Frequently asked questions

What are the entry requirements?
Does the Course count towards CPD?
Am I eligible for any exemptions?
What happens if I cannot complete the course?
Who is responsible for quality assurance?
What happens if I fail one of the two exams?
What happens if I have to miss a session/day?
Can I do this course online?
Who are the presenters on the course?
Is anything available for the alumni?
Who can I speak to if I have further questions?

What are the entry requirements?

You do not need any formal qualifications to enter the course. Most participants are employed in a relevant occupation and have at least GCSEs or their equivalent.

Does the Course count towards CPD?

The Course does count towards your Continuing Professional Development for the ICSA. The ICSA currently require 20 CPD a year for their members and this course would meet a year’s requirement in full. Our alumni training sessions also count towards ICSA CPD, each of our alumni seminars will count as 1 CPD hour. Our course and alumni events may count towards other professional CPD requirements.

Am I eligible for any exemptions?

We are regularly asked about the possibility of missing part of the course or being exempt from parts of the exams because of prior professional qualifications or experience.

This short course qualification constitutes a good grounding for all aspects of employee share plans. It covers all key issues such as legal, accounting, tax and regulatory requirements and on the course we show how these issues relate to each other. We do, therefore, expect you to attend the full course and there are no exemptions available.

What happens if I cannot complete the course?

Attendees are required to register for both parts of the course on first application for registration. A refund will not be provided in the event that you do not complete the course

Who is responsible for quality assurance?

Tapestry is committed to delivering the highest of standards for both course delivery and quality of course material.

ICSA is responsible for quality assurance of the assessment, through moderation of the exam material and the marking.

What happens if I fail one of the two exams?

Should you fail one examination paper, you must re-sit the failed examination at the next available opportunity (usually the following year). Candidates are allowed two re-sit opportunities. If successful at these re-sits, the mark will be capped at 50% (so a ‘Pass’ grade is the highest possible result for any re-sit exam).

Further re-sit opportunities are at the discretion of the External Moderator who looks at each case on its merits and will take extenuating circumstances into account. In the case of an appeal, the decision of the ICSA External Moderator will be final.

There will be a small charge to re-sit an examination.

What happens if I have to miss a session/day?

That’s ok. We provide very detailed course notes and also provide catch-up/revision sessions before the start of the 2nd and 3rd day of each course. There is also a revision session a few weeks before the exam to provide course participants with the opportunity to go over things covered on the course. There is a requirement in the ICSA course handbook to attend 75% of the course to be able to sit the exams.

Can I do this course online?

This is a class-based course. We do have also a website on which the course materials are easily accessible for convenience.

There are huge benefits to class-based learning. Our trainers are experts and deliver the course to maximise your learning and understanding.

Who are the presenters on the course?

All the presenters are experts in their field and most are senior lawyers at Tapestry Compliance.

Is anything available for the alumni?

We host events and provide newsletters and updates to keep our alumni to keep connected with each other and to keep up-to-date. Our alumni club is separate from the course you attend and is not included in the course fee. We aim to invite most of the alumni to our events and receive our newsletters but this is a separate arrangement from the course and it’s for us to decide.

Who can I speak to if I have further questions?

Gabrielle Miranda

Gabby is the best person to speak to. She can be contacted on training@tapestrycompliance.com and on +44 (0)203 432 2556. She also deals with all registrations on the course and, when the course is full, maintains the waitlist.