Exam developments

As we continue to adopt more modern, digital-first methods of assessment, we’ll update this page with all the information and resources you’ll need

 

We understand that the integrity of our exams is an area of importance and concern for members, employers and candidates, particularly for those who do not and would not behave inappropriately in an exam situation, and who are most unfairly impacted by improper conduct.

We will provide updates on our progress and clarity on timelines for the introduction of a new exam system over the coming weeks and months.

Meanwhile, you can find information and resources regarding upcoming changes to IFoA examinations and what this means for you on this page, and on our exam news web page.

Enhanced exam security measures for 2025

We know exam security is important to both candidates and employers, and we’ve heard your concerns about academic integrity and honesty.

We've been working to enhance security on our online exam platform, and can now confirm that we will introduce remote invigilation and identity verification in 2025.

Exam candidates will confirm their identity before accessing their exam papers. Candidates will also be monitored for the duration of their exam.

Candidates taking exams before April 2025 will not be affected by the change.

Find out more about the new measures

 

Objective based assessments

We would like to thank everyone who tested our business finance and business economics objective based assessments (OBAs). Your feedback and exam results have been used to refine the design and assure the quality of this new form of assessment.

To ensure candidates and employers can plan for future IFoA exams, we can confirm all IFoA exams will be delivered on our current platform in their established format in September 2024.

This means the delivery of our CB1 and CB2 exams will be in their current format rather than OBA format in September 2024.

We will continue work on preparing exams in OBA format, so we are ready to launch OBA exams when we launch a new exam system.

We already have Business Finance and Business Economics (CB1 and CB2) exams prepared in OBA format. We are working on developing more OBA format exams for subjects that work well in this style of assessment.

To support you sitting this style of exam when the time comes, we have provided some OBA study tips

 

New exam system

We remain committed to delivering a modern digital-first exam system with security and integrity at its heart. However, as previously announced, we will not be introducing a new exam system in 2024.

We understand this may be disappointing, but it is absolutely essential that any new system meets the high standards our candidates expect and deserve.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in our test exams in 2023. Feedback shared by candidates who took part was crucial in helping us reevaluate our exam delivery needs for the future.

We will provide updates on our progress and clarity on timelines for the introduction of a new exam system at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime, as per above, we have approved the implementation of remote invigilation from April 2025 as a short-term, tactical step towards addressing current levels of risk within the existing exam platform.

Related resources

Objective based assessment: study tips

Why you may need to change your study preparation for OBA and three effective approaches you could take
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Key dates

Exam dates, exam entry dates, results release dates, and other key learning dates.
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Exam news

Get all the updates on the introduction of our new exam system and objective based assessments, and all other IFoA exam news
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