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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 are no preceding levels.
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 bookkeeping qualification.
All members and applicants are expected to show competence in both the manual and computerised qualifications at a minimum of Level II. Until September 2011, Associate 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. Similarly, full Member status will be retained if the corresponding qualification has been gained by September 2011.
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. For more information please click here
Level I Qualification
The Certificate in Basic Bookkeeping | Online home-based
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.
The ICB will only permit three attempts at this examination. Should a candidate fail three times they will be advised to revise their course work and wait for a period of three months before re-attempting the paper.
For examination fees please see Fee Structure
Level II Qualifications
The Certificate in Manual Bookkeeping | Centre-based
The Certificate in Computerised Bookkeeping | Home-based
For examination fees please see Fee Structure
Level III Qualifications
The Diploma in Manual Bookkeeping | Centre-based
The Diploma in Computerised Bookkeeping | Home-based
The Diploma in Payroll Management | Home-based
The Diploma in Self Assessment Tax Returns | Home-based
For examination fees please see Fee Structure
Details regarding the newly introduced Level III Diploma in Legal Bookkeeping and Level IV Diploma in Management Accounts, Drafting Financial Statements and Taxation will be updated shortly.
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
Level III Diploma in Legal Bookkeeping
Level IV Diploma in Management Accounts, Drafting Financial Statements and Taxation
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).
Any accounting software package can be used but Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheets are not appropriate. The ICB would advise students to excercise caution when using any software trial versions as they may offer restricted functionality, for example, a standard Sage trial version does not permit the user to print out the requisite reports.
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.
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 so that we can ensure sufficient steps can be taken to make your examination more comfortable for you. At that time please 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
The ICB administration team does not hold information regarding the candidate's work and cannot enter into any discussion on the specifics of a candidate's examination on the telephone or by email.
Requesting Feedback
If a candidate wishes to receive an examination feedback report they should contact the ICB on 0845 060 2345 to request this. The fee of £25.00 is payable at this point and can be paid either by credit / debit card or by cheque or postal order made payable to ICB at Victoria House, 64 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NG.
The candidate's examination paper will then be unarchived and reassessed by a qualified examiner who will provide feedback.
Feedback will take the form of feedback on the examination paper and will not be a tutorial on bookkeeping. If the candidate feels they require further guidence then they will be expected to refer back to their training provider.
Requesting a Re-Mark
If a candidate is of the belief that marks have been incorrectly allocated or missed, the candidate must write to the ICB at Victoria House, 64 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NG detailing the examination taken and requesting a re-mark of the paper. They must either enclose a cheque or postal order for the £25.00 Re-mark Fee or call the ICB on 0845 060 2345 to provide credit/debit card details for the £25.00.
Where a re-mark has been requested and where is subsequently decided that the ICB has made an error which has disadvantaged the candidate there will be a full refund of the Feedback/Reassessment Fee and a new result notification issued.
Disclaimer
The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers cannot be held responsible for loss of internet access, computer breakdown or any other problem arising from technical issues on the candidate’s personal computer. Candidates must ensure that they have sufficient facilities to complete the paper within the alloted time-frame, before they apply for their examination. It is the candidate’s responsibility to carefully check all answers submitted before submitting their assessment.
Please note that the ICB is an awarding body and all examinations are marked in a just and fair manner. The ICB endeavours at all times to uphold equal opportunites, never making a distinction in favour 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.
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