Cambridge English: Financial
- Business
Cambridge English: Financial, also known as International Certificate in Financial English (ICFE), is a high-level qualification that will help you demonstrate that you have the language skills for a successful career in international accountancy and finance.
Exam overview
| Paper | Content | Marks (% of total) |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading (1 hour 15 minutes) |
6 parts | 25% | Shows you can deal confidently with a wide variety of finance-related texts. |
| Writing (1 hour 15 minutes) |
2 parts | 25% | Requires you to be able to write a letter in response to a letter that is provided, and a report covering specific points. |
| Listening (40 minutes) |
4 parts | 25% | Requires you to be able to follow and understand a range of spoken materials including interviews, discussions, telephone conversations and messages. | Speaking (16 minutes) |
4 parts | 25% | Tests your ability to communicate effectively in face-to-face business situations. |
Visit the Cambridge English: Financial website
You can find out more about Cambridge English: Financial and how to take the test here.
How much does the exam cost?
Contact your local centre to find out how much the exam costs, available exam dates and how to register.
Success story
"I chose Cambridge ICFE because I had difficulty with my ACCA studies and decided to improve my financial English skills in order to understand my ACCA text books. I got more than I expected because studying for Cambridge ICFE has boosted my confidence in the language too."
Mokhira Mahmut Qizi
Uzbekistan
- Download Cambridge English: Financial leaflet (PDF 343Kb)
- Recognised worldwide
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Cambridge English: Financial is accepted by:
French Chamber of Commerce
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
Sanofi-aventis
PricewaterhouseCoopers
HSBCand many more …
Fast-track your career in international finance
Real-life language skills for the world of finance
Cambridge English: Financial gives an in-depth assessment of your ability to operate in a financial context at levels B2 and C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) – the internationally accepted system for describing language ability.
Preparing for Cambridge English: Financial gives you the skills to:
- seek employment or promotion in a finance context, e.g. accountancy firms, government agencies and other organisations
- study towards an accounting or finance qualification
- improve your ability to conduct business internationally or with international clients and colleagues
- improve your exam and classroom performance in finance and accountancy exams
- prove your commitment to professional development.
Relevant
Cambridge English: Financial covers all four language skills: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Each test is based on realistic texts, tasks and topics similar to those you would expect to encounter in your daily working life as an accounting or finance practitioner.
Reliable
Backed by the largest research programme of its kind, Cambridge English exams provide the most reliable reflection of your language skills.
Fair
Cambridge English exams cover all major varieties of English and are designed to be fair to users of all nationalities and linguistic backgrounds.
A Cambridge English qualification
Once you have earned a Cambridge English certificate, you hold one of the most valuable English qualifications in the world.
Exam format
Cambridge English: Financial has four papers: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. The papers assess your ability to understand spoken and written English in a number of realistic contexts of the kind you are likely to encounter in your daily working life as an accounting or finance practitioner.
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Reading
Available as a paper-based test
There are six tasks in this paper: three are tests of Reading and three are tests of English in Use. The texts included on the paper come from journals, books and articles related to finance and accounting. There are 54 questions. The paper lasts for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
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Writing
Available as a paper-based test
The Cambridge English: Financial Writing test has two tasks. The first task is a letter of 120–180 words which you write in response to a piece of correspondence received. The second task is a report of 200–250 words which you write for a client or another department within the company you work for. The first task is worth 40% of the marks on the paper and the second task is worth 60%. The paper lasts for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
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Listening
Available as a paper-based test
The Cambridge English: Financial Listening paper has four parts. Each part is heard twice. There are 30 questions on the paper and each question carries one mark. Part 1 consists of three short extracts (e.g. part of a news report or presentation) with two multiple-choice questions about each. Part 2 is a discussion or interview between two people about an aspect of their work in finance or accounting about which there are five multiple-choice questions. Part 3 features one person delivering a talk on a topic such as company performance. The task consists of nine sentences about the talk with gaps which you must complete with no more than three words. Part 4 consists of five different people talking about a part of their work or studies in finance or accounting. There are two tasks which focus on an aspect of what each speaker says, for example, a problem which arose at work and how the speaker solved the problem. You match a sentence or short phrase to each speaker for each task. The paper lasts for approximately 40 minutes.
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Speaking
Face-to-face Speaking test
The Cambridge English: Financial Speaking paper has four parts and has a paired format of two examiners and two candidates. Part 1 consists of an interview and tests your ability to respond to questions and expand on responses. Part 2 tests your ability to speak for one minute, without interruption, on a finance-related topic. Part 3 consists of a collaborative task which you complete together with the other candidate. Part 4 tests your ability to engage in a discussion based on the Part 3 topic. The Speaking paper lasts for approximately 16 minutes.
