ICSAN Corporate Law

Candidates generally report a written paper combining objective or short-answer items with essay-style problem questions, but ICSAN does not publish a fixed, permanent structure. Confirm the current format, paper structure and marking scheme in the syllabus and examination instructions issued by the Institute for your sitting.

It is usually treated as a substantive, content-heavy paper because it rewards precise statutory knowledge and case authority rather than general commentary. Candidates with company secretarial or legal drafting experience find it more manageable. Difficulty depends heavily on how much of CAMA and related regulations you have actually read.

Retake rules, attempt limits and any waiting period between sittings are set by ICSAN and can change. The Institute publishes its current examination regulations and resit procedures on its website and in candidate handbooks. Check those before planning your next sitting rather than assuming a fixed number of attempts.

Most successful candidates spread preparation over several months rather than cramming, because the paper tests recall of statutory provisions and the ability to apply them. A realistic plan is weekly reading of CAMA with a text, plus regular practice of problem questions under timed conditions in the final weeks.

Start with sources of company law and corporate personality, since veil-lifting and pre-incorporation contracts recur throughout. Then formation and constitutional documents, followed by shares and membership, directors and governance, meetings and remedies. Leave accounts and returns, reconstructions, and winding up for later, because they assume the earlier material.

Common causes are quoting section numbers without explaining their effect, ignoring the facts in problem questions, confusing the roles of the board and the general meeting, and mixing up winding up with corporate rescue. Weak answers also skip authority entirely. Practising structured answers with issue, principle, application and conclusion fixes most of these.

You need working familiarity, not verbatim recall. Examiners reward accurate statement of principles and correct application. Learn the key provisions on incorporation, share capital, directors' duties, meetings, records and insolvency, and be able to describe what each does. Precise section numbers help but are not a substitute for analysis.

These are published by ICSAN itself and change between sittings. Check the Institute's official website and candidate portal for the current examination timetable, fees, accredited centres and registration deadlines. No third-party summary should be relied on for figures that the Institute controls.

Yes. Nigerian decisions on corporate personality, directors' duties, meetings and winding up carry real weight, and examiners notice when a candidate cites authority appropriately. Build a short list of leading cases with one-line ratios, and practise using them to support conclusions rather than dropping names.