Practical training plays a vital role in building the required skills and competencies of a professional, hence, completion of specified training requirements have become an essential part to become a Chartered Accountant.
The most important and unique feature of the Institute’s qualification is the three year practical training period that a student undergoes during the course of study.
The practical training requirements have been improved to ensure the quality and relevance of the practical training of the registered students of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka in compliance with the competency based approach and standards of IFAC International Education Practice Statement.
Any student who completes the approved practical training requirements together with relevant examinations are eligible to apply for certificates awarded by the institute, as well as for the admission to Associate Membership (ACA) of the Institute.
Total period and levels of training
Trainees are required to complete three years of training, subject to a minimum of 220 technical working days per year.
The total practical training requirement is divided into two levels.
1. Certificate Level Training - Internship I
2. Strategic Level Training
2.1 Strategic Level I - Internship II
2.2 Strategic Level II - Internship III
The above two levels of training should be covered by two separate training agreements. However, both levels may be covered under one agreement, if required.
Organizations for practical training
Approved training organizations are identified under two categories;
| Public Practice Organizations |
- Firms of Practicing Chartered Accountants and the Auditor General’s Department |
| Non-public Practice Organizations |
- All other approved training organisations, other than those classified as Public Practice. |
The Institute has over 1000 training organisations at present.
Lists of approved training organizations for Certificate and Strategic levels are available in this website and the library for reference.
Approved training partners and training opportunities
The specified period of practical training should be completed by working in an approved training organization.The names of all approved organisations are available on the website.
Students can apply directly for training opportunities to the training organisations or through the Institute’s training bank facility.
Frequently Asked Questions – Practical Training
Practical training is an essential part of the curriculum structure of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) to become a Chartered Accountant.
Therefore, students are required to complete specified training requirements together with the relevant examinations to be eligible for the Certificates awarded by the Institute.
These are the Certificate in Accounting & Business (CAB), Diploma in Accounting & Business (DAB), Associate membership, as well as the Practicing Certificate.
Hence, registered students of the Institute are encouraged to gain their practical knowledge simultaneously with the studies so that they can apply the professional skills developed through practical training to their studies & vice versa.
Students can start their practical training immediately upon registration.They are encouraged to commence practical training at early stages of examinations.
The normal prescribed period of approved practical training is as follows:
| Course Module | Level of Training | Period to be Completed | Training Agreement to be Entered |
| 11224 Internship I |
Certificate level |
1 year (220 working days per annum) |
Certificate level (one year) |
| 19324 Internship II |
Strategic level I |
1 year (220 working days per annum) |
Strategic level (two years) |
| 25424 Internship III |
Strategic level II |
1 year (220 working days per annum) |
Strategic level I & II should be completed under one agreement signed for two years.
| Examination | Level of training & Duration to be completed |
| CAB I |
No Training Requirement |
| CAB II |
No Training Requirement |
| DAB/Strategic Level I |
No Training Requirement |
| Strategic Level II |
Completion of Strategic level I training (220days), after being eligible for the Certificate in Accounting & Business * |
| Examinations |
: |
CAB- Certificate in Accounting & Business |
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DAB-Diploma in Accounting & Business |
* CIMA members & full time lecturers in approved universities of Sri Lanka lecturing in Accounting or/and Finance subjects are allowed to sit Strategic level II examination without completing training requirement.
All students who complete the relevant examinations and Practical training are entitled to apply for the following Certificates issued by the Institute.
| Certificate | Required Qualification |
| Examination | Training |
| Certificate in Accounting & Business - (CAB) |
CAB I & CAB II with Business English II |
Certificate level training (Internship I) or exemption for AAT Training |
| Diploma in Accounting & Business - (DAB) |
DAB with Business English III-Part I or exemption |
Strategic level I (Internship II) |
| Associate Chartered Accountant - (ACA) |
Top CA Case Study with Business English III-Part II & Viva -voce |
Strategic level II (Internship III) |
| Certificate to Practice |
ACA Membership |
440 working days of Strategic level training at a Public Practice organization after being eligible for the Diploma in Accounting & Business |
* The above certificates are awarded upon the approval of the Council.
Please visit
www.casrilanka.com 
(Practical Training under Student’s Page) for the lists of approved organizations at Public Practice & Non-public Practice sectors for Certificate & Strategic levels.
Registered students of the Institute who wish to undergo practical training can find a Public Practice organization (audit sector) or a Non-Public Practice organization (non-audit sector) approved by the Institute, by directly applying to those organizations. And also students are provided with the facility to apply directly for vacancies advertised via the Institute Website.
Students can directly apply for the vacancies available in the Institute Website through Students homepage under ‘Apply for Jobs’ tab.
| Student login |
(user ID: Reg.no Password: password) |
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| Training job |
(If there is any vacancy it will appear) |
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| Apply |
(Edit your profile) |
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| Send |
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Students who do not have access to the internet, may submit a bio-data through the special computer facility provided for students at Training Division and hand-over a hard copy of the same. These applicant’s profiles will be updated on the Institute’s website for the reference of Members. If vacancies available those students may be call for interviews.
