Oneia Trott was on her final chance to pass her chartered accountant examination. She had failed twice before - and it was the last time she could take the famously difficult Canadian exam.

“I was biting my nails,” said Miss Trott, a 26-year-old Bermudian who works at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “It was a tough exam and it was the last time I could sit it. I really wanted to pass this time, so I was really nervous.”

And when the news came through that she was one of five Bermudians to have passed this year's exam, she whooped for joy.

“I called my mom (Lynette Smith) and I cried,” she said. “I cried so much she couldn't tell if I had passed or failed. She had no idea what I was saying.”

The Canadian series of chartered accountant exams are one of the most popular avenues to become a fully qualified accountant on the Island, but require three years of hard work and dedication to get through.

There is only a 65 percent pass rate for the Canadian exam, with most of those taking the postgraduate course in the top percentages of their University and College courses.

Nigel Swain, 26, also passed this time around. It was his second attempt, and he said that he was also nervous to find out if he had pulled through.

“The first time I think it was more like feeling it out,” said Mr. Swain, who works at KPMG. “It is a higher standard than exams at university and it takes a lot of work to pass. I had a better feeling this time, but I was still very relieved to have passed.”

David Smith, 27, who works at KPMG was one of the three Bermudians to have passed first time. They were the first to have done the exam on the Island with just a single year of preparation after the course was changed from a two-year to one-year period.

“It was my first attempt and it was particularly tough because we were going through a new programme,” said Mr. Smith. “It was a new experience for us all, but the course organisers did a very good job preparing us for the exam. I definitely did not sail through. When I found out I had passed, I had a sense of overwhelming relief.”

Marco Bortoli, 25, agreed the exam was tough, despite having passed first time. “There is nothing like it. No feeling to describe passing,” said the PricewaterhouseCoopers employee.”You almost tell yourself you are not going to pass, and you know you can sit it next year.

“People with good degrees fail this exam. You never know. You can work hard, and still not make it.”

Nancy Roberts, 30, who also passed on her first try, said she too found the exam tough and was not sure if she had passed.

“But I had the support of the group and I knew they would be behind me no matter what,”said Miss Roberts, who works at PricewaterhouseCoopers. For Miss Roberts finding out she had passed took a huge weight off her shoulders. “It is the joy of getting my life back,” she said.

Others to pass the exam in Bermuda were Canadians Carmelina Chiofalo, who works at Deloitte and Touche and comes from Ontario, Lysa Ngo Nguyen, from Alberta who works at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Judd Van Slyck, also of Alberta and PricewaterhouseCoopers.