an exemption claim for it. That does not mean every older or separate route has been withdrawn. It means you need another current ICAG rule or a direct decision from ICAG.
The table helps you understand the communiqué, but it is not an exemption award. ICAG makes the final decision after completing the document checks.
Before treating a paper as exempted
- Match the exact name on your completed qualification to the table.
- Prepare your academic transcript and certificate for ICAG's verification with the institution.
- Submit a certified true copy of your certificate of completion.
- Wait for ICAG's decision before treating any paper as exempted.
Qualification-by-qualification guide
Your qualification and possible exemptions
Use the exact qualification name shown on your certificate. Every exemption in this table remains subject to ICAG's checks and final approval.
| Listed qualification | Conditional exemptions |
|---|---|
| BCom Accounting BSc Administration (Accounting) BBA Accounting BEd Accounting BSc Accounting & Finance ATSWA | 1.1 Financial Accounting 1.2 Business Management and Information Systems 1.3 Business and Corporate Law 1.4 Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting 2.3 Audit and Assurance 2.6 Principles of Taxation |
| HND Accountancy | 1.1 Financial Accounting 1.2 Business Management and Information Systems 1.3 Business and Corporate Law 1.4 Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting 2.3 Audit and Assurance |
| MBA Accounting & Finance MSc Accounting & Finance MBA Accounting MBA Accounting & Taxation MCom Accounting | 1.1 Financial Accounting 1.2 Business Management and Information Systems 1.3 Business and Corporate Law 1.4 Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting 2.1 Financial Reporting 2.2 Management Accounting 2.3 Audit and Assurance 2.4 Financial Management 2.6 Principles of Taxation |
| MBA Finance MSc Development Finance MSc Industrial Finance & Investment MBA Financial Management | 1.1 Financial Accounting 1.2 Business Management and Information Systems 1.3 Business and Corporate Law 1.4 Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting 2.4 Financial Management |
| Other Master's Degree Programmes (irrespective of educational background) | 1.1 Financial Accounting 1.2 Business Management and Information Systems 1.3 Business and Corporate Law 1.4 Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting |
What ICAG will check
- Successful verification of academic transcript and certificate with the tertiary institution.
- Submission of a certified true copy of certificate of completion.
Important: The communiqué does not show any Level 3 exemption.
Points the communiqué leaves open
- The communiqué shows no Level 3 exemption.
- It does not say that omitted Diploma, MOU or PAO routes have been withdrawn. Do not treat their omission as a withdrawal.
- It gives no separate effective date.
- It does not resolve whether applicants with one of the named Accounting master's degrees must also hold an Accounting first degree. Ask ICAG to confirm what applies to you.
- The communiqué's ‘Introduction to Management Accounting’ is matched here to current syllabus Paper 1.4, Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting.
See the ICAG source and where to find it
Here is the ICAG source MSL used and the exact passage, if you want to read it yourself.
-
Communiqué: Conditional Exemptions for CA Professional Examination
Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana · Sent to MSL by ICAG directly. No public ICAG link is available.
- Where to find it
- Single-page communiqué: exemption table and numbered sections 2 to 3
- What it tells you
- The five listed qualification groups, their Level 1 and Level 2 exemptions, the two documentary conditions, the consequence for papers to be written and the absence of any stated Level 3 exemption.
- Full reference
- ICAG communiqué ICAG/EXMPTNS/1/26, Conditional Exemptions for CA Professional Examination, dated 21 August 2026.
- Applies to
- Applicants whose completed qualification is expressly listed in communiqué ICAG/EXMPTNS/1/26. Unlisted qualifications and routes require separate current authority or direct ICAG assessment.
- Document date
- ; the communiqué gives no separate effective date.
- Page last reviewed
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