Anyone else disappointed over the CFAI's handling of pandemia?

CFA Level III
#1

This is going to be a rant and I apologize in advance.

I know this can be a little controversial to ask. Sure, there is no way you can be prepared for an event like COVID-19 especially if you are following the rule “everyone needs to take the exam on the same date.” But let me clarify what I mean with my question from the topic.

On 19th of March, the Institute decided to globally postpone the exam to December the 5th, about three months ahead of the original exam date (June). But it turns out that the exam in June 2020 could have been held in many places around the world because the situation has improved considerably since March. Surely, the uncertainty was super high in March and no one could have predicted how things would have developed so they decided to jump the gun and postpone the exam well in advance.

Fast forward to the past 2-3 weeks and December 2020 exam and you see that they have already started to postpone testings across various test centers, depending on the local circumstances (this is arguable but I guess things depend on local country’s COVID-19 situation). These postponements are made 1-1.5 months ahead of the exam. In some places in Europe, they have postponed the exam even though the official restrictions are set to end before the exam (i.e. end of November).

Furthermore, the new exam date is set for May. Knowing that the virus is of seasonal character/cyclical and looking at what happened this spring, I just do not see how this exam could be held especially since the exam is now set for the month of May (2021) vs. the month of June (2020). If you look at the history of COVID-19 cases you will see that month of May is much worse than the month of June. What are they even thinking? I mean the virus is obviously more pronounced during the season and the Institute is scheduling the exam during the flu season instead of during the summer (June-August). But no, they give us “options” for May and November and voila look at how it currently works for many of us in the month of November.

The issue here, it seems, is that CFAI makes assumption that there will be a solution for the virus soon and that the vaccine will magically sort things out before May, a highly unlikely assumption. So again, there is a high chance that many of us will face postponement again in the month of May. And yet the Institute does not make adjustments to its exam-date reasoning. What is even worse, it seems that they cannot organize the exam for February 2021 (right before the virus goes crazy) because supervisors cannot have access to potential exam test centers (to check whether they comply) due to pandemic restrictions. OK, this is reasonable but my question is - what were they thinking during the summer, that the second wave would not occur? That for some reason there would be no overlap between the exams and the virus surge?

Finally, a less relevant topic, a thing needs to be said about how CFAI presents the reason for not holding the exam. They say “pandemic restrictions” in places where the exams, as of today, could actually be held. The point is the Institute probably does not want to take the risk and pay for the venue to have it postponed by local restrictions. This is understandable, but for a non-profit organization that spends so much time and energy talking about ethics, transparency and fair presentation what I really think they should be telling us is that “CFAI does not want to risk spending funds” instead of calling it “pandemic restrictions” reason.

As someone who really looks at the CFAI with high regards I must say that I am disappointed. The situation is difficult but it really seems to me that they did not think things through. The 10-day CBT exam window is pointless if you cannot access the venue in the first place (set aside the controversy about potential for unethical candidates to take advantage of this).

#2

I think you’ve missed the COVID fine print that states past performance is not indicative of future results.

In all seriousness I get your frustration, right now I feel like I’ve dodged several bullets with my test centre still being open but if that wasn’t the case I’d be reluctant to sign-up for the May exam. Content remaining the same is the only incentive to reschedule again.

So many candidates have spunked loads of time studying which really deserves certainty of being able to sit the exam. The reality of the situation is nobody knows how this is going to play out, vaccines will not be a silver bullet which appears to be the expectation. The institute is doing what it can but like many governments, they’re just winging it as they go.

#3

I agree completely. I’m starting to study again for the May exam, as my test center was delayed (despite positivity rates being very low in my geography). It’s extremely difficult to start studying again for the third time without confidence in CFAI to make the right decisions. Has anyone spoken to CFAI re: the likelihood of May being postponed yet again? I know it’s always a risk, but they need to be more descriptive than that. I’m hoping the slightly increased physical distance of a computer lab setting will help ensure the exam will take place, but I was shocked they delayed the December exam again in my region with very little legitimate rationale. Some of us have real life circumstances that will prevent us from being able to earn our charter if this trend continues. For example, my wife is pregnant with our first child. If they expect they may not be able to accommodate again in May, they need to be more transparent with us - and sooner. This process has been absolutely brutal, and CFAI has not handled it appropriately from the outset.

