The CII J07 September 2024 Exam in Review

Here, we are looking at the J07 exam – Supervision in a regulated environment – that was sat in the last exam sitting, September 2024. 

This article is correct as at 3 December 2024.

You can find the exam guide here. 

Question 1

As has been the case for the last three J07 exams, the exam began with a question around the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR). This question examined responsibility maps in relation to senior management functions (SMFs). This is perhaps a less well-known area of the SM&CR rules and candidates who had not picked up on the key elements of the responsibility maps may well have struggled.

Question 2

Next, the various stages of the management control cycle were examined. The stages are clearly stated in the study text, and it appears from the examiner’s comments that most candidates were able to identify them. However, many seemed to lack an in-depth understanding of the design stage, which was examined in more detail.

Question 3

This question required candidates to list the competencies for people managers and provide examples of how each competency could be demonstrated. It’s important to note that for J07, candidates need to show a deeper understanding of the subject material to earn the majority of the available marks, which typically includes providing examples, as was required in this question.

Question 4

This question offered straightforward marks for recalling the five key needs of Maslow’s model but again examples were required of each need. There is typically at least one question in J07 on different leadership models, so we hope candidates were well-prepared for this subject.

Question 5

This question required an understanding of the causes of conflict between team members in the workplace. Again, listing the causes would have earned around half the marks but demonstrating an explanation of each cause was needed to pick up top marks.

Question 6

Next the FCA’s conduct rules for a new employee’s induction were tested. There were only two marks on offer for section (a) but it’s easy to see why candidates struggled to understand what the CII were expecting as the question was quite vague in nature.

The second section was more straightforward as details of the specific examples of job-specific training for advisers was required, and this was clearly set out in the study text.

Question 7

The features of either the Kolb or Honey & Mumford learning models are commonly tested. This exam focused on ‘Theorist’ learners from the Honey & Mumford theory. Even if candidates hadn’t memorised the exact specific preferences and non-preferences of this learner type, a solid understanding of the theory behind the ‘Theorist’ learning style should have allowed them to have a pretty good go at answering the question well.

Question 8

Those who had understood the idea of indirect evidence to assess competency would have scored well on this question as it asked candidates to state the advantages and disadvantages of using this type of management information.

Question 9

What initially appeared to be a challenging question on ‘politically exposed persons’ was basically a money laundering question. We hope candidates were able to apply their knowledge of money laundering to answer it effectively.

Question 10

The J07 examiner does like a question on complaints handling! Here the focus was on consumer awareness rules and the informal resolution of complaints. It was a fairly straightforward question for those that were well-prepared.

Question 11

Key Performance Indications (KPIs) were tested in question 11. The key to answering this question well was understanding the difference between quantitative and qualitive KPIs. With this understanding, we are confident that candidates could have answered both parts of the question successfully.

Question 12

Next up was a topical question around Consumer Duty outcomes and the characteristics of vulnerable clients. It appears from the examiner’s comments that this question was answered to a good standard by most candidates.

Question 13

This question focused on the niche area of operational resilience for firms. Candidates who had revised and memorised the process for handling significant incidents would have been well-positioned to earn good marks.

Question 14

As with Question 13, a straightforward question but candidates would have needed to have revised well the ACAS Code of Practice.

Question 15

The first part of this question was hopefully straightforward for most candidates as it was simply a case of listing 6 of the protected characteristics for unfair discrimination. This is something many people working in the industry would know or could hazard a good guess at. The second part of the question was tougher and required a more in depth understanding of the different types of discrimination namely ‘perception’ and ‘by association’.

Overall, the exam was typical for J07. For candidates who have put in the time and effort and find memorisation easy, passing J07 should be relatively straightforward, as many questions require recalling information from the study text. However, for other candidates, it will be crucial to understand the underlying concepts. If candidates are unable to recall all of the facts or examples, being able to apply your knowledge and make educated guesses will help you secure higher marks and ultimately get the pass.

Comparison with the February 2024 Exam Paper

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

The topics covered were:

• Certification regime
• Competencies of a manager
• Belbin’s leadership model
• Two-way communication
• Person specifications
• Statement of Professional Standing (SPS)
• Counselling skills
• Principles for Businesses
• Suitability reports
• Annual appraisal process
• Corporate objectives
• ISO 9000
• Exception reports
• COCON rules relevant to an employee & disciplinary actions
• Tribunal Rules

It is helpful to review the previous exam questions. If you’re finding it difficult to retain all the subject material, focusing on topics that haven’t been tested in recent exams could be a strategy worth considering—but only if you’re really struggling, as any topic could appear!

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!