The CME-5B Corporate Finance Exam: The Complete Guide | Hespah LLC [Skip to main content](#main-content)[![Hespah LLC](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/home_logolight_file2png.webp)](/en)Search More [Home](/en) [Learning Hub](/en/courses) [About us](https://hespah.com/who-we-are) [Blog](/en/blog) [Contact Us](/en/contact) Login[New Account](/en/register) 1. [Home](/en) / 2. [Blog](/en/blog) / 3. CME-5B Exam for Corporate Finance: The Complete Guide CME-5B Exam for Corporate Finance: The Complete Guide ===================================================== 2026-10-18 / 1 week ago The CME-5B examination specification states the questions per chapter outright: ten, four, four and seven. The weightings on the exam page are those counts divided by 25. What is the CME-5B exam, and who needs it? ------------------------------------------ CME-5B is a mandatory Capital Market Authority examination for anyone registering as a corporate finance specialist at an authorised person. The Financial Academy delivers it with the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, it runs 30 minutes, the pass mark is 17, and the published fee is SAR 1,700. Its legal basis is paragraph (d) of Article 21 of the Capital Market Institutions Regulations: an applicant must pass the qualification examinations the Authority requires, absent an exemption. Therefore it is a registration condition first, a certificate second. CME-5B also stands apart because one registered function sits behind it: the CMA guideline names corporate finance specialists alone, whereas the [CME-4B exam for asset managers](https://hespah.com/en/blog/cme-4b-exam-asset-managers) serves three functions. CME-5B specification: the published weightings are the question counts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The exam page publishes the four chapters with their weightings, the workbook closes with a specification table turning those percentages into counts, and each chapter opener states its share: Chapter Syllabus elements Sections Questions Published weight Rules on the Offer of Securities and Continuing Obligations 18 10 10 40% Special Purposes Entities 6 2 4 16% Merger and Acquisition Regulations 14 4 4 16% Corporate Governance Regulations 13 7 7 28% **Total** **51** **23** **25** **100%** Consequently these weightings act as drawn boundaries, because the table caps their flexibility in its own words: "the number of questions tested in each element should not change by more than plus or minus 2". ![CME-5B question split: 10, 4, 4 and 7 with syllabus elements and sections](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/uploads/emils/17923456180.jpeg "CME-5B question split: 10, 4, 4 and 7 with syllabus elements and sections") Merger and acquisition rules: heaviest reading, fewest questions ---------------------------------------------------------------- Divide elements by questions and what the percentages hide appears. The merger and acquisition chapter carries 14 elements against four questions, or 3.5 per question, while Special Purposes Entities carries six against four, or 1.5 per question. The reason sits in the chapter structure, since the rules of offers section alone holds eleven elements, each pointing to a separate article of Part 2, while four questions cover the chapter. As a result, anyone who studies the four chapters evenly pays the steepest price here. Questions equal the number of sections in three chapters out of four -------------------------------------------------------------------- The sections column and the questions column match: ten and ten in chapter one, four and four in chapter three, seven and seven in chapter four. Thus the rule is one question per section, which beats the percentage in planning. However, only the Special Purposes Entities chapter breaks the pattern, with two sections carrying four questions. Although it is the shortest chapter, it is the densest in marks, so skipping it costs 16% of the paper. A pass mark of 17 out of 25 and 72 seconds per question ------------------------------------------------------- The published pass mark is 17 out of 25 questions, or 68% of the paper, so the margin for error is eight questions. Divide 30 minutes by 25 questions: 72 seconds each. Those 72 seconds suffice for a question on one condition of a public offer. However, they do not suffice for telling a mandatory takeover offer from a partial offer, nor Parallel Market requirements from the main market's. Hence these comparisons belong to the weeks before exam day. ![CME-5A versus CME-5B: duration, pass mark, fees and retake rules](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/uploads/emils/17923456191.jpeg "CME-5A versus CME-5B: duration, pass mark, fees and retake rules") CME-5B and CME-5A: one route, two institutions, two policies ------------------------------------------------------------ Registration as a corporate finance specialist takes two examinations. However, each exam has a different provider, and with it a different governing policy: Item CME-5B CME-5A Provider The Financial Academy Chartered Institute (CISI) Duration 30 minutes 60 minutes Pass mark 17 35 Published fee SAR 1,700 SAR 1,950 Expected study hours 50 hours 80 hours Chapters 4 5 Attempts 6 within 12 months 3, then a 6-week rest, then 3 more Result review Available for SAR 400 Not available Arrival before the exam 30 minutes 20 minutes Calculator No provision in Academy policy Expressly prohibited The full route therefore costs SAR 3,650, takes 130 expected study hours, and seats you in the hall for 90 minutes. CME-5A carries the heavier load: five chapters from quantitative analysis to transaction documentation, and 80 study hours against 50 for CME-5B. For sequencing, the logic follows [the difference between CME-1A and CME-1B](https://hespah.com/en/blog/cme-1a-vs-cme-1b). Two official fee figures, and support that never covers half a route -------------------------------------------------------------------- The