Exam guide: Assurance and Risk Fundamentals

At a glance

Sitting: on demand
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: 50 multiple-choice, multi-part multiple-choice or multiple-response questions
Pass mark: 55%

Syllabus weighting:

• The concept, process and need for assurance (20%)
• Risk, internal controls and information flows (25%)
• Obtaining assurance evidence (35%)
• Professional ethics and regulatory issues (20%)

Need to know

Assurance is the foundation of being a chartered accountant, and you’ll be building on the knowledge you gain here as you progress through your studies: with Fundamental Case Study, Assurance, Risk and Reporting, and Corporate Reporting, Data and Assurance at Professional Level, and throughout the Advanced Level. Though not replicating the separate Sustainability and Ethics module, there’s a clear focus on both key themes within Assurance and Risk Fundamentals. Ethical principles and their regulation and practice comprise a fifth of the syllabus, and you’ll also learn about assurance on sustainability reporting and the role of the International Sustainability Standards Board. 

Although this is a broad introduction, it’s a very wide syllabus, covering the definition and different types of assurance; internal control systems, cycles and activities; methods of obtaining sufficient appropriate evidence; and ethical and professional behaviour. You’ll have 90 minutes to answer 50 questions, selected at random and covering the syllabus weightings, which may be multiple choice (selecting one answer from four options), multiple response (selecting two or three answers from four or five options), or multi-part multiple-choice (a series of sub-questions, where one answer is selected in each case). Some questions are knowledge-based but, as assurance in the real world is all about application, some will be scenario-based. 

How to approach it

Assurance and Risk Fundamentals is often one of the first Certificate Level exams students sit, and it can be challenging – there’s a lot of content, and you may not have had a lot of practical experience yet to tie into what you’re learning. There are a few areas that people may struggle with a bit more, so it’s worth making sure you’ve grasped them properly: defining materiality and its role in assurance; selecting appropriate methods of obtaining evidence; selecting appropriate courses of action to resolve ethical conflicts; and selecting safeguards to mitigate ethical threats – the latter two possibly linked to that lack of real-life experience.

Question practice is essential. Around half the questions in the exam will require you to think about a scenario and use your knowledge, so reading the workbook and learning by rote won’t get you through. There is some technical knowledge that you need to learn (ethical and sustainability rules, and fee limits, for example) but there’s no need to memorise long lists of procedures – if you know the principles, you should be able to recognise and select the correct procedure yourself. Make sure, too, that you cover the full breadth of the syllabus: there will be questions across all four areas, so ignoring a topic you don’t like will immediately reduce your chances of achieving the required 55% pass mark. There’s a consistency of level and style throughout the workbook, question bank and mock exams, so once you’ve seen and practised a few questions, you’ll know what to expect.

It’s important to manage your time well in the exam – aim for around a minute and a half per question – and don’t leave anything unanswered. It’s always better to select a likely right answer, flag it and come back at the end. 

Read more about Assurance and Risk Fundamentals in the ACA Syllabus Handbook.