CFA marking unfair? The analyst has written some lengthy criticisms of the CFA exams after failing Level III on three separate occasions.
Genadiy Georgiev, a financial analyst currently at the Bord civil construction firm, passed level I and level II without incident. He believed that with the right amount of study and dedication, he would soon pass level III and gain recognition as a full CFA Charterholder, but that is not the case, explains Sarah Butcher for eFinancialCareers.com.
CFA Marking – Three failed attempts spark criticism from analyst
After three attempts over the span of four years, Georgiev still hasn’t passed the exam. Obviously frustrated, he has taken to the internet to write some long criticisms of the marking scheme, which he blames for his failures.
Although he has so far not convinced the examiners to change his result, he has certainly gained a lot of attention in the industry. For the uninitiated, CFA Level I exams contain 420 multiple choice questions, Level II has 120 ‘item questions’ and Level III is a mixture of set questions and essays.
The reason Georgiev is so upset derives from the allocation of marks to each Level III question. He claims to have deliberately not answered some questions in order to use his time wisely, having calculated that those he did answer carried enough weight to let him pass.
CFA Marking – Georgiev criticizes “transparency” of CFA
Georgiev claims that it was only when receiving his results that he realized the questions he did not answer were worth far more than those he did. “This exam is an opaque black box,” he says. “Nor do they give you any feedback or behave with the sort of the transparency they try to promote in the investment industry.”
The CFA Institute has looked into Georgiev’s complaint and concluded that he has no argument. CFA President Paul Smith wrote to Georgiev in August, telling him: “Your recollection of your answers and/or the structure of the question sub-parts is incorrect.”
The CFA‘s chief legal officer later wrote to Georgiev, informing him that the organization considered the case closed. Despite the setback, Georgiev is determined to continue his fight. “I am very stubborn,” he said. “I cannot withstand the unfairness and injustice.”
See the full complaint here
