FAAA throws support behind financial adviser exam changes

Late last year, the government released draft legislation aimed at improving the delivery and accessibility of the adviser exam.

In response to the proposed changes, the FAAA has backed making the exam completely multiple choice, removing restrictions on who can sit the exam, and allowing students to sit the exam at a stage that is suitable for them.

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FAAA chief executive Sarah Abood said the proposed changes will make the exam process more flexible and more affordable for candidates.

“The FAAA is in favour of wholly multiple-choice examinations. Moving to this format rapidly speeds up the process of marking the exams and ensures consistency of assessment without lowering standards,” Ms Abood said.

“Without a need for subjective marking of written answers, the marking process can be largely automated, removing the risk of human error and subjectivity and speeding up the provision of results to students.

“This method of assessment is also cheaper to run, and we would expect to see a reduction in the cost of the exam as a result. The cost is now $1,500 per attempt, almost three times higher than it was when the exam was first introduced in 2019.”

The draft explanatory statement said that “current exam eligibility criteria which restricts access to the exam based on the person having already met the qualifications standard is causing unnecessary delays for new entrants seeking to enter the profession”.

The FAAA noted that the added flexibility, including allowing financial planning students to sit the exam during their studies rather than at a specific stage during the professional year (PY), will have substantial benefits for new entrants.

“Exam infrequency and the time taken to receive results has meant the professional year could stretch well beyond 12 months for some students. This increased flexibility is very welcome and should reduce unnecessary delays for new entrants in starting their careers,” Ms Abood said.

“The proposed changes will also effectively allow anyone who wishes to do so to take the exam. This is a strongly positive move as there are many participants in financial services who have an interest in the content and in demonstrating mastery in this area – such as compliance staff and responsible managers, just to name a few.

“The FAAA is strongly supportive of these changes, which we hope will encourage more people to attempt the financial adviser exam and enter the advice profession.”

In its response to the draft legislation consultation, the Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association (SIAA) also threw its support behind these changes, however called on the government to go even further.

“Candidates should be able to sit the exam at any time and not be restricted to exam blocks,” it said.

Additionally, more tailored feedback should be provided to unsuccessful candidates so that they can improve in their next exam sitting, the SIAA noted.

“This is particularly important in light of the incapacity of the PY candidate to progress until they have passed the exam. Currently, exam feedback is not individual but generic,” it said.

“All it does is repeat the curriculum item relating to the question that the candidate has failed. It does not tell them why they failed that question or what particular matters they should study to pass the question at the next sitting.”