CME-4A (ICWIM) Exam Day: What to Bring, Results and Resits

Last verified: 20 October 2026. This is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the Financial Academy (FA), the Capital Market Authority (CMA), CISI or any other government body. Two sets of rules apply to CME-4A: FA's policies for exams delivered with CISI, because you book and pay through FA, and CISI's own examination regulations (Version 16, April 2025), because CISI delivers and marks the exam. Where the two say different things, we say who says what. Policies can change, so check both before exam day.

This guide covers what happens after you book: preparing before exam day, what to bring, the exam room, your result and what to do if you do not pass. Booking steps and fees are in the registration guide, and the study plan is in the study plan guide.

Before exam day

• Complete CISI's Qualification Registration Form (QRF) online before your exam. FA states that no official result is announced until it is complete.
• Read your booking confirmation. CISI requires you to bring it to the test centre, or to have your login and exam launch details to hand for a remotely invigilated exam.
• Log in to MyCISI and read the on-screen calculator guide under "My Study" then "On the day"; CISI strongly recommends it.
• Set your results and data-sharing preferences in MyCISI. CISI requires this before you can view your e-certificate, and if you want your employer to see your result.
• Fit to Sit: by sitting the exam you declare that you are well enough to take it and that your mark should stand. If you are ill, reschedule rather than sit.

What to bring: ID

FA and CISI both require an unexpired ID showing exactly the name on your booking; otherwise you will not be admitted, and CISI adds that the fee is not refunded. Their lists of accepted documents differ:

A valid passport is on both lists. If you plan to use another document, check it with FA before the exam.

When to arrive

• FA's section on CISI exams: at least 20 minutes before the start; late arrivals may be refused entry.
• CISI regulations: at least 30 minutes before the start at a test centre. For a remotely invigilated exam, start the check-in at least 15 minutes before.

Arriving 30 minutes early meets both.

Where and how you sit the exam

CME-4A is a computer-based test of 100 multiple-choice questions in 120 minutes, plus up to 10% unscored trial questions with proportionally more time (see the syllabus guide). FA's testing centres page lists five centres: Riyadh (King Abdullah Financial District), Jeddah, Abha, Dammam and Hail. The CISI ICWIM page says the exam is available by remote invigilation or at test centres worldwide. Your booking confirmation shows your centre and how you will sit the exam.

In the exam room

• No phones, watches or any digital or programmable device. FA's section on CISI exams also bans bringing in or using a calculator.
• You use the on-screen calculator, which CISI's regulations make compulsory for multiple-choice exams at test centres in all languages.
• Bags, books, notes and phones go in a locker or wherever the invigilator directs.
• Before the questions start there is a tutorial on the exam system, and CISI counts making notes during it as malpractice.
• Do not talk to anyone except the invigilator, do not use any form of artificial intelligence, and do not leave the room without the invigilator's permission. Other candidates may come and go during your exam; noise-reduction equipment is available.
• You may finish early and leave, showing consideration to those still working.
• CISI forbids disclosing any part of the exam content afterwards, including to trainers; the penalties are in the registration guide.

If your booking is remotely invigilated

• Remote exams are not available to candidates under 18.
• Run the system check beforehand on the same device and in the same room you will use.
• No paper: scratch paper is provided on screen. Keep a mirror or phone for the room check only.
• You may not leave the camera view for any reason. If your internet connection fails, the exam ends and the result reached so far is recorded; it cannot be restarted.
• Accepted ID for remote exams: a passport, or a national ID card or driving licence with the details in English.
• Calculator: on screen only with the ProProctor provider; with TestReach you may bring a non-programmable scientific calculator. Your confirmation letter names the provider.

Your result

• The provisional result appears on screen at the end of the exam (CISI certificates policy), and CISI says it is available in MyCISI within 24 working hours.
• Results stay provisional for five working days after the exam, so that CISI can check any circumstances that may affect them. After that your e-certificate can be viewed and printed in MyCISI free of charge; a printed copy by post costs £40 (CISI price list 2026–2027).
• FA says the qualification certificate is emailed to the candidate; you need it, together with a CME-4B pass, to claim HADAF support (see the registration guide).
• Reading the score: 70 or more is a pass, 91 or more a pass with merit, 69 or less a fail. Trial questions do not count.
• CISI does not give out copies of exam questions or say which questions you answered correctly or incorrectly.

If you did not pass

Find out what went wrong

CISI does not remark multiple-choice exams, because the system marks them automatically. Instead, a candidate who fails can order a Performance Review: a report on your performance in the different syllabus elements, your strengths and weaknesses and how you managed your time. It is written in English whatever language you sat the exam in, costs £40 (price list), is free once you have failed the same subject three times, and is emailed within 48 hours. Order it from performancereports@cisi.org with the subject and exam date (CISI qualifications policies page). When we checked, CISI was warning of a technical problem delaying these reports.

When you can resit

CISI may also refuse a booking from someone who has already passed the same exam.

Cost of a resit

The FA CME-4A page shows a single fee of 2,100 SAR with no separate resit price, so budget for the full fee each time you book. Plan your resit before the syllabus changes: English Version 7 covers exams until 1 March 2027, and Arabic Version 7a until 31 May 2027.

Rescheduling or cancelling

CISI exams booked through FA cannot be cancelled, only rescheduled: the first reschedule is free 15 days or more before the exam, and a second reschedule costs the full exam fee; the full table is in the registration guide. When we checked on 20 October 2026, the line for a first reschedule 4 to 14 days before the exam appeared cut off on FA's page; on 18 October it read 100 SAR. CISI's policy says a transfer must be requested by whoever made the original booking, which in your case is FA.

Complaints and appeals

• A problem on the day (noise, a system fault, an invigilator issue): tell the invigilator so it is recorded, then submit CISI's Candidate Feedback Form within 48 hours. FA and CISI's regulations agree on the 48 hours.
• A question about exam content: use the content feedback form. CISI's appeals policy asks for queries within five working days of the exam or the result.
• Appeal: only against the outcome of a query or a malpractice sanction, within 10 working days of being told CISI's decision, to appeals@cisi.org, with a £100 fee that is refunded if the appeal is upheld. An appeal checks whether CISI applied its procedures fairly or considers new evidence; it does not re-mark your exam.
• Unforeseen circumstances outside your control during or at the time of the exam: apply under CISI's special consideration policy.
• FA's own review request (400 SAR, within three working days) appears in its general policy for its own exams, while its section on CISI exams points to the feedback forms. If the route is unclear, ask FA.