Treat this practice test as a diagnostic for ZICA's CA Zambia qualification: three exam levels — Certificate, Application and Advisory — plus a compulsory three-year practical training programme. Map each question to an official module code, plan revision around four exam sessions a year, and protect your registration by meeting the subscription and entry deadlines. Progression caps, exemptions, deferments and remarking all follow published ZICA rules, which the two worked exercises let you rehearse. Exam formats, pass marks and fee amounts are not on the pages verified here — get them from the CA Student Handbook and Facts Sheet.
What the practice test covers
It is this site's unofficial study aid for ZICA's CA Zambia qualification, and its six broad topic labels map onto named modules at the Certificate, Application and Advisory levels.
ZICA — the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — awards CA Zambia, a professional accountancy qualification it positions as enhancing graduates' recognition and status. The free practice test here is not a ZICA exam; it is a preparation tool built around six broad subject areas.
ZICA's own outline uses specific module names and codes, such as CA1.1 Financial Accounting and CA2.4 Taxation. The table maps each practice-test area to the official modules it draws on, but the mapping is ours rather than a ZICA document. Some published modules — CA2.5 Financial Management, CA2.6 Strategic Business Analysis, CA3.6 Advanced Financial Management and CA3.8 Public Sector Financial Management — sit outside the six labels entirely.
For the depth ZICA actually tests, use the CA Student Handbook, the Facts Sheet and the 2026 brochure, which ZICA marks as the current syllabus under review. The practice test shows you where you are weak; the handbook defines what each module requires.
| Practice-test area | Closest official CA Zambia modules | Levels where they appear |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Accounting and Reporting | CA1.1 Financial Accounting; CA2.1 Financial Reporting; CA3.1 Advanced Financial Reporting | Certificate, Application, Advisory |
| Management Accounting and Decision Making | CA2.2 Management Accounting; CA3.5 Advanced Management Accounting | Application, Advisory |
| Taxation and Compliance | CA2.4 Taxation; CA3.4 Advanced Taxation | Application, Advisory |
| Audit and Assurance | CA2.3 Auditing Principles and Practice; CA3.2 Advanced Audit and Assurance; CA3.7 Public Sector Audits and Assurance | Application, Advisory |
| Business and Corporate Law | CA1.4 Commercial and Corporate Law | Certificate |
| Ethics, Governance, and Professional Skills | CA1.5 Management Theory and Practice; CA1.6 Business Communication (closest published match) | Certificate |
Sources we verified: CA Zambia | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Accountancy programme page: entry requirements, structure, sessions, critical dates and examination procedures
How the CA Zambia programme fits together
Three exam tiers rise from the CA Certificate in Accountancy level to the CA Advisory Professional in Accountancy level, and the full award also requires compulsory practical training.
ZICA structures CA Zambia as a three-tier examination programme with an additional work experience requirement. You move from the CA Certificate in Accountancy level to the CA Application Advanced Diploma in Accountancy level, then to the CA Advisory Professional in Accountancy level. The Certificate and Application tiers each carry six modules, while the Advisory tier adds compulsory subjects and option route subjects.
The levels build deliberately. The Certificate level provides core skills that prepare students for advanced study. The Application level takes those skills into more complex events and transactions, and the Advisory level positions students at the competence standard ZICA describes as recognisable across the world.
Exams alone do not finish the journey. ZICA describes the qualification as combining the professional examinations with a compulsory three-year practical training programme, and the Institute awards CA Zambia only after you pass every level and demonstrate the required competences through that training. Along the way you receive a transcript of results on completing each level.
Sources we verified: CA Zambia | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Accountancy programme page: entry requirements, structure, sessions, critical dates and examination procedures; Rules & Regulations | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Progression, exemptions, deferments, remarking and certification sections
Entry routes and registration
School leavers, diploma holders and graduates enter at different levels, but every route requires five O-level credits or better including Mathematics and English.
Your academic background decides your starting level. ZICA publishes three routes with one shared requirement, summarised below.
- School leavers: a Grade 12 School Certificate or equivalent with five O-level credits or better, including Mathematics and English, to start at the CA Certificate in Accountancy level.