(Profile will exist for 3 months period)
Once you commence the training you should enter into a training agreement with the supervising member & the Training organization & that should be registered with the institute. Training undergone without a valid agreement would not be recognized for the practical training requirements prescribed by the Institute.
As soon as a student joined with an Approved Training Organization the Supervising Member of that respective organization should send a letter to the Institute requesting the set of blank agreement.
Public practice organizations (Audit Sector): should request the agreement with a covering letter in a company letter head.
Non Public practice organizations (Non audit sector): should request the agreement with a covering letter in a company letter head, training programme & the rotation form
Download Training Programme & the Rotation Form
The Training Division issues three blank copies of the agreement if the basic requirements are fulfilled. Thereafter the duly filled agreement should be handed over to the Training Division with the pay-in-slip for the payment which is specified by the Institute for registration as a valid Training Agreement.
- Student Registration No & full name as per registration
- Name, designation & membership number of the prospective supervising member
- Level of training required & the commencement date of training
- Name of the training organization and the division/s where the training will be provided
- Contact details of both supervising member & the trainee
- Proof for exemptions of training, if applicable In addition to the above details, the following documents to be submitted by Non - Public Practice Organizations with the supervising member’s signature
- Draft programme of proposed training
- Rotation form
- A letter stating the address of the training place of the trainee, the work place of the supervising member& their organizational relationship. The agreement requests should send on organization letter head for both audit & non audit sector.
Practical Training may include a probationary period not more than four months from the initial date of joining the training organization.
If a student had already started the training he or she can request to backdate the commencement date of training through Supervising Member. The backdating request for each category should not be more than 4 months from the date mentioned below.
- Public Practice Organizations :- Date on which the Institute receives the duly filled training agreement for registration.
- Non-Public Practice Organizations :- Date on which the Institute receives the Training Programme with a backdating request.
However this will not be extended beyond the date of registration of the student with Institute or the actual date of commencement of Training.
Two separate training agreements can be signed for certificate and Strategic level training or one agreement to be signed for three years.
This is an interview held by Manager Training with Trainees at Non Public Practice organizations on random basis to determine the backdating period. This is done on random basis & the trainee has to provide rough records of training for that period.
The Minimum training requirement as specified by the Practical Training Guide should be completed, in order to sit for the Strategic Level examination as well as to be eligible for the Certificate to Practice.
Therefore, students are required to keep in mind about their plan on upcoming examinations & the minimum training requirements when they start the Practical Training, since the Institute shall not change the existing rules on minimum requirement to sit the examinations or backdating of agreements to match with minimum requirements.
Currently reductions to the training period are available only for the following two parties.
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- Associate Members of CIMA
| Post membership(CIMA) experience | Training to be completed |
| Less than three years |
2 years of monitored training |
| Three years or more than three years |
1year of monitored training |
- Members/Passed Finalist of AAT (Please refer Q.no 19)
Members/passed finalist of AAT are exempted from the Certificate Level training requirement of the Institute, subject to satisfying the following requirements.
- Completion of two years practical training in a training organization approved by the Institute, under the supervision of a CA Sri Lanka member.
- Such training to be completed under a training agreement identical to an agreement signed by a CA Sri Lanka Certificate level trainee.
- The record of training should be maintained in a manner identical to the scheme specified for a CA Sri Lanka Certificate level trainee.
Fulltime academics This refers to CA Sri Lanka students who possess a first class or second class upper division degree from an approved university & works as lecturers or assistant lecturers in approved universities in Accountancy or related subjects on fulltime basis.
No reductions for fulltime academies. However, they are allowed to complete the minimum training requirements within 5 years with authorized interruptions, under a maximum of 3 agreements. Period of such short time agreement should not be less than 55days.Work during weekends will also be recognized.
They are also allowed to sit the Strategic level examination without being completed the training requirement.
Training records books for different levels of training are available for sale at the Institute library. The record book should be written up on weekly basis. Trainee should submit the quarterly summary (3 months record) to the Training Division within 30 days from the last day of the quarter with the Supervising Member’s signature.
Failure to submit the quarterly summary within that period will result in his or her training period being extended subjected to minimum of two weeks.
E-submission of quarterly summaries
Trainees can submit their quarterly summaries through the Institute website. Trainees have to register with the Training Division for this. For more information please contact Gayan at the Training Division on 0112594951 Ext.201
This scheme is designed to help trainee to integrate the work experience and the professional skills with their study programme. These questions developed on practical scenarios are available at the Institute website. Trainees are requested to answer at least three questions per quarter with the certification of the Supervising Member.
No. Students are required to obtain practical training on a full time basis with minimum 7 hours & maximum of 8 hours. Trainees are not permitted to be employed even on a part time basis, in any organization other than in the training organization.
Traveling & work of an administrative nature will not be considered as Training. Working hours gathered during weekends, after the normal office hours or on part time basis assignment will not be considered as equivalent of a working day.
Interruption may be allowed under the following circumstances with prior approval of the Supervising Member & the Institute.
Trainees are not allowed to make any unauthorized interruption to the training period. If such an interruption occurs trainees are imposed an automatic penalty subject to a minimum of 6 months.
