FSCA RE5 Scenario Practice Guide
Apply a repeatable method to FSCA RE5 role, conduct, records, FIC Act, complaint, supervision, and debarment scenarios.
Six-step decision method
flowchart LR
A[Identify the actor] --> B[Name the regulated activity]
B --> C[Locate the process stage]
C --> D[Extract the controlling facts]
D --> E[Apply the narrow rule or duty]
E --> F[Choose the supported action or consequence]
1. Identify the actor
Representative, FSP, key individual, compliance officer, FSCA, Ombud, and Tribunal powers are not interchangeable. Classify the actor before applying a duty.
2. Name the regulated activity
Decide whether the facts concern advice, an intermediary service, direct marketing, record keeping, complaint handling, supervision, licence maintenance, or debarment.
3. Locate the process stage
An intended action, completed action, notice, response, decision, and reconsideration application require different next steps. Do not answer a notice-stage question with the final consequence.
4. Extract the controlling facts
Keep licence category, client information, authority, service, product, disclosure, record, deadline, supervision status, and procedural facts. Ignore ornamental details.
5. Apply the narrow rule or duty
Use the rule that governs this actor and stage. Do not import a nearby but different mechanism merely because it sounds more protective.
6. Choose the supported action or consequence
The best option should solve the stated problem without assuming missing authority or skipping a safeguard.
Common scenario families
| Scenario | First classification | Decisive evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Client receives a recommendation | Advice and suitability | Client need, information gathered, product basis, disclosures, and advice record |
| Representative acts outside a category | Licence and authority | FSP licence, representative mandate, category, condition, and escalation |
| Marketing or disclosure is incomplete | Conduct | Audience, material fact, timing, cost, conflict, and likely client understanding |
| Record cannot be produced | Record keeping | Source, record type, trigger date, holder, accessibility, and reproducibility |
| Suspicious activity appears | FIC Act control | Actor, risk facts, internal process, authorised reporting route, and confidentiality |
| Client escalates a complaint | Complaint forum | Internal stage, financial service, authorisation status, jurisdiction, and response |
| Person acts under supervision | Competence and supervision | Appointment, outstanding requirement, written agreement, oversight, and client disclosure |
| Former representative faces debarment | Ground and fair process | When the ground occurred and became known, cessation date, notice, response, and decision |
Read the evidence before judging the action
A licence, appointment record, client email and internal approval can establish different facts. Read each document for its author, date, scope and status. A proposed change is not an effective change, and an internal approval does not by itself expand statutory authority.
For example, suppose an FSP can provide advice and intermediary services for a product, but the representative’s appointment covers intermediary services only. A client asks that representative to recommend a suitable option. The broad FSP licence does not resolve the narrower appointment limit. Identify the requested service before deciding whether the representative may provide it.
For a numerical problem, identify what belongs in the calculation before doing arithmetic. A client-ledger total can match the bank balance while amounts are assigned to the wrong clients. A percentage can help identify an ownership relationship without proving every form of control.
Work through Select TWO exercises
Treat each option as a separate claim about the same case. Two choices can both sound prudent without both answering the question. Identify what the facts support, what the applicable rule requires, and what depends on an unstated assumption. Do not rely on one selected option to make the other true.
These exercises are an additional app learning format. The official RE5 examination and our free practice exam use single-answer questions.
Handling close answer choices
- Prefer the option assigned to the correct actor.
- Prefer the step appropriate to the current procedural stage.
- Prefer an action supported by stated authority and evidence.
- Reject an option that skips client protection or procedural fairness.
- Reject an option that assumes an unstated licence category, deadline, exemption, or power.
Use the cheat sheet while learning the method, then remove it and repeat with unseen questions.