During a panel event at the ifa Business Strategy Day in Sydney yesterday, Western Sydney University associate lecturer Amanda Craft shared what she knows about the upcoming FASEA exam that all existing advisers will need to have passed by 1 January 2021.
She said the exam should be very much tied to the content, mapping to bridge subjects ranging from corporations law to ethics as well as a little bit of behavioural finance.
Ms Craft said the exam is not what most academics think of as a “typical exam”, in that it’s not testing knowledge in the sense that it’s not about knowing through rote memory, or what a certain section of the Corporations Act says.
“It’s not about that. It’s based on case studies. There’ll be a story about an adviser who did this and there’s something clearly wrong in the story. And then the question is something like, ‘What did they do wrong?’, ‘What should they have done right?’, ‘Which section of the Corporations Act did they breach?’,” Ms Craft said.
“It’s very practical – apply your knowledge and your experience and what you already know to examples from the industry.
Ms Craft said the exam is not at a level where it’s attempting to distinguish between people who get 100 per cent and those who get 1 or 2 per cent. She said the goal behind the FASEA exam is that it’s set at a standard.
“The questions are set at the level where if you don’t know this, you should not be here. That’s the level of the kinds of questions that they’re talking about setting. It’s not like a traditional university level of exam,” she said.
Further, Ms Craft said the exam will be all administered online on computers, where you sit in front of a computer screen and you get no paper at all.
While the exam will be ‘open book’, she said it’s not open book in the sense of a law exam where candidates receive a massive section of the Corporations Act and have to spend all their time flicking through it in search for an answer.
“It’s more, ‘Here’s the case study. Here’s a question. Here’s a link to the relevant section of the Corporations Act’, but you probably already know … You might not know the exact wording of what that section says but you know what the tone of it,” Ms Craft said.
“If you know it’s linking to best interests duty and you know what best interests duty is, you can go and read it if you want to check but you should know the answer before. You’re just double-checking to make sure you feel confident before you answer the question. It’s not like you have to look it up yourself. Everything I understand is linked electronically inside the exam.”
Examination behavioural finance question – If the share market goes up, its the markets fault. If the share market falls, its the adviser fault. Yes or no?
Gee – give us a harder question next time…although I’m wondering if the answer is neither because we all know its the advisers fault, but the question says nothing about the adviser refunding the client for the loss incurred….
Interesting that we are being tested on content related to bridging studies required by 2024 but the exam is in 2021. Should be fun
Yep FARSEA have it all organised. Carts and Horses or something like that order.
And still yet to finalise recognition of prior learning 2 plus years into it.
– Exam will be ready Dec 24th 2020.
– Bridging Courses ready Dec 24th 2023
Disgusting, this waste-of-time-and-money exam will do ZERO for advisers OR the industry in any way shape or form. It will enrich the elite entities involved in holding the exams and that is it. Disgusts me beyond sanity.
Ummmm…. why is an academic telling us what will be in the exam? I thought that was FARCEAs job?? HELLO!!!!
“Which section of the Corporations Act did they breach?”. Well that’s the problem right there. We all know the rules, but they have never been taught with reference to the CA Act.
Answer: Chapter 7 (for all breaches… :p
Hi Team,
anyone interested in forming a study group to memorize the corporations act chapter 7. it is after all 562 pages.
you never know what this mob might do, they might just come with other additions at the last minute.
if there is interest please let me know.
beyond a joke
Just quote the NAB CEO. He was quoted in the AFR as saying “these matters raised in the Royal Commission are not breaches of the Criminal Law they are just merely breaches of the Corporations law…it’s not as if we’ve done anything criminal”.
The standard has been set by the NAB. Certainly if I was a NAB planner when being audited I’d just be referring to that.
Perhaps FPA CEO’s and NAB executives should be sitting the exam. I guess there is a benefit when you blame individuals and not culture. That being no exam and more FPA members.
where ideology meets common sense, ideology wins out every time as politicians use a sledge hammer to crack the nut
If it’s as she says here then it won’t be as bad as I first thought.
But best memorise all the law ahead of time just in case…
“Practical” 😆 Nothing about this seems practical.
How are any of these details new?
Perhaps the Bank Execs should read the corp act (as well as the ethics training)? They caused this mess – I know the answer however will they need to do the exam?
Wonder how you apply the law when Industry funds play by different rules… how do we apply the crav outs applied to the test?
Ah mate – Industry Funds are exempt from the Law – that’s the answer.
No problem for Conflicted Advice by in house advisers.
No problem for Charging every fund member for Intra Fund advice very few use.
No problem buy Qantas Frequent Flyer points from general members funds to pay incentives to new members and breach Sole Purpose test.
No problem having Balanced Funds that really have 90% Growth Assets.
No problem having Property as 10% Growth Assets and 15% Defensive Assets and zero information as to how property can be both a Defensive and Growth asset at the same time.
No problem getting massive Insurance kick back commissions
No problem giving employers Tennis tickets to corporate boxes to influence employer contributions
No problem at all when you dont have to be legal with the SIS Act.
Ian Silk said whats Sole purpose??????
Agree with the two
No problem having Balanced Funds that really have 90% Growth Assets.
No problem having Property as 10% Growth Assets and 15% Defensive Assets and zero information as to how property can be both a Defensive and Growth asset at the same time.
However, the industry is going through this because of the shitstorm created by the bank/AMP advisers charging people (including those that were dead) many thousands each year for advice that they didn’t provide.
While the ISA are not as great as their marketing would suggest, their fraud is not in the same league as the banks.
so it is now mid March 2019, we still have not seen any exam as it is not ready, and the date that we have to complete this is still January 2021??????????
I would like to be in the room when Garry Weaven, the Hon Peter Collins and David Whiteley do the exam, or will they be exempt??????
Ahhhhhh! at last some clear guidance.
Yeah, who doesn’t read the Corporations Act every night before bed?
Its my toilet paper as that’s all its worth
You sound like a Bank CEO.
The Banks are doing OK from this – don’t you worry about the Bank now. I for one am not like a Bank CEO. They have nothing to loose.