AIAC-FNAF · 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 · pass mark 70% · valid 2 years
US$695
Preparation course and 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.
The other grade of this credential: Certified AI in Finance & Accounting — Professional.
§ 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
The examination fee includes access to the Council's self-paced online video course for this grade, taken in the candidate portal in your own time. Using it is optional. Candidates may instead prepare through an employer programme or by self-study against the published materials, and no route is a condition of sitting, an advantage in marking, or visible to an assessor.
A certificate of completion records that you attended. A Council credential records that you were examined, that you passed, and that anyone can check it on the public register. The course is included and optional. The examination is neither.
§ 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 paper is machine marked against its fixed key. The pass mark is 70% of the scored questions. A named member of staff reviews the recording and the marked script before releasing the result, within3 working days. The credential carries a unique identifier any employer can check on the public register.
§ 5 — FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does this certify me to assure or audit AI systems?
No. This credential is about using AI in finance and accounting work — checking what a model produced before a figure is relied on, and remaining accountable for it. Auditing an AI system is a different competence, and this credential makes no claim to it.
Is this an accountancy qualification?
No, and it is not a substitute for one. It assumes the professional judgement you already have and assesses what changes when AI produces part of the work — what may be relied on, what must be reconciled, and what has to be escalated rather than accepted.
What does the fee not cover?
The US$695 covers one sitting, access to the Council's self-paced video course for this grade, and the first year of membership. A re-sit is charged again, revalidation at the end of the two-year term is charged separately, and each grade is its own examination and its own fee. There is nothing else to buy.
Scheme-wide questions are answered on the FAQ and in the candidate handbook.
§ 6 — Enrol
Enrol through the candidate portal
Enrolment is open. Create an account or sign in, verify your identity, and register for the examination. There is no date to book, and once the fee is paid you may begin on any day of the 90 days that follow. The examination fee is US$695 and includes the first year of membership. Nothing is payable until you register for the examination.