The Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and other similar CAS policies play an important part in helping protect the integrity of the CAS certification process and ensure that no candidate is receiving an unfair advantage. Once you finish your exam it is very tempting to want to immediately discuss it with others. However, all candidates agree to abide by the NDA when they sit for an exam, so it is important to understand how to comply with the NDA.

When it comes to the NDA, the same rules apply whether you are talking in person to a coworker or posting on an online forum such as Reddit or Discord. It does not matter if it is one day into the exam window or a week after results, the NDA applies consistently year-round.

Generally, disclosure of any of the contents of an exam is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of the CAS. For example, a statement such as “the K-means clustering question was very difficult” could be viewed by CAS as a violation of the NDA. Other examples of prohibited disclosure could look like the following: “To solve the Time Series question, I…” or “We had to construct much larger triangles than I expected.”

While exam study groups can be very beneficial while studying for any of the CAS exams, such groups should avoid discussing or reviewing any examination-related content unless that content has been made publicly available by the CAS like past Examiner’s Reports.

If you encounter individuals or groups that may be disclosing unauthorized CAS exam content, you should cease all participation with those individuals or groups and immediately notify CAS. Even if you do not personally further divulge the information, merely receiving the unauthorized disclosures or knowingly allowing other candidates to disclose the unauthorized content could be deemed by CAS a violation of the NDA or other applicable CAS policies.

When it comes to the NDA, it is important to distinguish what is generally considered confidential exam content. The Syllabus of Basic Education, individual Exam Content Outlines, or other publicly available information released by the CAS are generally not considered confidential exam content. In the event some information might have been available to candidates historically but has since stopped being released by the CAS, it should be presumed that the information is no longer permitted to be discussed. However, nothing in the NDA prohibits discussion of specific information that was provided in the syllabus of a CAS exam.

The rigorous CAS exam process is an integral part of the reputation of the actuarial profession and therefore exam misconduct, including violations of the NDA, are taken very seriously by the CAS. In addition to any legal remedies available for breach of contract and intellectual property infringement damages resulting from the unauthorized disclosure of CAS exam content, candidates who violate the NDA terms could be subject to the CAS Examination Discipline Policy. Additionally, the matter may be referred to the CAS Discipline Committee for further inquiry. Associate members could also be referred to the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline.

To ensure fairness and protect the integrity of CAS exams, misconduct should be reported through the online form or by emailing misconduct@casact.org. CAS members are obligated to report misconduct per the Code of Professional Conduct.

Additional questions related to the NDA can be directed to casexams@casact.org.