#4

Understand your frustration but going to have to call hindsight 20/20 on this

Cancelling the exam early in March was appropriate as you would want to give people as much notice as possible, no one would want to waste two month of their life studying especially in the middle of a pandemic where there are other priorities.

You can argue they should have cancelled the December exam locations sooners, as for those which the exam has cancelled, they would have to restart their studies a THIRD time next year, or potentially the fourth.

“virus is of seasonal character/cyclical” sorry but how do you know that, Covid has only had less than 1 year of track record? as far as we can see its transmission is effective everywhere across all seasons

#5

What part of “the uncertainty was super high in March and no one could have predicted how things would have developed so they decided to jump the gun and postpone the exam well in advance.” did you not understand to call it hindsight bias? I never stated or implied that they could have made a better decision than they did (a prerequisite to call something a hindsight bias) given the huge uncertainty. I was only trying to say that the institute has changed its approach yet it still seems to be inadequate (again) as the restrictions should expire before the exam.

As far as seasonality is concerned, well it was all over the news. As soon as the first wave was over, people started talking about the second wave that would likely occur in the fall. If you watched Bloomberg TV for example you would have known what I am talking about. The likely seasonality of the virus comes from combination of temperatures, people behavior, level of sun’s UV rays, etc. And while you are right that we do not know that this virus is in fact seasonal, it would have been prudent to assume so given that some viruses tend to be (i.e. common flu) and knowing that the virus curve flattened considerably in the summer. Therefore, the institute did not consider anything and just assumed things would be over and did not consider a plan B. Now, it is still possible to get the third wave in Europe in the spring but what is the institute doing? Scheduling the exam closer to the last year’s peak. Now I am not saying there will be a third wave but it is for sure not an unreasonable consideration. So I disagree with your critique given that these were not my personal assumptions but actually those made by virologists, doctors, etc.

#6

sure but i dont think you’ve factored in the amount of logistics required in the background to coordinate a world wide exam, all the centres, proctors etc…its not easy as your college exam where u can switch on and off on a whim.

re the virus yep ur right i didn’t rely on Bloomy TV as my source of epidemiological updates. And I still think quarantines/human to human prevention was the bigger factor in the rate of infection, way more than any seasonality factors.

Given how the US/Europe/India has handled the infection so far, by ur logic the institute might as well pull the plug for the foreseeable future until everyone’s vaccinated since there’s never gonna be a good time to pack thousands of people in those regions. But given the exam’s all going digital next year, and given europe is locked down until early next year, the best time is still the first half of 2021.

#7

Trying not to fall into hindsight bias, but honestly the odds for a second wave in December were very high (no need to be epidemiology expert, just common sense…), so I understand @Torsten55 comments.

In my opinion, best option was to have the June exam rescheduled to end of August / early September. At least have it as an option so that you could let people who were ready for June to take the exam and lower the candidates for December, so better for logistics and everything else.

I was studying until last week, when my center was cancelled, but I knew all along the odds were against me. I guess this time the survey for total studying hours will be positively skewed :slight_smile:

#8

totally get the frustration you guys are facing where the odds are basically stacked against you from the incompetency of the govt and lockdown denial clowns, the institute is just as much of a victim as the candidates. If I was still doing level 2 i think I would have given up in frustration already.

Fingers crossed that the digital exam next year means physical barriers so won’t matter if the pandemic is still lingering then…

#9

Exactly. Play it safe and move on.

When things go sour you take the necessary steps to remedy them and/or prevent them from occurring again. Just hoping that things would improve on their own in my opinion is not very responsible towards candidates and kind of selfish.