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CISI Corporate Finance Technical Foundations — Information & Free Practice

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About CISI Corporate Finance Technical Foundations

CISI Corporate Finance Technical Foundations · GB

Key exam facts

Provider
Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) owns, publishes and offers this technical examination. The wider Corporate Finance programme is developed in partnership with ICAEW.
Format
Computer-based multiple-choice examination; available on demand at test centres, with remote invigilation also offered.
Exam questions
Total questions: 50–55; Scored questions: 50; Unscored questions: 0–5; The total includes the scored and unscored questions.
Time limit
60 minutes for the baseline 50-question examination; proportionately more time is provided if additional trial questions are included.
Passing score
70%: pass at 35–50 marks; fail at 0–34 marks on the 50-mark baseline. The pass rate is a separate statistic.
Exam fee
UK, 1 April 2026–31 March 2027: £245 examination fee plus £105 mandatory workbook (GBP); saver package £365 includes examination, workbook and Revision Express. A £68 one-off Qualification Registration Fee applies when registering a first CISI qualification. This is one technical unit, not the combined two-unit Certificate price.

Topics covered

  • Quantitative Analysis for Corporate Finance (30%)

    • Accounting standards
    • Accounting standards and availability and reliability of company information
    • Group and company accounts and minority interests
    • Statement of Financial Position/Balance Sheet
    • Purpose, format and contents of the statement of financial position
    • Statement of Comprehensive Income
    • Purpose, format and contents of comprehensive income
    • Ordinary income and other comprehensive income
    • Statement of Cash Flows
    • Purpose and IAS 7 format
    • Profit, cash flow, EBITDA, NOPAT, enterprise and equity cash flow and CFADS
    • Calculate CFADS
    • Capital and revenue expenditure
    • Depreciation and amortisation
    • Additional narrative reporting requirements
    • Additional narrative reports and their required contents
    • Financial statements analysis
    • Analyse gross and operating margins, ROCE, ROE and liquidity ratios
    • Analyse debt/equity, net debt/equity, net debt/EBITDA and interest cover
    • Analyse EPS, diluted EPS, historic and prospective P/E, EV/EBIT, EV/EBITDA, dividend yield, dividend cover and price to book
    • Assessing the variability of investment returns
    • Calculate variance and standard deviation of returns
    • Calculate covariance of investments

  • Capital Structure (22%)

    • Components of capital structure
    • Elements and seniority ranking of equity and debt
    • Equity capital
    • Ordinary, redeemable, cumulative and convertible preference shares
    • Debt capital
    • Overdrafts, revolving facilities, loans, bonds, convertibles, zero coupon and contingent convertible bonds
    • Senior/subordinated debt and par/premium redemption
    • Tax treatment of interest for debt issuers
    • Coupon, current yield and yield to maturity
    • Alternative debt financing
    • Invoice factoring, asset-based lending, finance leasing and sale and leaseback
    • The cost of capital
    • Calculate the cost of debt
    • Calculate present value of a three-year bond
    • Calculate the cost of equity using CAPM
    • The weighted average cost of capital (WACC)
    • Risk free rate, market risk premium and beta
    • Calculate WACC

  • Business Valuations (16%)

    • Earnings-based valuations
    • Use and limitations of earnings-based valuations; equity and enterprise value
    • Calculate equity value, enterprise value and P/E
    • Stock market, transaction and break-up values
    • Distinguish market, transaction and liquidation values
    • Asset-based valuations
    • Use and limitations of asset-based valuations
    • Calculate price to book
    • Cash flow-based valuations
    • Use and limitations of cash flow-based valuations
    • Calculate multi-period NPV and IRR
    • Dividend-based valuations
    • Use and limitations of dividend valuations
    • Calculate DDM and dividend yield valuations

  • Corporate Transactions (22%)

    • Acquisitions and disposals
    • Quoted/private, hostile/recommended, management participation and exits, trade sale, spin-off and asset sale
    • Private equity and debt-financed transactions
    • Private equity investment characteristics, behaviours and risks
    • Features and participants of MBO, MBI, LBO, LBI, BIMBO, IBO and PTP
    • Debt/equity, leverage and share capital rights
    • Ratchets, investment hurdles, drag/tag, leavers, pay to play, bridge finance, burn rate, capitalise, carried interest, co-investment, mezzanine debt, down/follow-on rounds and founder shares
    • Investment types and funding of trade sales, MBO/MBI and PTP
    • Quoted equity transactions
    • Purpose and scope of prospectus and admission documents
    • Roles of accountants, sponsors, NOMADs, underwriters, lawyers, PR and experts
    • Financial/legal due diligence and accountants’ reports
    • Subscription/placing and underwriting agreements
    • Book-building and pricing
    • Secondary offerings
    • Issuer options, corporate control and shareholder clawback
    • Calculate theoretical ex-rights and nil-paid rights prices

  • Corporate Finance Documentation (10%)

    • General corporate finance documentation
    • NDA, engagement letters, representations, warranties, indemnities, disclosure letters, vendor protection and shareholders’ agreements
    • Buying and selling
    • Information memorandum, intent/heads, exclusivity, comfort/side letters, hold harmless and sale and purchase agreements
    • Debt and security
    • Taking security; term sheets, loans, conditions precedent, guarantees, indemnities, covenants, representations, warranties and inter-creditor agreements
    • Public companies
    • Verification notes, competent person/independent expert reports and public takeover offer documents

How to prepare

Work through the topics, read the explanation after each answer, and revisit the areas where you miss questions. Use the official outline and reference materials below to guide your study.

These independent practice questions are not actual exam items and do not guarantee a passing result.

Frequently asked questions

What is the exam format?

Computer-based multiple-choice examination; available on demand at test centres, with remote invigilation also offered.

How many questions are on the exam?

Total questions: 50–55; Scored questions: 50; Unscored questions: 0–5; The total includes the scored and unscored questions.

How long is the exam?

60 minutes for the baseline 50-question examination; proportionately more time is provided if additional trial questions are included.

What is the passing score?

70%: pass at 35–50 marks; fail at 0–34 marks on the 50-mark baseline. The pass rate is a separate statistic.

How much does the exam cost?

UK, 1 April 2026–31 March 2027: £245 examination fee plus £105 mandatory workbook (GBP); saver package £365 includes examination, workbook and Revision Express. A £68 one-off Qualification Registration Fee applies when registering a first CISI qualification. This is one technical unit, not the combined two-unit Certificate price.

Official sources and references

Confirm current exam arrangements with the exam provider.