How to pass your AICD Company Directors Course exams (when you’ve been told you’ll fail)
Linda Karlsson (GAICD)
Communicating social impact | Co-founder The Hive Collective & Owner Folket Consultancy
I did the AICD Company Directors Course in November 2022 and had my final exams due in early February 2023.
How hard is the AICD Company Directors Course?
Apart from the 60-80h of pre-reading followed by a 5-day intensive 9-5 course, you have 3 exams to complete in order to get your GAICD status and certificate (meaning you successfully graduated from the AICD Company Directors Course). Turns out the course exams are a lot more time consuming and difficult than anticipated.
Here's a tip and a note to self: check the calendar next time and don’t sign up to a course if it has exams over Christmas and New Year. This was a big mistake for me!
I’m sure I’m not the only person who googled “top tips to pass your AICD exams” and didn’t find much.
To fill the void I was looking for when googling "top tips to pass your AICD exams", scroll down for:
I have linked my assignment Case Study answers and my 4 long answer questions Cheat Sheet in the respective blogs.
How I was almost booted out of the AICD course before it even started
AICD membership partner: Welcome to AICD! We host this online 1:1 to answer any questions you might have about the course. Please tell me a little about yourself?
Me: I am sooooo excited! ?? I’ve been wanting to do the Company Directors Course for so long but it wasn’t until I secured the Tasmanian State’s Women’s Leadership Scholarship that it became a reality. You know, not everyone can afford to pay 10k and take 5 days off work to do it (or can get their employers to pay for it!) wink wink. So yeah. Can’t wait!
AICD membership partner: and your board experience to date? Are you a CEO as the founder of your consultancy “Folket”?
Me: I’m on a couple of boards… I also started a Not-For-Profit called The Hive Collective with a friend… Ehm I guess you could say I manage Folket Consultancy but not sure a self-appointed CEO counts just because you start your own business? Sorry what was that? No, not much executive C-suite experience yet haha (nervous laugh)
AICD membership partner: Look. You probably should do the introduction course we offer. I’m not sure the AICD Company Directors Course is for you, it’s very advanced. Shame our introductory course just finished or I would have signed you up there instead.
Me: oh haha… yes… shame (nervous laugh x 1000)
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A not so GREAT START to an anxious self already asking why I’m in this space. But I’m here for the challenge so let’s prove them wrong.
You are not alone – everyone is nervous about the AICD course and the exams
It’s true that most people in the course were executives (think CFO, COO) and they certainly sat on a wealth of knowledge. The biggest takeaways from the course for me was listening to the facilitated group discussions. To some, the course probably was easier at times if they had specific strengths. E.g. the accountants in the room cruised through the finance day whilst the rest of us where calculating ratios and analysing solvency in detail, slowly.
But in the end, we all did the same course and the same exams.
After all, why would anyone do a course if they thought they already knew everything? We were all there to LEARN.
And if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s learning! *whilst also quietly telling myself to please not fail* ??
领英推荐
Do you really need to know the 4kg or 60-80h worth of AICD Company Directors Course pre-reading?
If you’re like me and not sure what you got yourself into, reading the material prior to the course will help. It also greatly helps with your exams. I gave myself a strict timeline and kept to it. By the time the course started, I had read the content and had a fairly good idea of what was ahead.
Was it time consuming? Yes.
Worth it? For me, a definite yes.
Bonus: all three AICD exam components are open book
You have access to all your notes and material when completing the exams which is great.
The exams are:
All exams cover the topics:
Pass is 65% and you receive an Order of Merit if you have 80% or more correct answers.
My 5 top tips to pass the AICD Company Directors Course exams
Here are some general tips:
1.????Choose your case study before the course starts. That way, you can take notes during the course and collect content for your answers. You can also ask the facilitators general questions about governance to help clarify anything you are uncertain about in the case studies.
2.????Create a study group. It’s great to have peers to discuss and reflect with. Especially for the case study. It also helps keeping you accountable by setting up regular check ins.
3.????Do the practice exams for your multiple choice questions and long answer questions. Also look at the exam preparation material and the sample answers they provide for the Case Study. I have shared my case study which received an “Order of Merit” in the blog: How to pass the AICD Company Directors Course exams and receive an “Order of Merit” on your Assignment Case Study” – incl. assignment example
4.????Create a cheat sheet for your 4 long answer questions. I have shared mine in the blog post: How to pass the AICD Company Directors Course exams: 4 long answer questions” – incl. Cheat Sheet
5.????Don’t be too hard on yourself. AICD provides a detailed timeline for how to structure your exam completion over the next couple of weeks once you finished your 5 day course. This is great, however, we all live our very complex lives and things don’t always go to plan. Just do what works best for you. You will eventually GAICD there ?? (sorry, not sure that pun worked).
Extra #6. Perhaps check your calendar before booking the course to make sure the exam period works for you. Ho ho ho ??
How do you pass each exam in the AICD Company Directors Course? Your guide.
I go into detail and share my experiences of each of the three exam components in the following blogs:
Do you have more questions about how to pass the AICD Company Directors Course exams?
You're not alone. I receive tons of messages about these articles and it's great to see how many people they are helping.
Looking for a bit more support? To help manage the amount of messages I receive, I am now offering 20 mins online catch-ups where you can ask all your questions. If you want to invest in yourself and your success, please reach out for more information.
And do let me know if this was helpful and don't be afraid to connect on LinkedIn. I love receiving messages from everyone sharing how you used the resources.
Good luck!!
/Linda Karlsson
Experienced Corporate Services, Finance Professional and Company Secretary | MBA Candidate @ Uni of Melbourne
5 个月Massive thanks for sharing all of these tips Linda ... I've just been through the AICD assessments and they were hugely helpful! In particular the structure of the cheat sheet is great.
Facilitating Success for Family Offices, Funds & Boards
11 个月Thanks Linda Karlsson GAICD :)
Senior Sergeant, Legislation Development and Review DPFEM, Board Director - Self Help Workplace, Tasmanian Premier’s Disability Advisory Council, TEDx Speaker, Pain Advocate,
2 年Hey Linda, this is really helpful information so thank you for sharing. I’m currently doing the course. The area I struggle with the most is financial literacy and retaining that information. Did your course develop any tools or cheat sheets for this purpose? In doing the sample quizzes it’s the financial questions I really struggle with.
Manager of Product Delivery at RACT
2 年Congrats Linda!!! What a huge achievement!
Community Leader 》Ageism Advocate 》Social Worker 》Educator 》Community Connector 》Mindfulness Explorer 》Passionate about social justice
2 年What a generous resource you've offered Linda - I've loved seeing your posts about this course and will definitely take a good read!