CAI-FA-F · Fundamentals grade · Practice
Certified AI in Finance & Accounting — Fundamentals
For finance and accounting professionals who use AI in analysis, close and reporting work — and verify the output before the numbers are relied on.
2 hours examination · remote, proctored · valid 2 years
US$695
First membership year included
§ 1 — Intended candidates
Who this certification is for
AI is now inside the daily work of finance and accounting professionals. This credential certifies what an employer actually needs to know: that this person can use AI in the numbers effectively and responsibly — verifying output before it is relied on, and staying accountable for figures AI helped produce. It is not an assurance credential: it does not certify the ability to assess or audit an AI system.
- Prerequisites
- No formal prerequisites. Recommended: working experience in a finance or accounting function.
This is the Fundamentals grade of the AI in Finance & Accounting family — Professional and Fellow follow it.
§ 2 — Examination domains
What the examination covers
The examination is mapped to AI in finance and accounting practice: analysis and forecasting, close and reconciliation support, anomaly flagging, and verification of AI output before reliance. Weightings are indicative until each syllabus is published.
- 01
AI in analysis, forecasting and FP&A25%
Where AI earns its place in analysis and planning work — and where a model-produced number must not travel without a person behind it.
- 02
Close and reconciliation support20%
AI in the close: matching, reconciliation and narrative support, and the review that keeps the ledger the professional’s.
- 03
Anomaly and fraud flagging, and reporting20%
Reading AI-raised flags proportionately — what a flag is evidence of, what it is not, and what to escalate.
- 04
Verifying AI output before reliance20%
What checking means for a figure, a forecast, or a summary AI produced — sources, reconciliation, and reasonableness.
- 05
Responsible use and accountability15%
What may go into a tool, on what terms, and who answers for the result — because the statements carry a person’s name.
Curriculum mapping indicates alignment of learning content with published frameworks. It does not constitute endorsement by, or certification under, any standards organisation or regulator.
§ 3 — Preparation
What preparation is anchored to
Candidates prepare independently against the published materials.
The Council certifies individuals — it sells no preparation of any kind, and how a candidate prepared is never visible to an assessor. How impartiality is protected.
§ 4 — Assessment
How candidates are assessed
Examination centred on finance scenarios in which AI has produced part of the work — the candidate judges what to rely on, what to verify, and what to escalate, and accounts for the decision.
Every script is marked twice — an AI assessor first and provisional, an independent human assessor second and final. The credential carries a unique identifier any employer can check on the public register.
§ 5 — Questions
Questions about this certification
What does the examination cost?
US$695, with the first year of membership included. Nothing is payable until you register for a sitting.
When can I sit the examination?
Registration is open now through the candidate portal; examination sittings run from the October 2026 window and are scheduled at booking.
Scheme-wide questions are answered on the FAQ and in the candidate handbook.
§ 6 — Register
Register for this examination
Create a candidate account and register now; sittings are scheduled from the October 2026 examination window and the examination fee is US$695, with the first year of membership included. Members pay a reduced rate on every examination.
Register — candidate portalThe Council is pursuing ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation; no accreditation is claimed until it is held. Accreditation status.