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Hong KongCan you bring a calculator to HKSI Paper 1? What goes to the desk, and what does not
Paper 1 is closed book, so notes, the Ordinance, the SFC codes and the study manual all stay outside. On calculators, check the current HKSI Examination Handbook - but plan to need nothing, because a regulation syllabus of nine topics gives you essentially no arithmetic to do in 90 minutes.
This question comes up more than it should, and the reason is that people are pattern-matching from other finance exams. Plenty of them are numerical and hand you a permitted-calculator list two pages long. Paper 1 is not that exam. It is a regulation paper, and the honest answer to "what should I bring" is close to nothing.
The short version
- Exam type
- Closed book, computer-based, 60 questions in 90 minutes
- Notes, summaries, flashcards
- Not permitted
- Ordinance text or SFC codes
- Not permitted
- HKSI study manual
- Not permitted
- Phone, smartwatch, tablet
- Not permitted at the desk
- Calculator
- Check the current HKSI Examination Handbook - and see below on why you almost certainly will not want one
- Identity document
- Required, and it must match your enrolment
- Everything else
- Stored under the centre's own procedures
Why the calculator question barely matters
Look at what the syllabus actually covers. Nine topics: the regulatory overview, Hong Kong law and the Companies Ordinance, the Securities and Futures Ordinance Part by Part, licensing and subsidiary legislation, business conduct, business operations, participating in the exchanges, accessing public capital, and market misconduct. There is no valuation in there. No yield, no option pricing, no discounting.
Numbers appear in the syllabus as thresholds and requirements - capital, records, reporting - and the questions about them are recall questions. Which requirement applies, to whom, and in what circumstances. Nothing you would reach for a calculator to answer. If a question ever needs arithmetic, expect it to be arithmetic you can do in your head faster than you could pick up a device.
HKSI publishes the list of permitted items in its Examination Handbook and in your admission details. Those documents are short, free and current, and they override anything written by a study provider including us. Read them once when you book, and again the week before.
What to actually take with you
| Item | Take it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your identity document | Yes - this is the one that matters | It must match the name on your enrolment exactly |
| Your admission details | Yes | Confirms centre, time, paper and language |
| Water and something to eat | Bring it, expect to leave it in storage | For before and after, not the desk |
| A watch | Leave it, especially if it is smart | There is a clock, and a smartwatch is a conduct problem |
| Your phone | Powered off, in storage | Off, not silent |
| Notes for last-minute revision | Only for the journey | They go into storage before you sit |
| Medication or a medical device | Yes, and tell HKSI in advance | Arrangements are made at enrolment, not at the door |
| A jumper | Yes | Exam rooms are air-conditioned and you cannot move seats |
The last-minute revision sheet, and why to bring one anyway
It will not go into the room with you. Bring it regardless. The twenty minutes in the lobby before check-in are the last chance you get, and a single page of the things you keep confusing is worth more then than any amount of broad revision. Which body, which code, which Part. Nothing else.
Then hand it over with your bag and stop thinking about it. Reading a summary sheet in a corridor five minutes before check-in raises anxiety without raising your score, and anxiety costs you more on pacing than a forgotten detail costs you on marks.
Scratch paper and on-screen tools
Whether the centre supplies scratch paper, and what on-screen tools the exam software gives you, are matters for HKSI and the centre. Assume the software lets you move between questions and flag ones to revisit, since that is standard for computer-based professional exams and it is how the pacing advice on this site is written. Confirm the specifics in the handbook rather than taking our word for it, and treat anything you are handed as the centre's property to be returned.
What genuinely helps on the day
Here is the opinion, and it runs against how much energy candidates put into this question: the permitted-items list has almost no bearing on whether you pass. Nobody has ever failed Paper 1 because they did not have a calculator. People fail because they could not tell the Fund Manager Code of Conduct from the Corporate Finance Adviser Code of Conduct under time pressure. Spend the worry budget there.
The two items that do change outcomes are your identity document and your arrival time. Get both right and everything else is administrative noise. The exam day walkthrough covers the sequence, and identification requirements covers the document.
If you need something the standard rules do not allow
Medication, a medical device, a specific seating need, extra time - these are handled through HKSI's own arrangements, requested at or around enrolment rather than negotiated with an invigilator on the morning. There is nothing awkward about asking, and the request is far easier to grant with notice. We cover the process in special arrangements and accessibility.
The concession: this is one of the least stressful examination environments in professional finance, precisely because the permitted list is so short. There is nothing to pack wrong. Bring the right document, arrive early, leave your bag with the staff, and sit down. The whole logistical burden is smaller than the anxiety it generates.
Common questions
Can I bring a calculator to HKSI Paper 1?
Check the current HKSI Examination Handbook, which is the authority on permitted items. In practice the question is close to academic: Paper 1 is a regulation syllabus with no valuation or pricing content, so there is almost nothing in 90 minutes that would need one.
Can I bring notes or the study manual into the exam?
No. Paper 1 is closed book. Your notes, the HKSI study manual, printed copies of the Ordinance and the SFC codes all stay outside the examination room with the rest of your belongings, under the centre's storage procedures.
Is there maths on HKSI Paper 1?
Essentially none. Numbers show up as regulatory thresholds and requirements, and the questions about them test recall rather than computation. Nothing in the nine topics resembles a calculation you would need a device to complete.
Can I wear a watch during the exam?
Leave it, particularly a smartwatch. Wearable devices are a conduct issue in supervised examinations generally, and the room has its own clock along with an on-screen timer. There is no advantage to wearing one and a real downside if it is questioned.
What if I need medication or a medical device with me?
Arrange it with HKSI in advance rather than on the day. Requests around medication, medical devices, seating and additional time go through the Institute's own process at or near enrolment, and giving notice makes them straightforward to accommodate.