The CII J07 February 2025 Exam in Review

Here, we are looking at the J07 exam – Supervision in a regulated environment – that was sat in the last exam sitting, February 2025. 

This article is correct as at 15 May 2025.

You can find the exam guide here.*

Question 1

A standard J07 question to kick-start the exam. Candidates would be expected to know the rules and regulations of the Certification Regime.

Section (b) asked candidates for the definition of a ‘competent employee’. This is an area of the syllabus commonly tested, so we hope candidates were able to score well on this question.

Question 2

The first part of this question was straightforward, testing candidates’ knowledge of responsibility maps. The second part related to the second-tier conduct rules, which apply specifically to senior managers. Candidates needed to identify the four individual second-tier rules for senior managers, rather than the first-tier rules that apply to all individuals. We hope the wording of the question did not catch candidates out!

Question 3

As expected, a question on leadership and/or behavioral models appeared. This exam focused on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator model. To gain full marks, candidates are usually expected to explain the features of the model and support their answers with examples, rather than simply listing them.

Question 4

This question tested a very specific area of the syllabus regarding organisational barriers to change. Candidates who revised this section well would have scored highly.

Question 5

This question asked candidates to identify five key features of active listening. Again, this was quite a niche area of the syllabus, but candidates who had not revised this section in detail could hopefully have applied their own reasoning by detailing the features of good listening, such as not interrupting and asking questions for clarification.

Question 6

The first part of this question was a nice 10-mark offering, requiring candidates to list key information typically included in an employment contract—something most employees would likely have a good understanding of.

Part two asked candidates to state the ‘statement of employment particulars’—a tough question, but only worth two marks. It was not surprising, based on the examiner’s comments, that candidates did not perform well on this very niche question.

Question 7

This question focused on the benefits of competency-based interviewing, a key topic in Chapter 5 on recruitment. As part of the J07 syllabus, candidates are expected to be familiar with various recruitment methods, and those who had studied this area in detail would have been well-prepared to answer.

Question 8

J07 often tests knowledge of learning models. Well-prepared candidates should have been familiar with the Kolb Learning Cycle and able to score well on this question.

Question 9

This question introduced a mini case study featuring Cora, who was preparing to undertake a counselling session to support James, who had recently dealt with a difficult situation. The question asked candidates to outline the principal elements of the meeting. The nine discussion points were clearly outlined in the study text, making it a straightforward question for candidates who had revised this section.

Question 10

This question focused on observation aids, a niche area of the syllabus. The answers would have been challenging to guess or memorise. It is not surprising, based on the examiner’s comments, that candidates generally did not perform well on this question.

Question 11

Consumer duty is currently a popular topic with the CII, and we hope candidates were well-versed in the cross-cutting rules, which would have earned them good marks on this question.

Question 12

This question introduced another mini case study, with Bill preparing new management information (MI) for reporting to the Board of a firm. The question asked candidates to identify the key features of effective MI. This is a popular subject with the J07 examiner, and candidates were only required to state the key features, without needing to provide explanations or examples, making it one of the easier 7-mark questions on this paper.

Question 13

This question covered BS 8453 (the British standard for managing compliance and risk management within regulated firms). Again, a very specific part of the syllabus that if candidates had memorised, they would have scored well.

Question 14

Management intervention with regard to underperformance was tested in the penultimate question. 12 marks were on offer here and candidates who had revised and memorised this section in detail would have scored well.

Question 15

The last question asked for the five stages of the disciplinary process as outlined in the ACAS Code of Practice. Again, it was a straightforward question for candidates who had committed this section to memory.

Overall, the February 2025 paper was typical of a J07 exam. The syllabus is broad, and, as with many previous papers, this exam focused on small sections in detail. The wording of most questions was straightforward, so we hope that candidates who had revised the study text thoroughly and practised answering numerous mock questions were able to achieve a pass.

Comparison with the September 2024 Exam Paper

Let’s look at what was tested in the previous exam, held in September 2024, which can be found here.*

The topics covered were:

• Responsibility maps in relation to senior management functions
• The management control cycle
• Competencies for people managers
• Maslow’s model
• Causes of conflict
• FCA’s conduct rules for a new employee’s induction
• Honey & Mumford model
• Indirect evidence to assess competency
• Politically Exposed Person
• Complaints handling
• KPIs
• Consumer Duty outcomes and the characteristics of vulnerable clients
• Operational resilience planning and dealing with high impact incidents
• ACAS Code of Practice
• Discrimination

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!

* The CII has updated their retention policy and now only provides the last two exam papers. Older papers referenced in this article may no longer be available on the CII website.