What you learn
The ACI Operations Certificate Exam is designed to provide candidates with the core knowledge and competence skills required to work in an treasury operations and middle office environment.
Who will benefit from taking it
Taking the ACI Operations Certificate is beneficial to new entrants into treasury operations and middle office departments and anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of what takes place in them.
Syllabus
The syllabus is split into five sections.
– Financial Markets Environment
– Foreign Exchange
– Rates (Money and Interest Rate Markets)
– FICC (Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities) Derivatives
– Financial Markets Applications
The first section provides candidates with an contextual understanding. It introduces candidates to the financial markets, its different participants, the various financial instruments used and their lifecycle.
The next three sections focus of the details of each specific suite of financial instruments. It covers their respective purpose, terminology, the mathematics, and how an instrument is processed and settled.
The final section brings all of this together and focuses on how these products are used in the real world.
The full detailed syllabus, together with the exam format and structure, may be found here.
Exam Format & Structure
The examination lasts TWO HOURS and comprises 70 MULTI-CHOICE QUESTIONS. Each question has four possible answers.
Overall Pass grades are as follows:
60% Pass
70% Pass with Merit
80%+ Pass with Distinction
To pass candidates must also achieve a MINIMUM 50% in each of the five exam sections.
The Exam Sections and the number of questions per section are:
26 Financial Markets Environment (all Theory)
8 Foreign Exchange (4 Theory / 4 Calculation)
10 Rates (5 Theory / 5 Calculation)
10 FICC Derivatives (5 Theory / 5 Calculation)
16 Financial Markets Applications (all Theory)
Some questions will require the use of a calculator. A basic one will be provided on the computer screen. Candidates may also use a personal calculator provided it is neither text programmable nor capable of displaying graphics with a size more than two lines.
A more detailed guide to the usage of calculators in ACI Exams is provided here.
Exam Formula Sheet
The Formula Sheet for this and all ACI exams may be found here.
Exam Sample Questions
Sample questions for the ACI Operations Certificate may be found here.
Exam Period of Validity
There is no finite period of validity for the ACI Operations Certificate.