Part III: “It’s not over, until I win” – How I passed CTP Exam?

Inspiration: "Its not over until I win" – Les Brown 

So what kept me hanging in there? The challenge!

What did I do differently?

Change in Strategy.

Failure on the first attempt made me go through some reflection moment. Things that I should do differently. Time Management, Prioritize, Focus, Persistence.

Well, my initial intention to attempt this exam was to learn about the Cash Management. However, I realized that I need to invest more time to build better understanding of the Treasury business as a whole (for instance working capital, funding, financing).

Although everything you need to know to pass the exam is in the Essentials of Treasury Management handbook, I figured I needed some other source of information in different format. Just so I could think of business from different scenarios’ perspective. Hence, I registered (~USD700/-) for Online Treasury Learning System (TLS).

This comes with hard copies (by post) that include all of the detailed modules and question base.























I kept my focus on the Online TLS only.

I think it’s a very good program with Module Specific questions, and formula based questions. You have as many examples as you want to practice. The key is to "Understand" what you are being asked; and in order to understand that, you must have the Concepts clear. When you submit a wrong answer to a question; the next screen shows you the correct choice/s and the "Rationale" behind that answer. So that helps in building better understanding of overall business flow.

Click here to go through TLS online demo: http://www.afplearningsystem.com/treasury/free-demo



A good, three to 4 months are required to build the momentum towards the exam day. Daily study is a must! Go through TLS test scenarios every day.

The other thing I would recommend is to start using a basic 4 function calculator regularly. This will make you comfortable and help pick up the speed to calculate complex questions quickly. Saving in large numbers in memory, memory addition/subtraction, rounding off, % increase, % decrease etc.

Exam Day

The test is an online Computer Aided Test (CAT) having 170 questions; which means, you have ~80 seconds per question approx.

IMO, make three rounds of 170 questions. Actually Online TLS can help you build that practice.

First round (Approx, 1hr): Walk-through the whole test to answer the easy questions – that you are 100% sure, which is on your fingertips.

Second round (Approx, 1.5hr): Go through formula based and answer difficult ones – mark “Very Difficult” as “To be Reviewed”

Third round (Approx, 1.5hr): Go through questions that are Marked-For-Review

You have to be very strategic to pass the exam.

The Result

The status of the result (pass/fail) you get to know on the spot at Pearson VUE Test site.

a

I passed the exam in second attempt (read, How to fail an exam: http://izlooite.blogspot.ae/2015/02/how-to-fail-exam.html), but finally nailed it. If you would like to know more about CTP Exam, check out my earlier post, What is CTP Exam: http://izlooite.blogspot.ae/2014/07/what-is-certified-treasury-professional.html.

However, official announcement is made by AFP during the first week of August. Announcement is sent out to all candidates who passed the examination. This email will allow candidates to look at their certificate and confirm the shipping address. During this process you will also be able to download a soft copy of your certificate.

As per (Window 2015A) Stacy Saul (Director of Examinations at Association for Financial Professionals), the current pass rate is: 48% (Very low, IMO).

Out of 170 questions - 150 are scored and 20 are not (un-scored). The un-scored questions are newly developed questions that must be beta-tested before they can be moved to a scored position. Un-scored questions are part of the Test Specifications.

Lessons learned: Practice, Patience, Persistence!

With all this in mind, I continue to believe that education/knowledge is an important step forward in personal growth, and is not meant to satisfy friends, colleagues, parents and the society. Its not just the certificate you get after passing it – the education, or the “journey” towards that education is far more than that. It is the value addition that we get every day because of learning something new; and help those in need.

Good luck!

Blogger Labels: Inspiration,Brown,Change,Strategy,Failure,reflection,moment,Time,Management,Prioritize,Focus,Persistence,intention,exam,Cash,Treasury,instance,capital,Although,Essentials,handbook,information,Just,scenarios,perspective,Online,System,modules,Module,Specific,formula,examples,Understand,Concepts,Rationale,Click,demo,momentum,calculator,memory,addition,subtraction,Computer,Test,Approx,Walk,Second,Very,Difficult,Third,Review,Result,status,Pearson,announcement,August,candidates,examination,certificate,Stacy,Saul,Director,Examinations,Association,Financial,Professionals,Specifications,Lessons,Practice,Patience,education,knowledge,growth,colleagues,parents,luck,three,izlooite,blogspot,html