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ACT Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals (CertTF)

Practice Questions100 questions

Exam Review

Key Facts: ACT AwardICM Exam

Multiple-Choice Questions

ACT AwardICM Specification

90 mins

Exam Time Limit

ACT AwardICM Specification

76%

Required Passing Mark

ACT AwardICM Specification

£1,149

Official Course & Exam Fee

ACT Official Website

4 Modules

Core Syllabus Area Coverage

ACT AwardICM Syllabus

The ACT Award in International Cash Management (AwardICM) tests essential knowledge of global cash management. The 90-minute online exam consists of 75 MCQs with a pass threshold of 76%. Key topics include international bank account structures, physical vs notional cash pooling, working capital metrics, payment rails (RTGS, ACH, SEPA, SWIFT ISO 20022), money market investments, and foreign exchange risk hedging.

Sample ACT AwardICM Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the ACT AwardICM exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which organizational structure centralises cash visibility, intercompany clearing, and bank relationship management while leaving day-to-day operational payments with local subsidiaries?

A.De-centralized treasury model

B.Regional Treasury Centre (RTC) model

C.Shared Services Centre (SSC) payment factory

D.Fully outsourced treasury model

Explanation: A Regional Treasury Centre (RTC) centralises core treasury activities—such as cash visibility, bank relationships, FX risk management, and liquidity pooling—for a specific geographic region, while local operating entities handle local trade payments.

2What is the primary function of an In-House Bank (IHB) within a multinational corporate group?

A.To issue public debt and commercial paper directly to retail investors

B.To act as an internal financial intermediary providing accounts, loans, and netting services to group subsidiaries

C.To replace commercial banks for clearing high-value domestic payments

D.To provide retail banking services to employees across operating locations

Explanation: An In-House Bank (IHB) acts as an internal bank for group subsidiaries, maintaining intercompany accounts, taking surplus cash, providing internal loans, and managing multilateral netting, thereby reducing external bank accounts and fees.

3In corporate treasury, what is the main objective of establishing a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with a core cash management bank?

A.To guarantee maximum investment yields on overnight deposits

B.To define operational performance standards, turnaround times, and remedies for bank service delivery

C.To transfer all operational counterparty risk to the central bank

D.To eliminate the need for annual Request for Proposals (RFPs)

Explanation: A Service Level Agreement (SLA) specifies measurable performance standards—such as payment execution deadlines, query response times, credit delivery times, and reporting availability—ensuring accountability and service quality.

4Which electronic billing standard was developed specifically to allow corporates to audit electronic bank fee statements automatically across multiple international banking partners?

A.ISO 9001 quality audit standard

B.TWIST BSB (Bank Services Billing) / ISO 20022 camt.086

C.SWIFT MT940 statement message

D.EDIFACT ORDERS purchase order format

Explanation: TWIST BSB and its ISO 20022 XML successor (camt.086) provide a standardized electronic format for bank service billing statements, allowing treasuries to reconcile charges, check volumes, and audit pricing against contract rates.

5Under a Payment Factory model, how does the Payments-on-Behalf-Of (POBO) structure operate?

A.Subsidiaries issue cheques from local bank accounts in local currencies

B.The central treasury or payment factory executes vendor payments from a central bank account in the name of the central entity on behalf of operating units

C.Suppliers directly debit the corporate headquarters account without subsidiary authorization

D.Commercial banks execute all vendor payments automatically based on artificial intelligence without corporate instructions

Explanation: Payments-on-Behalf-Of (POBO) allows a central treasury entity/payment factory to make external vendor payments from a reduced number of central accounts on behalf of multiple group subsidiaries, using virtual accounts or internal accounting entries to track subsidiary payables.

6What is the primary governance document that outlines authorized financial instruments, counterparty exposure limits, and dealing authorities for a corporate treasury department?

A.Treasury Policy document

B.Annual Financial Statements

C.Bank Credit Facility Agreement

D.International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Master Agreement

Explanation: The Treasury Policy is approved by the Board of Directors and establishes governance, permissible investments/borrowings, hedging strategies, counterparty credit limits, and segregation of duties.

7How does the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) under Basel III regulations impact commercial banks' appetite for corporate deposits?

A.Banks prefer non-operational corporate deposits because they carry zero outflow assumptions

B.Banks prefer operational deposits linked to clearing and cash management over non-operational, wholesale deposits

C.Banks are required to pay higher interest rates on short-term hot money deposits

D.LCR regulations prohibit banks from accepting deposits from multinational corporations

Explanation: Under Basel III LCR rules, operational deposits (tied to cash management, trade, and clearing services) have lower assumed runoff rates (e.g. 25%), making them much more valuable to banks than non-operational corporate deposits, which face high runoff assumptions (up to 100%).

8What is eBAM (Electronic Bank Account Management)?