- Diploma route: holders of the Diploma in Accountancy or other recognised relevant qualifications enter at the Application level, with the same five-credit requirement.
- Graduate route: a recognised accountancy degree or recognised professional accounting qualification admits you at the CA Advisory Professional in Accountancy level, again with five O-level credits including Mathematics and English.
Sources we verified: CA Zambia | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Accountancy programme page: entry requirements, structure, sessions, critical dates and examination procedures
Registering with ZICA the right way
Registration is a formal first step for all students, and supporting qualifications must be certified by the Zambia Qualifications Authority.
Every student registers with the Institute at the start of the programme. Forms come from ZICA offices in Lusaka and Kitwe, from any accredited tuition provider, or from the ZICA website, and your statement of results or qualifications must be certified by the Zambia Qualifications Authority before you attach it.
Once your documents are in, ZICA sends registration numbers to students within two weeks of submission. Build that waiting period into your plans so it does not collide with an entry deadline.
Sources we verified: CA Zambia | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Accountancy programme page: entry requirements, structure, sessions, critical dates and examination procedures
Exam sessions, deadlines and fees
ZICA runs four sessions a year — March, June, September and December — and a fixed calendar of payment deadlines protects both your registration and your exam entry.
You can sit papers in March, June, September and December. ZICA sends each year's timetable to candidates and exam centres, posts it on its website and publishes it in the Student Accountant magazine.
The payment calendar matters as much as the timetable. Pay your annual subscription by 1 January; if it remains unpaid by 31 March, ZICA de-registers you, and returning requires a student re-registration fee set by Council. The other deadlines differ by session, as the table shows.
One gap to plan around: the pages verified here list deadlines but not fee amounts. The CA Student Handbook and Facts Sheet carry the current figures, so confirm them before you budget for a session.
| Payment | June session deadline | December session deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Registration, re-registration or exemption fee | 28 February | 31 August |
| Examination (entry fee) | 31 March | 30 September |
| Annual subscription | 31 March | 31 March |
Sources we verified: CA Zambia | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Accountancy programme page: entry requirements, structure, sessions, critical dates and examination procedures
Progression rules that limit your next sitting
ZICA caps higher-level attempts by the subjects you still owe below: one outstanding subject allows two higher-level papers, two allows one, and three allows none.
These caps catch candidates because they apply across levels. With one outstanding subject at Knowledge or Application level, you may attempt a maximum of two subjects at the higher level. Two outstanding subjects limit you to one higher-level subject, and three outstanding subjects mean no higher-level attempts at all.
Advisory has its own sequencing rule: attempt the compulsory subjects before any option route subjects. Once one compulsory subject is outstanding, you may still attempt option route subjects alongside it.
Worked example
You finish the June session with two outstanding Application-level subjects and want to open your Advisory studies in September. How many Advisory subjects can you attempt, and how would the cap change if you had cleared one of the two in June?
Reveal answer
You may attempt one Advisory subject. ZICA's rule for candidates with two outstanding subjects at Knowledge or Application level allows a single higher-level attempt. If you had cleared one subject and carried only one outstanding, the cap would rise to two Advisory subjects.
The published tiers are mechanical: one outstanding subject permits a maximum of two higher-level subjects, two outstanding permit one, and three permit none. Counting your outstanding subjects before you enter for a session prevents a wasted entry that ZICA would not allow.
Sources we verified: Rules & Regulations | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Progression, exemptions, deferments, remarking and certification sections
Exemptions, deferments and remarking
Exemptions are granted on merit through your registration form, deferment needs documented illness, bereavement or court attendance, and remarking is restricted to scores between 35% and 49% under set conditions.
ZICA recognises prior learning, so earlier qualifications can reduce your module load. You apply by completing the exemption sections of the student registration form, and the exemptions committee decides each request on merit; the CA Student Handbook holds the detailed criteria.
Deferment is deliberately narrow. ZICA allows it for illness supported by a certificate from a registered medical practitioner, for the death of a spouse, child, biological parent or direct guardian supported by a death certificate and burial permit, or for legal obligations such as attending court or giving evidence at the time of a paper.
