ICAI Schedules Online ISA Eligibility Test for 22 August 2026

ISA Eligibility Test fixed for 22 August

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has scheduled an online Eligibility Test for the Post Qualification Course on Information Systems Audit on Saturday, 22 August 2026. According to the notification listed by the Institute on 16 July 2026, the test will be held from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM.

The announcement is relevant to ICAI members pursuing the Information Systems Audit post-qualification course and planning to appear in the August test. With a specified duration of two-and-a-half hours and an online mode, candidates should organise their preparation and test-day arrangements around the notified session.

ICAI’s listing identifies the examination as an Eligibility Test, or ET. This description should be retained when candidates search for notices, correspondence or instructions concerning the examination, particularly because the Institute also conducts assessment tests for several certificate courses.

What the notification confirms

ICAI’s notification lists four central particulars: the examination relates to the Post Qualification Course on Information Systems Audit; it is an Eligibility Test; it will be conducted online; and the scheduled session is from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM on Saturday, 22 August 2026.

These particulars provide the core timetable information required by prospective examinees. Candidates should also follow ICAI’s applicable examination instructions on enrolment, fees, permitted equipment, login arrangements and technical requirements.

Candidates should use the Institute’s examination and learning systems for the applicable operational instructions before the test. This is especially important for an online examination, where compliance extends beyond knowing the date and commencement time.

A recurring ISA test calendar in 2026

The August test is not the first ISA Eligibility Test listed by ICAI during 2026. The Institute’s notifications page also records an online Eligibility Test for the same Post Qualification Course on Information Systems Audit on Saturday, 9 May 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM. That earlier notice was listed on 9 April 2026.

The two entries show that the Institute listed at least two ISA Eligibility Test sessions in 2026: one on 9 May and another on 22 August. Both carry the same notified time slot and duration. The August entry was posted more than a month before the scheduled test date, giving affected members a defined examination date around which to arrange their professional commitments.

The chronology is useful for candidates who may encounter older ISA notices while searching ICAI’s website. The operative listing for the forthcoming session is the one dated 16 July 2026 and referring specifically to 22 August 2026. The May notice concerns an earlier sitting and should not be relied upon as the timetable for the August examination.

Eligibility Test should not be confused with other ICAI assessments

ICAI’s notification stream contains several announcements concerning professional courses, but their labels and purposes are not interchangeable. Alongside the ISA Eligibility Test, the Institute has listed online Assessment Tests for certificate courses in areas such as investment banking, non-banking financial companies, forensic accounting and fraud detection, financial markets and securities laws, and forex and treasury management.

For example, ICAI listed an online Assessment Test for the Certificate Course in Investment Banking for 8 August 2026 and an online Assessment Test for the Certificate Course on Non-Banking Financial Companies for 9 August 2026. It also listed an assessment for the Certificate Course on Forensic Accounting and Fraud Detection for 5 September 2026.

Those announcements relate to different courses and, in some cases, different organising committees, paper structures and durations. Candidates looking for the ISA examination should therefore verify that the notice expressly refers to the “Online Eligibility Test (ET)” for the “Post Qualification Course on Information Systems Audit” and carries the date 22 August 2026.

Why precise identification matters

The distinction is more than a matter of terminology. ICAI’s notifications page functions as a combined stream for numerous institutional, course and assessment updates. Around the ISA announcement, the page includes notices dealing with certificate-course tests, course batches, results, annual reporting and other professional initiatives.

A candidate relying only on a date or the general expression “online test” could open an announcement for an unrelated course. Cross-checking the course name, test classification, date and time together is the most reliable way to identify the relevant entry.

The Institute also listed “Important Information regarding the Upgradation of DISA 3.0 to DISA 4.0” on 11 August 2026. That is a separate, later update within the broader information systems audit education framework. The supplied material does not set out its contents or establish how the upgrade affects candidates for the 22 August Eligibility Test. It would therefore be unsafe to infer any change to the August test’s syllabus, eligibility conditions or procedure merely from the title of that subsequent notice.

Practical steps before the online test

Members proposing to take the test should first ensure that every communication they rely upon relates to the August 2026 ISA Eligibility Test rather than the completed May sitting or another certificate-course assessment. Calendar entries should reflect the full notified session of 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM on 22 August.

Candidates should separately locate and follow any detailed instructions made available by ICAI through the applicable course, examination or digital platform. Particular attention should be paid to official information on registration status, credentials, reporting or login time, system requirements and examination rules, if and when supplied. None of those details should be assumed from the concise notification listing alone.

It would also be prudent to retain accessible copies of relevant official communications and verify the latest position close to the examination date. This is a general precaution for an online professional test and does not imply that ICAI has announced any alteration to the published schedule.

Official source position

ICAI’s official notifications page states the test date and timing. ICAI is the statutory professional body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.

Accordingly, the confirmed position remains limited but clear: ICAI listed the online ISA Eligibility Test notice on 16 July 2026, with the examination scheduled for Saturday, 22 August 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM.

Key takeaway

ICAI members pursuing the Information Systems Audit post-qualification course should note the online Eligibility Test on 22 August 2026 from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM and rely on the Institute’s specific August notice and subsequent official candidate instructions, rather than older ISA notices or announcements for unrelated assessment tests.