The CII J07 April 2018 Exam in Review

Next in line for our past paper analysis is the CII J07, Supervision in a regulated environment exam. This review of the question paper from April will help you to highlight areas that will need more focussed revision.

You can find the latest exam – April 2018 – by using this link.

As with the other written J0 papers, two hours are given to answer 15 short-answer questions for a total of 130 marks.  Unlike the other written papers however, for this sitting, the CII have already published the exam guide.

The exam started with the key features of direct supervision and four situations when a direct supervision approach would be appropriate. It continued with Scouller’s leadership model for a total of 9 marks and meeting styles for 10 marks.

Question 4 tested the criteria for customer complaints and the timescales for FOS involvement and question 5 covered induction plans and areas of competence for new advisers.

Next up was a question on competency-based interviews for a total of 11 marks and Question 7 covered learning styles and appropriate training approaches.

This exam also tested various aspects of development plans, coaching styles, observed meetings and key performance indicators.

We also had questions on regulation and specifically, the FCA Principles for Businesses that have a direct impact on the sales process; disciplinary and misconduct and finally, a question covering wrongful dismissal and an employee’s rights as a result.

If we look at the examiner’s comments, the paper is described as ‘well balanced with a good test of knowledge’.  The examiner also notes that ‘in some instances candidates did not read the question fully and spent time writing down information that did not earn marks’.   This is a common remark found within the written papers,so future students of J07 (and the other written papers) should make sure they do read the questions properly and ensure they are answering the question that has been posed rather than the one they know the answer to!

Comparison with October 2017’s Paper

If we compare this to the October 2017 paper, we can see here that a variety of different areas are tested:

• Competencies of a supervisor/benefits a supervisor brings to a business
• Methods of monitoring performance
• Enhanced levels of direct supervision for pre-competent advisers
• Kotter’s model for leading change methodology
• Advantages/key barriers of using phone calls to communicate
• The Thomas-Kilmann conflict management strategy
• Job descriptions and person specs
• An SPS/advisory activities that require specialist/higher level qualifications
• Key requirements for a TNA to be compliant/drivers for training needs
• Pros and cons of completing/using an observation on an accompanied visit
• Advantages of using direct evidence and disadvantages of using indirect evidence
• Mandatory adviser actions at initial contact stage with a client and at fact-find stage
• Regulation when verifying retail investors in line with money laundering regulations
• Key requirements for effective MI aligned to TCF expectations
• Key areas covered by ISO 9000
• Types of discrimination as defined by the Equality Act 2010

The range of topics is wide and as you can see, vary considerably in these two exam papers. It is therefore a key part of any study schedule to include as many past papers as possible and read the examiner’s comments, as these often give good tips on where the candidates went wrong and tips for improvement.

The pass rate for J07 in 2017 was 48.51%; one of the lowest pass rates for the J papers (second from the bottom – only just beating J11 at 46.94%).  Furthermore, this was a drop from the two previous years when J07 just managed to scrape past the 50% mark in both 2016 and 2015.

Grab the resources you need!

If you’re studying for your CII J07 exam, and you want to be fully prepared, grab our free taster to try out one of Brand Financial Training’s resources for yourself.  Click the link to download the J07 mock paper taster now!