Any interruption of training without being approved by the STDC (Student Training & Development Committee) or the council is considered as an unauthorized interruption.
- Suspensions for University studies
- Prolonged illness
- Maternity Leave
Trainees can apply for a suspension to the training period based on fulltime university studies, after completing a minimum of 6 months of training period. A consent letter from the supervising member should be produced along with a proof, that he/she is an internal student of a University.
- Completion of a minimum of 110 working days
- Having obtained prior written consent from the Training Organization, the Supervising Member & the Institute
- Following a fulltime 1st degree course or post graduate degree
You should submit medical certificate along with a letter from the Supervising Member as soon as possible.
Once you complete the approved period of suspension that should be communicated to the Institute through your supervising member.
Proofs to be provided to prove the reason for suspension at the recommencement. Training period will be adjusted to complete the balance period.
In the event of a student’s registration is cancelled, his/her training agreement will also get cancelled automatically. If a student wants to cancel his/her training agreement, prior approval should be obtained from the Supervising Member in writing & that should be submitted to the Institute.
In the event of the supervising member resigning from the Training Organization, the trainee and the Supervising Member should inform that to the Institute. Then the trainee is permitted to complete the balance period in the same organization under another supervising member. The new supervising member should inform consent in writing on supervising the balance period of training of the relevant trainee. Then the trainee can continue with the same agreement.
In the event of absent of any other member at that organization, the trainee is allowed to commence the training at another approved Training Organization within a maximum of 8 months.
In the event of changing the training organization, prior approval has to be taken from both Supervising Members at the present & the new training organizations. The same to be communicated to the Training Division of the Institute in advance.
At any change in the training organization, the trainee should enter in to a new agreement.
The agreement period of the trainees who delay in submitting their quarterly summaries of training records, would be extended by half of the period delayed.
Also if you have not completed the minimum training requirements, it is essential to extend the training period to cover the training period.
The total minimum training requirement per annum is 220 working days, excluding all leave days & holidays. Within those 220 days, you should have covered the minimum number of days for each experience categories as specified in the following table.
| Experience Category | Public Practice Sector | Non Public Practice Sector |
Certificate
Level | Strategic Level | Strategic Level | Certificate Level | Diploma Level | Strategic Level |
| Financial Accounting & Management Accounting |
40 |
50 |
50 |
100 |
90 |
90 |
| Auditing |
80 |
75** |
75** |
- |
20* |
20* |
| Taxation |
10 |
15 |
15 |
10 |
15 |
15 |
| Financial Management |
- |
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20 |
20 |
20 |
| Use of information technology |
20 |
25 |
25 |
20 |
25 |
25 |
| Secretarial practice |
- |
5 |
5 |
- |
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- In the absence of an Internal Audit Division, the experience on Financial Management category should be increased to 40 days per year.
- The requirement for Certificate to Practice eligibility is specified in the Certificate to Practice Section of the Practical Training Guide.
- Successfully Complete all the Institute examinations up to case study (Top CA)
- Successfully Complete Certificate & Strategic level training requirements
- Successfully Complete compulsory communication skills programmes (Business English III - Part II & III)
- Successful Completion of the interview of Training (Viva-Voce presentation)
Trainees who have not completed the minimum training requirements are not eligible to apply for CAB/Intermediate Certificate or the Associate Membership.
The trainee can make a written request through the supervising member to extend the existing training agreement with the same organization or with a new training organization, to cover the balance training requirement.
Yes, registered students of the institute who are undergoing training at approved training organizations are entitled to receive an allowance which will vary according to the level of examination & the period of training.
Students who have completed both the Certificate Level training and the Certificate Level examination can apply for the Certificate in Accounting & Business.
After completion of Diploma Level (Strategic Level I) training & Diploma Level (Strategic level I) examination, students can apply for the Diploma in Accounting & Business.
Students, who have completed Strategic Level II examination, as well as the Strategic level training & the compulsory communication skills programme (Business English Part II & III), are permitted to apply for the membership interview (Viva –voce)
This is an interview to assess on authenticity of training records, communication skills in English, presentation skills & the technical knowledge on the topic selected by means of a presentation. The successful applicants will be recommended for the ACA.
The following requirements should be fulfilled to become an ACA member.
To be eligible for the certificate to practice, a member should complete at least 440 working days of practical training at Strategic Level in a Public Practice (Audit sector) Organization after being eligible for the Diploma in Accounting & Business.
Trainees/Members who have failed to fulfill the above requirements during the period of Strategic Level training are required to extend their agreement period or enter in to a new training agreement & complete such training if they wish to qualify to apply for a certificate to practice in future.
General No :011-2594952 Extensions
| 206 |
Head of Education & Training – Ms. Nilushi |
| 205 |
Manager Training – Ms. Nimanthi |
| 204 |
Training Executive - Mr. Shirley |
| 203 |
Training Executive - Ms. Kalani |
| 201 |
For pending blank agreements – Ms. Sandya |
| 202 |
For pending agreements submitted for registration – Mr. Prabath |
| 205 |
For Toastmaster Programme/ Backdating interviews – Ms. Bashini |
| 203 |
For Scholarships - Ms. Harshini |
