III ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANISATION
Article 11 Overall Structure
(1) The advanced professional examinations for the Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA®) shall be centrally administered by ACIIA® and the International Examinations Committee, the latter to undertake the actual examination process with the approval of ACIIA®.
(2) National/regional associations shall be responsible for a certain portion of the administration as stated under Article 14 below.
(3) ACIIA® may commission the Centre for the International Examinations (CIE) and/or other appropriate organisation(s) to undertake some of the examination administration under the terms and conditions specified in the contracts with them and approved by ACIIA®.
Article 12 Role of ACIIA®
(1) ACIIA®’s terms of reference with regard to the advanced professional examinations for the Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA®) are as follows:
a) to appoint members of the International Examinations Committee (IEC) and its Chairman;
b) to approve and implement amendments to the Rules and guidelines stipulated in the Rules;
c) to approve an administrative plan for the international (common) examinations each year including dates and locations set by the IEC.
d) to approve the Examinations Guide prepared by the IEC;
e) to approve the national (specific) examinations of national/regional associations submitted for accreditation by the IEC, and withdraw approval from the same;
f) to approve the programmes of national/regional associations (which are accredited by the IEC) whereby candidates who have successfully passed the related examinations may proceed directly to the Final Examination;
g) to rule on the exclusion of candidates from a national/regional association if the IEC recommends such action on the basis that the IEC believe the national/regional association is not complying with IEC standards and conditions;
h) to approve the IEC examination results and confirm the awarding of certificates for the CIIA®; and communicate such decisions to the national associations;
i) to review the Common Knowledge Base and Examination Syllabus for future improvement; and
j) to review past examinations for future improvement.
(2) With respect to the advanced examinations for investment professionals, ACIIA® is responsible for international liaison and discussion with analyst federations worldwide, with individual national societies, and with international or regional governmental/regulatory authorities.
(3) ACIIA® may agree to modifications by national societies in the application of these Rules only in cases where the Rules are constrained by national legislation in regard to obtaining and using the CIIA®.
Article 13 The International Examinations Committee (IEC)
(1) Organisation
a) The IEC is composed of six to nine members. The members will preferably be either university professors or expert practitioners with relevant skills. There will be a maximum of three members from each Federation. Members of the IEC are appointed by ACIIA® for a period of three years after which the appointment may be renewed. Professors and/or practitioners with specialist skills or situations not associated with the federations may be appointed to IEC.
b) The Chairman of IEC is independent of any Federation in his role and is appointed by ACIIA® on the recommendation of IEC for a period of three years after which the appointment may be renewed.
c) The IEC may form sub-committee(s) to deal with particular matters and appoint members.
d) The IEC shall meet from time to time face to face or by conference call or in writing.
(2) Terms of reference for the IEC:
a) to correspond and/or meet as often as required to ensure the efficient running of the examinations;
b) to establish and update the Common Knowledge Base and Examination Syllabus;
c) to prepare and publish an Examinations Guide for the reference of candidates;
d) to prepare an administrative plan for the international (common) examination each year including exam dates and locations;
e) to establish detailed rules and guidelines concerning the examination setting and marking process based on the framework of the examinations as set forth in these Rules, and to organise and manage the overall examination process in accordance with such guidelines;
f) to prepare the international (common) examination papers in due time pursuant to the guidelines stipulated under e) above.
g) to oversee the marking of the international (common) examination papers and make sure it is completed in such a manner as to ensure rigour and uniformity in accordance with the standards/procedures in the guidelines stipulated under e) above;
h) to determine the languages used in the examination papers;
i) to review and accredit the following examinations/programmes in accordance with the guidelines and procedures set by the IEC, and to recommend (or otherwise) the approval of these examinations/programmes to ACIIA®:
· the content and organisation of national (specific) examinations
· the content and organisation of the national/regional associations’ programmes whereby candidates who have successfully passed the related examinations may proceed directly to the Final Examination
j) to report to ACIIA® the results of the international (common) examination including the names of successful candidates eligible on this basis to receive the CIIA® certificate, and to receive reports from national/regional associations concerning their national (specific) examinations which are to be passed to ACIIA®;
k) The IEC may recommend to ACIIA® that candidates from a national association be excluded from the examinations if they believe that national/regional association is not complying with the IEC standards and conditions.
l) to examine appeals from candidates.
Article 14 National/Regional Associations
(1) National/regional associations which are members of ACIIA® and which contract with it to provide candidates for the advanced professional examinations for the Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA®) shall nominate the person(s) representing them and responsible for liaison with ACIIA®/IEC and other ACIIA® members.
(2) The terms of reference of the national/regional associations with regard to the advanced professional examinations for the Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA®) are as follows:
a) to decide on admission/rejection of candidates for the advanced professional examinations and to inform ACIIA® of candidate names in due time;
b) to arrange a suitable venue for sitting the international (common) examinations as well as national (specific) examination in their own country/region;
c) to establish a precise description of national topics to be included in the national (specific) examination;
d) to organise the preparation of national specific papers and their marking;
e) to prepare and send a report concerning the content and organisation of the national (specific) examination to the IEC for its review and accreditation;
f) to prepare and send a report concerning the content and organisation of the national programmes to the IEC for its review and accreditation to the effect that their candidates who have successfully passed the related examinations may proceed directly to the Final Examination;
g) to send the results of the national (specific) examination to the IEC for forwarding to ACIIA®; and
h) to examine the complaints of candidates.
(3) The national/regional associations are required to accept experts from the IEC (or their appointees) to examine the national examination arrangements, to make all records freely available, and to answer all connected questions.
Article 15 Security
All administrative organisations stated in Article 11 and their representatives shall be responsible for ensuring the security and strict confidentiality of the examination papers prior to candidates sitting the examinations.
Article 16 Copyrights and treatment of relevant materials
Copyrights with respect to the Foundation and Final examination papers, the Examinations Guide, and any other publications shall belong to ACIIA® and shall be indicated in these publication as appropriate. Treatment of these relevant materials shall be made pursuant to guidelines separately adopted by the ACIIA®
