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Examination Process In Detail

Contents

Applying for an examination

Examinations required for membership

Cost and Levels of Examinations

Centre-based Examinations

Home-based Examinations

Completing an Examination Abroad

Deadline Dates for applying and cancelling examinations

Special Needs Considerations

Querying your Result

Applying for an Examination

Students and members can apply for the examinations online, by post or by telephone. Mock papers can be ordered by telephone and from the online shop. Please note that your course provider may cover the cost of your examinations. For important application deadline dates see Deadline Dates below.

Kindly note that candidates must take examinations in 'level order': meaning that applications cannot be made for the Level III until the preceding Level I and Level II qualifications have been passed.  The exception to this rule is Payroll for which there is only one level of qualification.

Examinations Required for Membership

The Level I Certificate in Basic Bookkeeping is mandatory.  Any applicant who continues on to achieve a Level II qualification will gain membership at Associate level (AICB), with membership at Member Level (MICB) attained after subsequent completion of a Level III qualification.

All members and applicants are expected to show competence in both the manual and computerised qualifications at a minimum of Level II by 2011.  Until September 2011, membership will be granted where only one type of Level II qualification is gained on the understanding that the remaining qualification in the level will be completed by end of September 2011 to retain membership.

Associate Membership is the minimum requirement for the Practice Licence.  Any student who has passed examinations, but not achieved Associate Membership, will be offered membership at the interim grade of Affiliate Member.

Fellow Member is the highest grade of membership and can be applied for by any existing full Member who has achieved the complete set of ICB qualifications and is able to demonstrate exemplary work within the field.

Level I Qualification

The Certificate in Basic Bookkeeping | Online home-based £25.00

All students wishing to complete the Institute's examinations and achieve membership must first successfully complete the manual, home-based, Level I Certificate in Basic Bookkeeping.

Following completion of the Level I, students should complete both the Level II Certificate in Manual Bookkeeping and the Level II Certificate in Computerised Bookkeeping and any order.

Level II Qualifications

The Certificate in Manual Bookkeeping | Centre-based £55.00

The Certificate in Computerised Bookkeeping  | Home-based £25.00

Level III Qualifications

The Diploma in Manual Bookkeeping | Centre-based £75.00

The Diploma in Computerised Bookkeeping  | Home-based £30.00

The Diploma in Payroll Management | Home-based £30.00

The Diploma in Self Assessment Tax Returns | Home-based £30.00

Centre-Based Examinations

The Certificate in Manual Bookkeeping
The Diploma in Manual Bookkeeping

Examinations take place in every week of the year.  Students can choose from a network of 5,200 centres worldwide.  For more information on booking a test and finding a test centre click here.

The examinations are 'on demand' and students choose a date and time convenient to them and according to availability at their nominated centre.

Any student who has successfully completed at least the Level I examination will be able to book in for the Level II.  Bookings for the Level III can only be accepted if the Level I and both Level II examinations have been passed.

Home-Based Examinations

The Certificate in Basic Bookkeeping
The Certificate in Computerised Bookkeeping
The Diploma in Computerised Bookkeeping
The Diploma in Payroll Management
The Diploma in Self Assessment Tax Returns

The Level I Certificate in Basic Bookkeeping is an online examination and can be completed by the student wherever they have access to a secure internet connection.  After applying, the student will be emailed a confirmation and a link to further instructions.  The examination booking will expire after two weeks and if it is not used by this time, the examination will be graded as a Fail and the student must apply for a new examination and pay any necessary fees.  Students are given two hours to complete the examination and results will be issued online straightaway.

The remaining home-based qualifications take the form of a paper question booklet which is posted to the student at home for completion and return within two weeks. The student must have their own accounting software package (does not apply to Diploma in Self Assessment). The Institute posts assignments to students every Friday and results are posted directly to the student within one calendar month of receipt of a completed answer paper. 

If an examination is not returned within the deadline period, the examination will be graded as a Fail and the student must apply for a new examination and pay any necssary fees.   For application and cancellation deadline dates click here.

Overseas Examination

All of the Institute's examinations can be completed abroad. 

Online examinations can be completed anywhere in the world on a computer with an internet connection.

The examinations which are issued by post (Computerised Bookkeeping, Payroll, Self Assessment) can be emailed to overseas students for completion and subsequent return by email.  Overseas students are asked to specifically request an emailed paper when applying.

For centre-based examinations overseas candidates can choose from a network of 5,200 centres worldwide.  The examinations 'on demand' and students can choose a date and time convenient to them according to availability at their nominated centre.  Overseas candidates are advised to please get in touch with the Institute to ensure that their local centre is activated for bookings.

Deadline Dates

Online examinations are on demand. Once booked, the examination is available for two weeks. The examination itself is timed, beginning when the candidate clicks 'Start' online.

Home-based postal examinations are issued to candidates every Friday by 1st Class post. Each week's application deadline date is 17:00 on the Thursday, or midnight if booking online. If you have booked in, but then wish to cancel your examination, you will also need to let us know by 17:00 on Thursday.

Centre-based examinations  Candidates are in charge of booking their own examination appointments.  There are no deadline dates, but availability will vary according to centre location and time of year.   Cancellations can usually be accepted if made directly to the booking agent within 5 working days of the examination appointment date.  

Special Needs Considerations

If you have a medical condition which requires any special adjustments to the normal examination practice, ie. you have limited mobility, or are sight-impaired, please submit the Reasonable Adjustment/Special Consideration Form (RASC Form) to the Institute at least two months prior to the intended date of your examination.  At that time you must also submit an up-to-date letter from your Doctor outlining, not only your condition, but the impact that it may have on your examination.  Please call the Institute on 0845 060 2345 to request a RASC Form.

Querying Your Result

After a result has been issued, the ICB will not enter into any further discussion regarding that result.  If a candidate wishes to receive further feedback regarding their result, or is of the belief that a mark has been incorrectly allocated, the candidate must call the ICB on 0845 060 2345 to provide payment details for the £25.00 Feedback-Reassessment Fee.  The ICB in-house team does not have any information regarding the candidate's work and will not be able to offer any feedback at that stage.

The candidate's examination submission will then be unarchived and reassessed by a qualified examiner who will provide feedback.  Where there is any indication that a mark has been incorrectly allocated there will be a full refund of the Feedback-Reassessment Fee.

Please note that the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers is an awarding body and all examinations are marked in a just and fair manner.  The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers endeavours at all times to uphold equal opportunites, never making a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs, but rather takes pride in rewarding individuals on the basis of merit.