archived_user
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- Jun 18, 2026
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I think I have a fair working knowledge of what I can share, and not, given the confidentiality of the investigation, so I’m going to try to stick to what I learned and the process, generally.
I took L3 in June ‘16. Then I got “the email” in July. Without offering great detail, my case was very similar to what you can gather here: http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-general-discussion/912... (this individual got off, unlike me).
I had medical documentation to support ailments dating back several years, and only 2 proctors accused me versus 7. Unlike him, I did not have 1 proctor say that he/she felt I did nothing wrong. Nevertheless, I was served a sanction, albeit not the worst. As such, I’ll be able to take the exam again. And, oh by the way, to make matters worse (mentally anyway), I was awarded CE credits for apparently passing the exam! These were, of course, removed due to the investigation.
So here’s what I’ve learned.
1. If you’re innocent, fight it. If not, you’re likely better off admitting at least some guilt. Remember, the “appearance” of cheating is a violation. So yes, the horror stories you read are real…and this is why. Any suspicion could get you written up. One thing I’ve learned recently is that if you have some nervous twitch, you stretch a lot, or whatever, you CAN ask a proctor to seat you away from other candidates (ie: at your own table). I will certainly ask for this the next time I sit for L3. The info regarding “appearance of cheating” is read by proctors prior to the exam. It’s sent to you multiple times leading up to the exam. And it’s on the CFAI website. In my investigation, given my medical background, I felt that the “appearance” was a misunderstanding due to my ailments. The PCP apparently didn’t care…or perhaps my delivery/defense was flawed. At this point, there’s no telling exactly.
2. Know the Rules of Procedure for Professional Conduct. This offers the expectations along the way of an investigation. https://www.cfainstitute.org/ethics/conduct/Documents/2015_rules_of_proc...
3. Take your time in responding. Be to the point, yet comprehensive. And supply any supporting info: 3rd party character reference, medical reports, etc. My initial reply to the suspected cheating report was far too quick and I was probably too combative with the proctors’ assessment of the situation. Granted, in that particular testing environment, there were a few glaring areas of mismanagement on the part of the proctors (and I’m far from the only one to have felt that way). The bottom line is that they’re just trying to do their job. Don’t take it personal. I f’ed up here, at least a little bit. It may not have hurt my case, but it certainly didn’t help that I gave a somewhat, emotional reply to the PCP.
4. Feel free to ask for the similarity analysis. However, it likely doesn’t do much good. Think about it…it takes months to get the scores back for a multiple choice exam. Why? The CFAI is doing tremendous amounts of data analytics as soon as the exam ends…in my opinion. Look here for some publicly available info on what they look for: http://www.caveon.com/downloads/Messengar.pdf (CFA-related info starts on slide 20…you’re looking for slide 24 for pertinent data forensic info)
5. Forget the fluff…for the most part. I have kids, and I studied a lot, sacrificed sleep, etc. I have no real academic awards to speak of; I’ve put a great deal of effort into this…whatever. The PCP doesn’t care. If you want to mention some personal info, character-related info, fine. But don’t swamp the PCP with this crap. They want facts, and they will stick to facts.
Good luck out there. I’ll earn the charter soon by passing Level 3….again!
Peace.
I took L3 in June ‘16. Then I got “the email” in July. Without offering great detail, my case was very similar to what you can gather here: http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-general-discussion/912... (this individual got off, unlike me).
I had medical documentation to support ailments dating back several years, and only 2 proctors accused me versus 7. Unlike him, I did not have 1 proctor say that he/she felt I did nothing wrong. Nevertheless, I was served a sanction, albeit not the worst. As such, I’ll be able to take the exam again. And, oh by the way, to make matters worse (mentally anyway), I was awarded CE credits for apparently passing the exam! These were, of course, removed due to the investigation.
So here’s what I’ve learned.
1. If you’re innocent, fight it. If not, you’re likely better off admitting at least some guilt. Remember, the “appearance” of cheating is a violation. So yes, the horror stories you read are real…and this is why. Any suspicion could get you written up. One thing I’ve learned recently is that if you have some nervous twitch, you stretch a lot, or whatever, you CAN ask a proctor to seat you away from other candidates (ie: at your own table). I will certainly ask for this the next time I sit for L3. The info regarding “appearance of cheating” is read by proctors prior to the exam. It’s sent to you multiple times leading up to the exam. And it’s on the CFAI website. In my investigation, given my medical background, I felt that the “appearance” was a misunderstanding due to my ailments. The PCP apparently didn’t care…or perhaps my delivery/defense was flawed. At this point, there’s no telling exactly.
2. Know the Rules of Procedure for Professional Conduct. This offers the expectations along the way of an investigation. https://www.cfainstitute.org/ethics/conduct/Documents/2015_rules_of_proc...
3. Take your time in responding. Be to the point, yet comprehensive. And supply any supporting info: 3rd party character reference, medical reports, etc. My initial reply to the suspected cheating report was far too quick and I was probably too combative with the proctors’ assessment of the situation. Granted, in that particular testing environment, there were a few glaring areas of mismanagement on the part of the proctors (and I’m far from the only one to have felt that way). The bottom line is that they’re just trying to do their job. Don’t take it personal. I f’ed up here, at least a little bit. It may not have hurt my case, but it certainly didn’t help that I gave a somewhat, emotional reply to the PCP.
4. Feel free to ask for the similarity analysis. However, it likely doesn’t do much good. Think about it…it takes months to get the scores back for a multiple choice exam. Why? The CFAI is doing tremendous amounts of data analytics as soon as the exam ends…in my opinion. Look here for some publicly available info on what they look for: http://www.caveon.com/downloads/Messengar.pdf (CFA-related info starts on slide 20…you’re looking for slide 24 for pertinent data forensic info)
5. Forget the fluff…for the most part. I have kids, and I studied a lot, sacrificed sleep, etc. I have no real academic awards to speak of; I’ve put a great deal of effort into this…whatever. The PCP doesn’t care. If you want to mention some personal info, character-related info, fine. But don’t swamp the PCP with this crap. They want facts, and they will stick to facts.
Good luck out there. I’ll earn the charter soon by passing Level 3….again!
Peace.