CBCA® | Final Exam Overview + Study Tips
Congratulations on completing the CBCA® syllabus and beginning your preparation for the final exam!
There is a 30-day waiting period between final exam attempts, so we encourage you to take ample time to prepare before beginning. This guide contains:
CBCA® - Final Exam at a Glance
| Exam structure | 60 randomized multiple-choice questions, including 20 questions on one credit analysis case study. |
| Exam location | Online/virtual at a location of your choice. The exam does not need to be scheduled. |
| Exam length | 3 hours, timed. |
| Exam content | Prep (8%) and core course (92%) material. Content from elective courses will not be covered. |
| Exam results availability | Immediately upon completion. |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Eligibility | Students must complete 16 core courses and three or more electives to be eligible to take the final exam. |
| Number of attempts | One attempt |
| Retaking the Exam | There is a mandatory one-month waiting period between exam retakes. Students who have already passed the exam are not allowed to retake it. An active subscription is required during the final exam and all retakes. |
| How to prepare | Review course videos, prep courses, materials, exercises, and case studies. Take the practice exam (we recommend taking the practice exam more than once before proceeding to the final exam). |
| Practice exams | Students may retake practice exams as many times as needed. |
CBCA® Exam Overview
The CBCA® final exam has 60 multiple-choice questions, including one credit analysis case study. Content from prep and core courses will be included, with prep accounting for roughly 10% and core course content comprising 90% of the final exam.
Exam Duration
The CBCA® Final Exam is timed and must be completed within three hours.
- Generally, we recommend spending less than 3 minutes on each question.
Tips for Studying & Preparing
Review Course Materials
- Rewatch video demonstrations
- Review course presentations, exercises, and case studies
- Review your course assessment results
- Take detailed notes and organize them by topic using the "notes" feature in the CFI LMS
Refresh Your Memory on Important Courses:
- Loan Security
- Loan Pricing
- Loan Covenants
- Financial Analysis for Credit
- Account Monitoring and Warning Signs
- Credit Administration and Documentation
- 3-Statement Modeling
- Cash Flow Cycles and Analysis
- Completing a Credit Application
These courses cover some of the more advanced concepts you will be tested on. Be sure to review the completed financial models in detail and be able to connect the assumptions and drivers to the relevant sections of each model.
Complete advanced-level electives
- Complete at least one level 4- and one level 5 elective course. While these will refer to some of the earlier courses and principles, the exam will not test your knowledge of elective content.
Take the practice exam
- The practice exam will best indicate what to expect in the final exam. We recommend taking the practice exam multiple times until you feel comfortable and confident in your understanding of the material.
Review the following important concepts:
- Statement of cash flows
- Working capital cycle
- Financial ratios
- Credit analysis ratios
- Analysis of financial statements
- Commercial Loan
- Debt Service Coverage Ratio
- Credit Analysis
- Collateral
We recommend reading through the articles and downloading the files for each.
Case Study
Other Tips to Consider
- Be sure to sit in a comfortable setting with no distractions.
- Have a snack and water close to keep you energized and well-hydrated.
- Ensure that you have a stable network connection.
- You can refresh your browser during a brief outage without losing progress, but the exam counter will not stop.