Prepare For CAMS

How Can I Become Certified as Anti-Money Laundering Specialist?

Part 2: How should I prepare for the CAMS Exam?

Its no secret that the CAMS Exam is difficult to clear, after all good things are worth the effort. In our first blog in the series we looked at how to get CAMS certified and the eligibility criteria for the exam. In this blog, we will look at what sort of knowledge and essential skills you are required to have to have to become a effective anti-fraud and financial crime expert.

What skills do I need to become an AML Specialist?

One of the key things that an anti-money laundering specialist needs to have is a strong analytical mind able to decern, arrange and analyse multiple data sets at once. On top of this, you need to have a very good understanding risk and risk management as limiting your organisations exposure is a key role that any good CAMS Certified specialist plays. Especially in a country like Dubai, where regulators constantly monitor the degrees and amount of risk various exchange houses, banks and other financial institutions are exposed to. A good AML officer needs to have decision making skills so that you can decide when to investigate, escalate and file suspicious transaction or activity reports. Besides this, you need to have good communication and teamwork skills as the work requires you deal with various business line and managerial departments to ensure a smooth flow of work.

Lastly, the will to learn and grow is very important as this is a role that will require constant knowledge revision and continuous education to meet the demands of regulators and keep up with the newest trends and typologies and prevent your organisation’s exposure to risk.

If you meet all of these requirements, then congratulations! You are now ready to move on to the actual exam preparation and learning.

How should I begin preparing for CAMS Examination?

Starting from the right step is always important when beginning something new. Future Target Institute’s CAMS qualified instructors recommend planning before taking the leap. Only working hard doesn’t do the trick anymore, you have to work smart. The goal here is obvious, getting certified and improving your career and learning opportunities. However, as it is often said, a goal without a plan is just a dream so setting smaller targets that are easy to achieve is key to success in preparing for the exam.

Step 1: Take Out Some Time From Your Busy Schedule

Keeping in mind that most individuals who are thinking of taking the certification examination are in full-time employment, the first step you should take is arranging your work/study hour balance to ensure you have enough hours on your hand to actually study rather than taking a glance at the material every now and then between work. Preparing for the CAMS exam usually takes around 2 hours of dedicated study time per day for a period of around 2 months.

Step 2: Collect Relevant study material for the CAMS Exam

Some of the key material that can help you in preparing for the exam include:

• The sixth edition of the CAMS Study Guide which is the main resource book and is ideal in terms of summarising the information needed to prepare for the exam. Its divided into four main chapters and additional information, namely:
  1. The risks and methods of money laundering including terrorism financing
  2. The effective compliance standards for anti-money laundering with combating the financing of terrorism.
  3. AML Compliance Program
  4. Conducting and Responding to AML Investigations
• Flashcards: These can help with revising the already established concepts.
• Practice Tests: There are several practice tests available for free on Future Target’s website.
• Supplementary notes & book.
• Mock exams: These can help get you in the practice of giving exam in a similar setting.
• Expert guidance & advise: This can be invaluable in terms of getting the right areas to focus on.

All this and more resources are available with Future Target Institute’s CAMS preparation course in Dubai. For more information and free material please call us at 042273992 or email info@ftiuae.com