ICAB PL Financial Accounting & Reporting exam-day guide
ICAB PL Financial Accounting & Reporting · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Admission letter or exam confirmation
Print or download the confirmation issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) for the Financial Accounting & Reporting paper. Verify the exact reporting time, venue and candidate number on it. If you have not received a confirmation, contact ICAB well before exam day - confirm with the provider.
Valid photo ID
Bring the original government-issued photo ID (e.g. national ID card or passport) in the name used on your exam registration. A photocopy is normally not accepted. Confirm with the provider which ID types are accepted for your sitting.
ICAB student registration card
Carry your student registration card if one has been issued to you. Some centres check it alongside the admission letter; confirm with the provider whether it is mandatory.
Permitted calculator
Bring a non-programmable calculator with a working battery (and a spare if allowed). Check the provider's current rules on calculator models and whether spare batteries or a second device may be brought into the hall - confirm with the provider.
Stationery in a clear pouch
Black or blue pens, pencils, eraser, sharpener and a small ruler in a transparent pouch. Confirm with the provider whether pencil cases must be clear and whether any stationery is supplied at the centre.
Wristwatch (optional)
A simple analogue watch helps you pace yourself if the hall clock is not visible. Smartwatches and any device with communication or storage capability are normally prohibited - confirm with the provider.
Know the venue route and travel time
Do a dry run or map the route in advance, allow a buffer for traffic, and note the nearest landmark and public transport stops. Arrive before the reporting time stated on your admission letter.
Plan food, water and medication
Eat a normal meal before the paper and carry any prescribed medication in its original packaging. Confirm with the provider whether water bottles and snacks are allowed at your desk.
Leave valuables at home
Phones, smart devices, notes and bags are normally kept outside the exam room. Avoid bringing jewellery, large sums of cash or anything you cannot leave unattended.
Revise your one-page formula and standards sheet
Prepare a single sheet summarising key formulas (depreciation, ratios, present value, inventory costing) and the main IAS/IFRS recognition and measurement points, and review it in the final hours.
Rehearse the answer structure
Practise writing workings first, then the journal or statement, then the narrative note, so that method marks are visible even if the final figure is wrong.
Read the provider's exam-day instructions
Go through the current ICAB examination regulations for your sitting, especially on permitted materials, late entry and misconduct. Where anything is unclear, confirm with the provider.
Plan the day
Switch from learning to consolidating. Rework your summary sheet of formulas and IAS/IFRS points, then do one full past-style paper under timed conditions, marking it strictly and listing every lost mark by cause (knowledge gap, calculation slip, time overrun, misread requirement). Spend the remaining time only on the top three causes.
Do targeted revision on the heavily examined areas: preparation of financial statements for companies, consolidated statements, leases, revenue, financial instruments, deferred tax, depreciation and revaluation, inventory, provisions and contingencies, cash flow statements, ratio analysis and interpretation. For each area, write out the recognition criteria and the standard journal entries from memory, then check against your notes.
Practise presentation. Take two or three multi-part questions and write full answers in exam format: workings with labelled references, cross-references from the main statement to the workings, and a short written note where the requirement asks for explanation. Time yourself so that each mark gets roughly the same share of minutes.
Stop learning new material. Re-read only your summary sheet and your list of recurring errors. Confirm travel plans, pack the clear pouch, admission letter and ID, and check the reporting time and venue once more. Sleep at your normal time; do not revise late into the night.
Eat a proper meal, arrive at the centre ahead of the reporting time, and keep only permitted items with you. Once seated, read the whole paper during the reading time, mark the questions you will attempt, and note the minutes you will allot to each part before you start writing.
Write your candidate number where instructed, then start with the question you know best to build momentum. Show every working; a correct method with a wrong final figure usually earns more than a bare figure. Keep a running check on the clock at the quarter, half and three-quarter points.
Answer the required number of questions and no more. If a calculation stalls, leave the working, move on and return later. Reserve the last ten to fifteen minutes to check that all pages are numbered and attached, that every question has an answer, and that narrative answers address exactly what was asked.
Rules to check
Bring the original photo ID and admission letter in the same name as your registration; if the names differ, resolve it with the provider before exam day. Confirm with the provider which documents are accepted.
Arrive before the reporting time printed on your admission letter. Late entry and extra time are not normally granted, and candidates arriving after the stated cut-off may be refused entry - confirm with the provider.
Do not bring phones, smartwatches, notes or any unauthorised material into the exam room. Possession of unauthorised material, communicating with another candidate, or impersonation is treated as misconduct and can lead to cancellation of the paper or the whole sitting.
Follow the invigilator's instructions at all times, including on leaving the room, toilet breaks and the end of the paper. Raise your hand and wait to be escorted; do not leave the hall during the last part of the session unless permitted - confirm with the provider.
Write only in the answer book or medium specified, number your pages, and cross out rough work clearly. Answers written on question papers or unnumbered sheets may not be marked.
Attempt the required number of questions only; extra answers are normally disregarded. Marks are awarded for workings and reasoning, so show the method even when the final figure is uncertain.
Keep any permitted calculator on the desk and be ready to show it to an invigilator on request. Programmable or communicating devices are not permitted - confirm with the provider which models are allowed.
If you believe there is an error in the question paper or a disturbance in the hall, report it to the invigilator immediately and follow the provider's procedure for lodging a complaint after the exam.