Your exam when & where you want it
Home-Based Qualifications
All qualifications are completed at home with the exception of the two Manual Bookkeeping qualifications (Levels II and III).
You can log in to MyICB to book examinations that you are eligible for. You become eligible for an examination by completing any preceding qualifications and by having ICB registration or membership. For further details about the qualification structure please visit:
> Qualifications & Examinations
When and where are the examinations?
Home-based examinations can be completed anywhere that you can connect securely to the internet and open your emails.
All home-based examinations are available immediately upon booking with details sent to your registered email address.
What do I need to complete my exam at home?
You will need access to the internet and your emails for all home-based examinations. If your examination requires you to use accounting software you will need to supply your own.*
You must complete and submit your examination within 14 days of booking or your examination will expire and become void. If you do not attempt your examination within the 14 days your attempt will be graded as a Fail and you will be required to pay to resit.
Immediately upon booking you will receive a confirmation email with further instructions. The email will be sent to your registered email address and you should check your SPAM/Junk folders if your email does not arrive as expected.
There are two different types of home-based assignment; 'timed' and 'not-timed'.
* Any computerised accounting software package can be used but Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheets are not appropriate. Trial versions are not usually appropriate unless they are fully functional and permit the printing of all reports.
Timed
Your booking confirmation email will provide a link to your online test. You will complete the test on the ICB website. Once you have started the test you will not be able to pause it and must complete the work in one sitting. Your test might time-out if it is left idle for too long.
ICB cannot be held responsible for loss of internet access, computer breakdown or any other problem arising from technical issues on the candidate’s personal computer. You must therefore ensure you have sufficient facilities to complete the paper within the allotted time-frame before applying.
Qualifications
Level I Certificate in Basic Bookkeeping - 2 HOURS
Level IV Diploma in Financial Management
- Drafting Financial Statements - 3 HOURS
- Management Accounting - 3 HOURS
Results
Your results will be available immediately in your MyICB account. Qualifications certificates are issued by post within 28 days.
Non-Timed
Your booking confirmation email will provide a link to the ICB website where you can download your question paper as a pdf document immediately. You can then complete the work in your own time with your own accounting software as appropriate.*
Once you have finished you will upload your work to the ICB website as per the instructions in your question paper. Although the work itself is not timed you must submit your work within 14 days of booking. As a guide, a competent student should be able to complete the work in three hours.
ICB cannot be held responsible for loss of internet access, computer breakdown or any other problem arising from technical issues on the candidate’s personal computer. You must therefore ensure you have sufficient facilities to complete the paper within the allotted time-frame before applying.
Qualifications
Level II Certificate in Computerised Bookkeeping
Level III Diploma in Computerised Bookkeeping
Level III Diploma in Payroll Management
Level III Diploma in Legal Bookkeeping
Level IV Diploma in Financial Management
- Business Taxation
*For the computerised examinations, candidates must have their own computerised accounting software package. Any computerised accounting software package can be used but Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheets are not appropriate. ICB would advise candidates to exercise caution when using software trial versions as they may offer restricted functionality, for example, a standard Sage trial version does not permit the user to print out the requisite reports.
For the Level IV Diploma in Financial Management unit, Business Taxation, candidates are required to complete their assessment using Microsoft Word format (or something similar), saved as a PDF, to submit their answers.
Results
Your results will be made available in your MyICB account within 28 days. Qualification certificates are issued by post within 28 days.
Find out what happens at, and how you can be involved in, the world's biggest gathering of bookkeepers.
Read more
If you are an experienced bookkeeper or have comparable qualifications, you may be able to gain an exemption from ICB examinations.
Read more
Bookkeeping is a regulated profession - find out what bookkeepers must do to comply with the MLR legislation.
Read more
Advice on running your own bookkeeping business and information on ICB's Practice Licence scheme.
Read more