Visit the Cambridge English: Financial website for detailed exam information.
Cambridge English: Financial preparation resources
Cambridge ESOL offers a comprehensive range of printed and online exam preparation and support products and services for teachers and learners for all Cambridge English exams.
Materials to buy
Cambridge Financial English Blended learning course Teachers only (Level B2)
(75% online, 25% classroom = 100 hours)
The Cambridge Financial English Blended Learning Course has been developed by Cambridge ESOL and Cambridge University Press to help successfully prepare your learners. And is suitable for:
- International Certificate in Financial English (Cambridge ICFE) candidates preparing for the exam
- finance professionals or finance students wishing to improve their level of working English.
Our course comes with 100 hours of learning material including everything you need to teach the classroom part. This means you don’t have to be a finance specialist to teach the subject.
Our web-based Learning Management System (LMS) is flexible and practical. You can easily add your own teaching material, if you want to. As well as keep in touch with your learners when they are not attending class. Most importantly, you can track learners work and progress. And analyse individual and class practice test scores. This will give you the knowledge to help your learners succeed and make your lessons even more effective.
About the course:
- 100-hour course with flexible blend of online and classroom study
- Reading and Listening module – 30 hours
- Speaking and Writing modules – 10 hours each
- classroom activities consolidate online learning
- student tracking and real-time reporting.
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Cambridge Financial English Blended Learning Course - Watch video Contact us
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Books for study -
Books for study
A range of coursebooks, practice tests and learning resources are produced by independent publishers in the UK and overseas to help you prepare for Cambridge English: Financial.
Find books for study
Free materials
To help you get started, Cambridge ESOL has some free materials which you can download:
Cambridge English: Financial Past Paper Pack
Cambridge English: Financial sample papers
Download sample papers for Cambridge English: Financial.
Cambridge English: Financial Information for Candidates
A handy guide to the test, with an overview of what’s involved and examples of papers.
Summary Regulations for Candidates
All the important information you need to know when taking the exam.
Exam dates
Exam dates for 2012
Note: Not all centres offer the exam on all dates below.
Please contact your centre to find out what dates they offer.
The Speaking paper is held by separate arrangement within a specified period or ‘window’.
Please contact your centre for more details.
| January (paper-based exams) |
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| Saturday 21 January (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 13 January–23 January | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
February (paper-based exams) |
|
| Wednesday 22 February (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 17 February–27 February | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
March (paper-based exams) |
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| Saturday 17 March (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 09 March–19 March | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
April (paper-based exams) |
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| Wednesday 03 April (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 30 March–09 April | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
May (paper-based exams) |
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| Saturday 12 May (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 04 May–14 May | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
June (paper-based exams) |
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| Friday 08 June (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 01 June–11 June | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
July (paper-based exams) |
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| Saturday 07 July (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 29 June–09 July | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
August (paper-based exams) |
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| Saturday 11 August (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 03 August–13 August | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
September (paper-based exams) |
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| Saturday 15 September (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 07 September–17 September | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
October (paper-based exams) |
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| Wednesday 17 October (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 12 October–22 October | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
November (paper-based exams) |
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| Saturday 17 November (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 09 November–19 November | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
December (paper-based exams) |
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| Friday 07 December (morning) | Test of Reading Test of Writing Test of Listening |
| 30 November–10 December | Window for Paper 3 (Speaking) |
View a summary of all exam dates for 2012 | 2013 (PDF).
Results
Your results
Cambridge English: Financial gives detailed, meaningful results. All candidates receive a Statement of Results. Candidates who achieve Level B2 or above will also receive a certificate.
Statement of Results
This document outlines:
- Your candidate result. This result is based on your total score in all papers.
- A graphical display of your performance in each paper (shown against the scale Exceptional – Good – Borderline – Weak).
- A standardised score out of 100 which allows you to see exactly how you performed. It has set values for each grade, allowing comparison across sessions of the exam.
Find out more at Understanding your Statement of Results – Cambridge English: Financial
You can access your results through the Cambridge ESOL Results Online website. Results Online access details are provided by exam centres.
Your certificate
If you achieve Level B2 or above you will receive a certificate. This will show one of three grades:
- C1 Pass with Merit – this indicates good achievement at Level C1
- C1 Pass – this covers the range of ability from a borderline pass to good achievement at Level C1 of the CEFR
- B2 Pass – this indicates that your ability is within Level B2 of the CEFR.
Results Verification Service
If you need to allow employers, universities or other organisations to verify your examination results, just send them your Candidate ID and Candidate Secret Number (printed on your Confirmation of Entry) and they can check your results quickly and securely online at http://verification.CambridgeESOLonline.org.
Further information on results
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Special circumstances
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