fee table in the CMA guideline lists SAR 900 for the regulatory paper and SAR 1,500 for the technical foundations, a total of SAR 2,400, with re-registration at 700 and 1,020 for a total of SAR 1,720. The exam page, meanwhile, publishes 1,700 and 1,950, a total of SAR 3,650. The practical rule: the registration page governs at payment, because that is what the system charges. Fund support, in turn, requires passing both exams, completing the certificate requirements and submitting the qualification certificate, since it never covers one exam alone. So SAR 3,650 stays at risk until the candidate clears CME-5B and the technical foundations together. Book both as one plan. Resit and review rules for CME-5B --------------------------------- 1. **Six attempts within 12 months**, counted from the first attempt, not from the start of the calendar year. 2. **No interval between the first and third attempts**, then a mandatory two calendar weeks between each attempt from the fourth to the sixth. 3. **Once the attempts run out**, an electronic exception request goes to the Professional Certifications Committee, which may grant one more. 4. **Absence consumes the full fee**, although it does not count as an attempt. Challenging a result has a defined path: a review request within three working days of the exam, a SAR 400 fee by certified cheque, a full refund if an error turns up, and a decision within 20 working days. The policy also requires a comment on the disputed question inside the exam system itself, which most forget in the hall, closing the door afterwards. As with [objecting to ZATCA decisions](https://hespah.com/en/blog/zatca-objection-appeal-process), the objection starts before the result appears. The current workbook window closes on 31 December 2026 ------------------------------------------------------ The official workbook is edition 1, published in October 2022, relates to syllabus version 1, and covers exams between 1 February 2023 and 31 December 2026. The copyright page states each language print: Arabic 1.2 (June 2024) and English 1.10 (August 2026). Academy rescheduling policy allows a postponement of no more than six months from the previous booking, with the request at least three working days ahead. Combine the two rules: a candidate who books CME-5B in the last quarter of 2026 and then postpones may land outside the current workbook window. Chartered Institute policy charges the full fee where the new date coincides with an updated workbook, "as it is a new exam". The plainest line in the policy stands: "exams are based on the exam specification and not on books or the contents of training programmes". So the specification table and the learning map hold the reference, not the slides of a training centre. How do you split 50 hours across the four chapters? --------------------------------------------------- 1. **Offer of securities and continuing obligations** (18 elements, 10 questions): private and public offers, the prospectus, price stabilisation, capital alteration, dealing restrictions, Parallel Market. 2. **Corporate governance regulations** (13 elements, 7 questions): shareholder rights, general assemblies, board formation and duties, conflicts of interest, committees, internal control, disclosure. 3. **Special purposes entities** (6 elements, 4 questions): Authority approval of new financing transactions, sponsors, trustees, custodians, auditing measures, record-keeping. 4. **Merger and acquisition regulations** (14 elements, 4 questions): general provisions, directors' duties, special deals, rules of offers across eleven elements, types of merger. That list follows the marks, not the order of the workbook. And since every element points to a specific article, read it on the Capital Market Authority website alongside the workbook commentary. This step settles the confusion between offer rules and merger rules, yet most candidates skip it. Frequently asked questions about CME-5B --------------------------------------- ### Do I need a certificate or a training programme before registering? No. The CME-5B exam page states that no prior certificate, no training programme and no registration requirements apply. Nevertheless the policy bars registration for anyone who already passed the exam. ### How many questions does the exam have, and how do they split? 25 questions: 10 on offer rules, 4 on special purposes entities, 4 on merger and acquisition, and 7 on corporate governance. Each chapter keeps its share within plus or minus two questions. ### Which language can I sit the exam in? Arabic or English, and the workbook comes in both. The print of each version differs, however, so a candidate studying in Arabic should match every article against the Authority website. ### Does CME-5B alone satisfy the registration requirement? No. The table of registrable functions names two exams for a corporate finance specialist, while Fund support arrives only after both passes and the certificate requirements. ### When can I resit if I fail? Immediately, if this is your second or third attempt, since no interval separates them. After the third, the candidate waits two calendar weeks up to the sixth. For anyone starting from scratch: [the map of professional certifications in Saudi Arabia](https://hespah.com/en/blog/professional-certifications-saudi) and [the CME-1B exam guide](https://hespah.com/en/blog/cme-1b-guide). Official sources ---------------- - [CME-5B exam page · The Financial Academy](https://fa.gov.sa/Services/ExamDetails/ef3faee3-a761-4327-958c-af0d00b4dd32) - [Guideline for the Authority's qualification examinations · Capital Market Authority](https://cma.gov.sa/AboutCMA/CME/Documents/CMEExamsGuidelineAR.pdf) - [Professional examinations policy · The Financial Academy](https://fa.gov.sa/exams-policies) - Official workbook "Saudi Capital Market Rules and Regulations – Corporate Finance", published by the Chartered Institute. 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