A.An automated trading platform for foreign exchange spot and forward contracts

B.The electronic exchange of standardized messages (such as ISO 20022 XML) between corporates and banks to open, maintain, and close bank accounts and update signers

C.An online banking portal for viewing end-of-day account balances

D.A retail mobile payment application used for peer-to-peer money transfers

Explanation: eBAM standardizes bank account administration functions—opening accounts, managing mandates/signatories, and closing accounts—via electronic messages (ISO 20022 acmt messages), replacing manual paper workflows.

9Why is Segregation of Duties (SoD) critical in corporate treasury operations?

A.To ensure that payment processing is completed within five minutes of invoice receipt

B.To prevent fraud and error by requiring different individuals to deal, confirm, approve, and reconcile financial transactions

C.To comply with international accounting standard IFRS 16 for lease accounting

D.To allow dealers to execute payments directly without managerial oversight

Explanation: Segregation of Duties (SoD) enforces key internal controls so that no single employee has control over the entire lifecycle of a transaction (e.g. initiating, approving, and reconciling payments), significantly mitigating fraud risk.

10Which key consideration must a multinational corporation evaluate when selecting a core cash management bank in emerging markets?

A.Local currency clearing capabilities, regulatory exchange controls, and bank credit risk

B.Whether the bank offers consumer credit cards for local employees

C.The availability of retail branch networks in capital cities only

D.Exemption from local tax withholding laws

Explanation: In emerging markets, cash management bank selection requires evaluating regulatory exchange controls, cross-border remittance restrictions, local clearing memberships, and counterparty credit rating.

About the ACT AwardICM Exam

The ACT Award in International Cash Management (AwardICM) is an internationally recognised qualification designed to give financial professionals, corporate treasurers, and transaction bankers a thorough grounding in international cash and liquidity management, working capital optimization, payment systems, bank structures, and currency risk management.

Exam sponsor: Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT). The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Questions

75 questions

Time Limit

90 minutes

Passing Score

76%

Exam / Certification Fees

£1,149

Exam sponsor website

Reported exam pass rate: 76% pass mark required. Candidates must correctly answer at least 57 of 75 questions (76%) within 90 minutes. This describes exam candidates, not OpenExamPrep users or results from using our resources. Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Official sources

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

25%

International Cash Management Foundations

Treasury organization models, centralisation vs decentralisation, bank relationship management, bank service billing (EDIFACT/TWIST/CAMT.086), RFPs, and SLAs.

25%

Working Capital & Account Structures

Cash conversion cycle calculations (DSO, DIO, DPO), liquidity forecasting, resident vs non-resident accounts, zero-balance accounts (ZBA), target balancing, physical sweeping, and notional pooling.

25%

Payment Systems & Clearing

Gross vs net settlement, high-value payment systems (TARGET2, CHAPS, Fedwire), low-value clearing (Bacs, ACH, SEPA Credit Transfer & Instant), SWIFT MT and MX (ISO 20022) message types.

25%

Liquidity & Foreign Exchange Risk

Short-term investment options (money market funds, commercial paper, treasury bills), credit facilities, foreign exchange exposure types, forward exchange rate calculations, and multilateral netting.

Preparing for the ACT AwardICM Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 76%
Exam length: 75 questions
Time limit: 90 minutes
Exam / certification fees: £1,149 Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

Work through all 100 available questions
Review every answer and explanation
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ACT AwardICM: Suggested Study Strategy

1Master the mechanics and tax/regulatory differences between physical sweeping (ZBA) and notional pooling.

2Practice cash conversion cycle calculations: Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) + Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO) - Days Payable Outstanding (DPO).

3Understand ISO 20022 message categories (pacs, camt, pain) and how they replace legacy SWIFT MT messages.

4Be comfortable calculating interest savings from interest enhancement vs physical cash concentration.

5Memorise clearing system characteristics: RTGS (real-time gross settlement, high-value, immediate finality) vs ACH (net settlement, batch processing).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the pass mark for the ACT AwardICM exam?

The pass mark for the ACT AwardICM exam is 76%, which means you must answer at least 57 out of 75 multiple-choice questions correctly.

How long is the ACT AwardICM exam?

The exam duration is 90 minutes for 75 multiple-choice questions.

What are the core topic areas tested in AwardICM?

The syllabus covers four main areas: International Cash Management Foundations, Working Capital & Account Structures, Payment Systems & Clearing, and Liquidity & Foreign Exchange Risk.

Are calculations required on the AwardICM exam?

Yes. Candidates are expected to calculate cash conversion cycle components (DSO, DIO, DPO), interest benefits from cash pooling vs unpooled accounts, cash forecast variances, FX forward rates, and net settlement amounts in netting systems.

Who awards the AwardICM qualification?

The qualification is awarded by the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT), the chartered professional body for treasury in the UK and globally.