Remarking is equally conditional. Only scores between 35% and 49% inclusive qualify, and you must have passed every other paper at that session, or the borderline paper must be the only one left to complete a level. Applications go in writing to the Secretary and Chief Executive within one month of results, with the remarking fee receipt attached, and a remark replaces the original result. ZICA's decision is final.
One boundary note: ZICA's separate Taxation programme allows no remarking at all, only script verification at the Institute's discretion. Rules differ by programme, so always check the handbook for the qualification you are actually sitting.
Worked example
Your December results show 47% in one Application paper and passes in every other paper you sat that session. Can you apply for a remark, what must accompany the application, and by when?
Reveal answer
Yes. The 47% score falls inside the 35% to 49% band, and you passed all your other papers that session, so both qualifying conditions are met. Apply in writing to the Secretary and Chief Executive within one month of the results being published, enclosing your receipt for the remarking fee.
Two gates apply together: the score must sit between 35% and 49% inclusive, and the candidate must have passed all except one paper at the session, or the low-scoring paper must be the only one remaining to complete a level. Your results satisfy the first branch. If the remark changes the outcome, the remarked result replaces the initial one, and ZICA's decision is final.
Sources we verified: Rules & Regulations | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Progression, exemptions, deferments, remarking and certification sections
Exam-day rules to rehearse
ZICA's examination procedures are strict about arrival times, materials and movement, so build them into your practice runs before the real sitting.
Small procedural breaches can cost you a paper, so read the rules before your first sitting rather than in the corridor afterwards. The essentials from ZICA's published examination procedures are collected below.
- Be in the examination room at least 30 minutes before the paper starts; doors close then so invigilators can issue instructions and take the attendance register.
- Bring no paper or printed material — possession may result in your being barred from the examination.
- Cell phones are not allowed in the examination room.
- Arrive more than 40 minutes after the starting time and you will not be allowed to sit that paper.
- Expect to stay in the room for the first hour and the final 30 minutes, and hand in your answer booklets before leaving finally.
- Stop writing immediately when the invigilator declares the examination over.
Sources we verified: CA Zambia | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Accountancy programme page: entry requirements, structure, sessions, critical dates and examination procedures
Study modes and a way to use the practice test
ZICA permits full-time, part-time or self-study with accredited tuition providers, and the practice test works best as a diagnostic mapped to module codes.
Three study modes are available: full-time or part-time attendance at an accredited tuition provider, or self-study at home without attending classes. Accreditation is the operative word — ZICA's listed student benefits centre on access to accredited tuition providers and examination centres, so verify a provider's status before paying.
As this site's suggestion rather than a ZICA rule: attempt the practice test cold, tag every question with its module code from the mapping table, and rank the codes by errors made. Revising your two weakest modules before the next quarterly session beats rereading everything, and the four-session calendar gives you a natural checkpoint. Our study guides index can help you plan the module-by-module work that follows.
One caution before drilling older material: ZICA publishes a 2026 brochure marked as the current syllabus under review, alongside student handbooks including a new-syllabus edition. Check which version your level follows so you do not spend sessions on topics that have moved or changed.
Sources we verified: CA Zambia | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Accountancy programme page: entry requirements, structure, sessions, critical dates and examination procedures
Where the qualification can lead
ZICA lists roles from Finance Manager and Senior Auditor to Finance Director and Chief Financial Officer, and describes CA Zambia as meeting IFAC competence areas for professional accountants.
ZICA's programme page lists the career opportunities it associates with the qualification: Finance Manager, Senior Auditor, Tax Manager, Financial Analyst, Finance Director, Audit Partner, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating or Chief Executive Officer. These are issuer statements about graduate destinations, not guarantees for any individual candidate.
ZICA also states that CA Zambia meets the IFAC competence areas of a professional accountant, that it is recognised by Chartered Accountants Worldwide and member bodies, and that qualification brings associate membership of ZICA. Verify current recognition status directly with ZICA if an employer or overseas body depends on it. The sources checked for this guide contain no salary figures, so confirm any earnings claim you encounter elsewhere against a dated, sourced statistic.
Sources we verified: CA Zambia | Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants — Accountancy programme page: entry requirements, structure, sessions, critical dates and examination procedures
Sources we verified
Facts checked: