CISI Global Financial Compliance Past Papers: What Exists (2026)
No public past papers exist for CISI Global Financial Compliance. Here's the official material that does, and where to get current, weighted 100-question mocks.
Are there past papers for the CISI Global Financial Compliance exam?
No, CISI does not publish past papers for Global Financial Compliance, and sat papers are never released. What exists officially is one specimen paper written to the live standard, plus end-of-chapter questions and a practice paper in the workbook, currently Edition 11 (July 2024), valid for exams up to 30 September 2026. The paper is 100 multiple-choice questions in 120 minutes, 70% to pass, no negative marking, with up to 10% extra unscored trial questions.
- Official past papers
- None. Previously sat papers are never released and the live bank rotates
- What CISI does provide
- One specimen paper, plus end-of-chapter questions and a practice paper in the official workbook
- Questions
- 100, multiple choice, plus up to 10% additional unscored trial questions
- Time
- 120 minutes, computer based
- Pass mark
- 70%, no negative marking
- Qualification
- Standalone Level 3 Award; combine it with a CISI regulatory exam for the Level 3 Certificate in Global Financial Compliance
- Current workbook
- Edition 11, July 2024, valid for exams up to 30 September 2026
- Elements
- Five: international regulatory environment, the compliance function, managing the risk of financial crime, ethics, integrity and fairness, and governance, risk management and compliance
Global Financial Compliance candidates are usually juggling revision with a compliance, financial crime or risk role that runs across time zones, which makes the hunt for past papers understandable: you want practice that reflects live rules, not another read of the workbook. The honest answer is that CISI does not publish past papers for this exam. Official material exists, but it is limited, and the rest of what circulates online is unofficial, unverified, and often out of date in a syllabus area where the rules move fast.
Test yourself on Global Fin. Compliance
4 questions written to the current syllabus, in the format of the real paper. Pick an answer and the explanation appears. Nothing to sign up for.
How did UK regulators change their approach after the global financial crisis?
Not quite. The answer is B.
The light-touch, principles-based approach adopted from 2001 was judged flawed, so regulators kept the principles but added more rules and sharpened the focus on consumer outcomes. Principles were not abandoned entirely. The sector did not revert to self-regulation, a model it had already left behind, and Sarbanes-Oxley is US corporate reporting legislation that was never adopted as the UK framework.
Which of the following bodies issued ten principles on compliance with wider industry application:
Not quite. The answer is B.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued ten principles on compliance and the compliance function. Although aimed primarily at banks, they have much wider application across the regulated financial sector. IOSCO sets standards for securities regulation, the Financial Stability Board coordinates national authorities and standard setters at global level, and the Financial Action Task Force sets anti-money laundering standards, so none of those three issued the ten principles.
The money laundering stage primarily characterised by numerous ordinary-looking transactions used to obscure the origin of funds is known as:
Not quite. The answer is C.
Layering moves funds through a series of transactions, each designed to resemble the everyday activity of an investor managing their affairs, so that the audit trail back to the original crime is broken. Placement is the earlier stage at which criminal cash first enters the financial system, and integration is the final stage at which the funds re-emerge as apparently legitimate wealth.
Which of the following would regulators NOT regard as good practice in product design?
Not quite. The answer is D.
Replicating a rival's product starts from what someone else has built rather than from an assessment of what customers need, which is why regulators treat it as a red flag. Bringing compliance into the oversight of a design gives the control functions a say before anything reaches the market, requiring senior management to approve a new product places accountability for it at the top of the firm, and being explicit about the needs the product is not designed to meet is an expected feature.
That is 4 of more than 10,800 questions in the PasskeyPrep bank. Chapter 1 of every exam is free, with the study notes and flashcards that go with it, and every answer is marked and explained the way these were.
The paper you are preparing for
| Qualification | Level 3 Award in Global Financial Compliance; add a CISI regulatory exam for the full Certificate |
| Questions | 100, multiple choice |
| Time | 120 minutes |
| Pass mark | 70%, no negative marking |
| Format | Computer based |
The syllabus covers five elements: the international regulatory environment, the compliance function, managing the risk of financial crime, ethics, integrity and fairness, and governance, risk management and compliance. Where the marks concentrate, and how to revise a paper this broad, is in our guide to passing Global Financial Compliance.
What official material exists
One specimen paper written to the live standard, end-of-chapter questions and a practice paper in the official Global Financial Compliance workbook (Edition 11, July 2024, valid for exams up to 30 September 2026), the paid Revision Express tool, and the free Prometric demo of the test software. Sit the sample paper once, timed, late in your revision. Everything official is worth doing exactly once; none of it is renewable.
Why old material is a poor shortcut here
Financial crime and sanctions are the part of this syllabus that dates fastest. FATF recommendations are amended, sanctions lists shift as geopolitics shifts, and anti-money laundering directives get superseded with each new edition. A mock or a set of notes written even a couple of workbook editions ago can quietly test a rule, a threshold or a named regulation that no longer applies. Unofficial PDFs compound the problem: wrong answer keys and questions drafted against old workbook editions are common, and there is no way to tell from the document itself which edition it was written for.
The alternative: current, weighted mock papers
PasskeyPrep gives Global Financial Compliance five full mock papers, each 100 questions in 120 minutes, weighted element by element like the real paper. Paper 1 is a warm-up drawn from the practice bank, and papers 2 and 3 come from a reserved pool practice mode never serves, held back for closer to your exam date. Questions are written from scratch against the current syllabus, answers carry full explanations, and practice mode sorts the bank by your weak elements so short sessions between meetings actually move your score.
Start free. Try a set of free Global Financial Compliance practice questions. The first chapter of the GFC bank is free in the app.
Every Global Financial Compliance revision resource, in one list
- The official CISI Global Financial Compliance workbook, Edition 11 (July 2024), valid for exams up to 30 September 2026.
- The official sample paper, sat once under the clock.
- CISI Revision Express (paid) and the free Prometric CBT demo.
- PasskeyPrep: the full GFC bank, five weighted 100-question mocks, explanations and weak-spot tracking. £59 once for this paper, or £89 for all fourteen exams, for 90 days from purchase.
- Free Global Financial Compliance practice questions.
- Our Global Financial Compliance exam guide and the complete guide to passing CISI exams.
PasskeyPrep is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. For the picture across every paper, see CISI past papers: what's actually available.
Sit a whole paper for free. The free 100-question Global Financial Compliance mock exam runs to the real time limit and the published element weighting, with a score, an element breakdown and an explanation for every answer. No sign-up.
Frequently asked questions
Does CISI publish past papers for Global Financial Compliance?
No. One official sample paper exists, plus the end-of-chapter and practice questions in the official workbook. Previously sat papers are never released and the live bank rotates.
What is the format of the CISI Global Financial Compliance exam?
100 multiple-choice questions in 120 minutes, computer based, 70% pass mark, no negative marking, with up to 10% additional unscored trial questions. It earns the standalone Level 3 Award; add a CISI regulatory exam for the full Certificate.
Why shouldn't I just use an old mock or PDF I found online?
Because financial crime and sanctions rules move faster than almost anything else in the CISI syllabus. FATF recommendations, sanctions lists and anti-money laundering directives are amended regularly, so material written against an old workbook edition can test rules that no longer apply, and unofficial PDFs are unverified besides.
How should I revise for GFC around an international compliance role?
In short, current material and frequent question sessions rather than long reads. Drill by element, let your weak spots surface, and keep full timed mocks for when you can protect an uninterrupted two hours. Confirm you're studying against the current workbook edition before you rely on any notes or mock you didn't write yourself.