CSAA exam preparation: study modules
Exam-focused notes, worked cases and tough scenario exams on the Shari'ah, governance and auditing standards for the CSAA
Advanced · 40 hours · 40 lessons · Language: English and Arabic · ID: IFS-COU-0056
No expiry
This course is ifSPACE's dedicated preparation for the Certified Shari'ah Adviser and Auditor (CSAA). The Certified Shari'ah Adviser and Auditor (CSAA) is AAOIFI's professional qualification for Shari'ah advisers and Shari'ah auditors. AAOIFI's syllabus weights the exam at about 60% Shari'ah standards, 20% governance standards and 20% auditing standards. AAOIFI has announced a restructuring of the qualification into separate adviser and auditor routes; this program prepares you for the knowledge both routes examine.
Its ten modules cover shari'ah fundamentals for advisers and auditors: riba, gharar, possession and combined contracts; trade-based financing: murabahah, tawarruq, salam and istisna'a; ijarah, agency and banking services; partnerships, mudarabah, investment accounts and profit distribution; options, promises, guarantees, debts and hedging; capital markets, sukuk, takaful, zakah and waqf; governance standards: the Shari'ah supervisory board and its decisions; governance standards: the compliance function, non-compliance risk and internal Shari'ah audit; auditing standards: the external Shari'ah audit engagement and evidence; shari'ah review procedures, reporting and professional ethics. Each module has exam notes that set out the key rules, conditions, distinctions and the points most often misapplied; three worked scenarios analysed step by step; a slide deck; and a scenario quiz of ten questions with full explanations in English and Arabic.
The course ends with a final mock exam of 100 questions in 150 minutes, drawn from a bank of 200. Every exam on this program follows the same demanding pattern: 70% scenario questions, each a realistic case that asks for the ruling or treatment and the reason for it; 20% knowledge checks on precise rules, conditions and distinctions; and 10% rapid true/false or permissible/impermissible judgements.
This program is independent preparation material written by ifSPACE. ifSPACE is not AAOIFI and is not an AAOIFI-authorised training provider, and the program is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by AAOIFI. Completing it does not confer any AAOIFI qualification. All questions are written by ifSPACE; they are not official AAOIFI exam questions and do not reproduce them. AAOIFI may change a qualification's structure, modules and exam format, so check AAOIFI's current requirements before you register. Candidates register for and sit the CSAA exam directly with AAOIFI.
What you will learn
- Apply the AAOIFI Shari'ah standards to financing, investment, banking-service, capital-market, takaful, zakah and waqf transactions as an adviser and auditor.
- Identify Shari'ah breaches in contracts, product terms and executed transactions, and determine the correct treatment, including income purification.
- Apply the AAOIFI governance standards on the Shari'ah supervisory board, the compliance function and internal Shari'ah audit.
- Plan and perform Shari'ah audit and review engagements, gather evidence and form and report an opinion under the AAOIFI auditing standards.
- Answer exam-style scenario questions under time pressure, weighted as AAOIFI weights the CSAA syllabus.
Syllabus
1.Shari'ah fundamentals for advisers and auditors: riba, gharar, possession and combined contracts
- Exam notes: Shari'ah fundamentals for advisers and auditors: riba, gharar, possession and combined contracts40 min
- Worked scenarios: Shari'ah fundamentals for advisers and auditors: riba, gharar, possession and combined contracts30 min
- Module 1 presentation15 min
- Module 1 scenario quiz25 min
2.Trade-based financing: murabahah, tawarruq, salam and istisna'a
- Exam notes: Trade-based financing: murabahah, tawarruq, salam and istisna'a40 min
- Worked scenarios: Trade-based financing: murabahah, tawarruq, salam and istisna'a30 min
- Module 2 presentation15 min
- Module 2 scenario quiz25 min
3.Ijarah, agency and banking services
- Exam notes: Ijarah, agency and banking services40 min
- Worked scenarios: Ijarah, agency and banking services30 min
- Module 3 presentation15 min
- Module 3 scenario quiz25 min
4.Partnerships, mudarabah, investment accounts and profit distribution
- Exam notes: Partnerships, mudarabah, investment accounts and profit distribution40 min
- Worked scenarios: Partnerships, mudarabah, investment accounts and profit distribution30 min
- Module 4 presentation15 min
- Module 4 scenario quiz25 min
5.Options, promises, guarantees, debts and hedging
- Exam notes: Options, promises, guarantees, debts and hedging40 min
- Worked scenarios: Options, promises, guarantees, debts and hedging30 min
- Module 5 presentation15 min
- Module 5 scenario quiz25 min
6.Capital markets, sukuk, takaful, zakah and waqf
- Exam notes: Capital markets, sukuk, takaful, zakah and waqf40 min
- Worked scenarios: Capital markets, sukuk, takaful, zakah and waqf30 min
- Module 6 presentation15 min
- Module 6 scenario quiz25 min
7.Governance standards: the Shari'ah supervisory board and its decisions
- Exam notes: Governance standards: the Shari'ah supervisory board and its decisions40 min
- Worked scenarios: Governance standards: the Shari'ah supervisory board and its decisions30 min
- Module 7 presentation15 min
- Module 7 scenario quiz25 min
8.Governance standards: the compliance function, non-compliance risk and internal Shari'ah audit
- Exam notes: Governance standards: the compliance function, non-compliance risk and internal Shari'ah audit40 min
- Worked scenarios: Governance standards: the compliance function, non-compliance risk and internal Shari'ah audit30 min
- Module 8 presentation15 min
- Module 8 scenario quiz25 min
9.Auditing standards: the external Shari'ah audit engagement and evidence
- Exam notes: Auditing standards: the external Shari'ah audit engagement and evidence40 min
- Worked scenarios: Auditing standards: the external Shari'ah audit engagement and evidence30 min
- Module 9 presentation15 min
- Module 9 scenario quiz25 min
10.Shari'ah review procedures, reporting and professional ethics
- Exam notes: Shari'ah review procedures, reporting and professional ethics40 min
- Worked scenarios: Shari'ah review procedures, reporting and professional ethics30 min
- Module 10 presentation15 min
- Module 10 scenario quiz25 min