CertBALM®: Terms and Conditions
In the following Terms and Conditions, ALMA means the Asset and Liability Management Association Limited and the ACT means ACT (Administration) Limited. The Certificate in Banking and Asset Liability Management (CertBALM®) is a qualification governed and maintained by ALMA and accredited by the ACT.
1. Applying for the CertBALM® Course and Residential School
The CertBALM® course can be booked directly with ALMA by completing the Expression of Interest form available on the ALMA website or by sending an email application to info@ukalma.org.uk, including your full name, business and personal email address, the name of the organisation sponsoring you (if appropriate) and invoicing details. When you apply, your submission represents an offer to ALMA to purchase the CertBALM® course and Residential School (if you book for the March cohort). You will receive a confirmation from ALMA as to whether your application has been successful and ALMA will accept your offer by sending you an invoice.
If you book the March course, the Residential School is compulsory so, in addition to completing the assessments, you must attend to achieve the qualification. Rooms at the Residential venue are reserved by ALMA at a special rate but should be booked and paid for by the student or the sponsoring company directly with the venue. The ACT will provide students with details of the Residential School, and how to book accommodation, on the ‘welcome’ email sent out on the day the course starts. The bed and breakfast booking will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Residential School venue.
2. Student Membership of ALMA
Anyone enrolling to study the CertBALM® course will be offered student membership of ALMA, the fee for which is included in the online self-study and Residential School fee. Student members can attend meetings, courses and conferences organised by ALMA at member fee rates. If not already on the ALMA mailing list for the ALMA newsletter, students will be invited to join.
3. Assessment
Students must book their CertBALM® assessments with the ACT and all payments for assessments are made directly to the ACT. When you book and take an assessment, you agree to the ACT Terms and Conditions, Assessment Rules and Regulations Policy and Plagiarism and Collusion Policy. Please refer to the ACT Terms and conditions and the Assessment Rules and Regulations Policy and Plagiarism and Collusion Policy.
4. Prices and Sales Taxes/VAT
Sales taxes (VAT etc.) are charged at the applicable rate depending on the product and/or customer.
Notice of new pricing will be given in advance but ALMA and the ACT reserves the right to change prices listed without notice.
5. Payment
An invoice for the course fees will be issued once your application has been received. ALMA payment terms are 30 days from the date of the invoice. The invoice for individual bookings must be paid 6 weeks before the start date of the course.
If the invoice for the course is not paid by the start of the course, you will not be given access to the learning materials.
The course fees are invoiced by ALMA. The cost of accommodation for the Residential School is paid directly to the hotel.
The assessment fees are paid directly to the ACT on booking the Assessment.
6. ACT Study Site and ALMA Session Hub
From the course start date, you will be given access to the ACT Study Site. By using the site, you agree to the ACT’s Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to these terms, you cannot use the site.
Whilst we make every effort to keep changes to the site a minimum, ALMA and the ACT reserve the right to make any amendments to the Terms and Conditions at any time to reflect changes affecting our business, including but not limited to, changes in technology, payment methods and legal and regulatory requirements. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept any changes made to the terms and conditions.
CertBALM® study materials will only be made available to students on the course start date and not before. You will also have access from the course start date to the CertBALM Session Hub to access Zoom links and slides for all online sessions.
6.1 Ownership and Intellectual Property Rights
The Learning site is owned by the ACT. Except for the CertBALM® study materials, the content provided on the site together with all materials provided for student learning including design, software, code, graphics, text documents and audio are owned by the ACT. The CertBALM® study materials are owned by ALMA. Nothing in the CertBALM® study materials, and no other content in whole or in part, may be copied, reproduced, uploaded, posted, displayed or linked to in any way without the prior permission of ALMA and/or the ACT, as appropriate. Any such use is strictly prohibited and will constitute an infringement of ALMA and/or the ACT’s (as appropriate) intellectual property rights.
The ALMA Session Hub is owned by ALMA. Zoom links and slides should not be shared or copied.
6.2 Downloading your Study Materials
You may download your study materials from the Study Site before your licence expires to enable you to continue to study after your licence has expired. However, please note that the syllabus may change over time and if you download your materials you do so at your own risk because ALMA and the ACT shall not have any responsibility or liability whatsoever for any downloaded course materials that subsequently become out of date. You must not share the material with anyone else.
6.3 Mentoring Email Service
The mentoring email service is provided for private and non-commercial use and for the exchange of lawful, relevant, fair and appropriate information, feedback and comment. Any other use of the email is strictly prohibited. The mentoring email service can be found on the Learning Academy or by emailing askthementor@ukalma.org.uk.
We reserve the right not to respond to any emails that:
are considered likely to disrupt, provoke, attack or offend others
are racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit, abusive or otherwise objectionable
contain swear words or other language likely to offend
break the law or condone or encourage unlawful activity (which includes breach of copyright, defamation and contempt of court)
advertise products or services for profit or other gain
are seen to impersonate someone else
are written in anything other than English
The use of such comments may lead to account suspension or termination.
7. Special Requirements at the Residential School
The ACT and ALMA will make every effort to accommodate special requirements that have been notified in advance on the booking form.
7.1 Health and Safety at the Residential School
You must comply with all health and safety rules and regulations and any other reasonable security requirements that apply at the premises at which the Residential School is provided.
7.2 Behaviour at the Residential School
ALMA reserves the right to remove any delegate from a Residential School whose behaviour is deemed inappropriate by ALMA or its tutors. This would result in no refund of fees or other costs being paid.
7.3 Tutors
ALMA shall provide such tutors to present as it deems fit and shall be entitled at any time to substitute any tutor with any other person who, in ALMA’s sole discretion, it deems suitably qualified to present at the Residential School and the online teaching and revision sessions.
8. Invitation Letters
Should a student require an invitation letter from ALMA, it is able to be provided if full payment of the course fee has been received. ALMA is not able to act on behalf of a student and shall not be responsible for any costs incurred by failure to obtain a full visa.
9. Technology
Neither the ACT or ALMA warrants that the provision of any content online will always be available or be uninterrupted, timely or error free, that defects will be corrected or that such content is secure or free from bugs, viruses, errors and omissions.
10. Completion of the CertBALM®
You have four years, from the start date of your course, to complete the CertBALM® in its entirety. If, after this time, you have failed to complete part or all of the course, you will need to start (and pay for) the qualification again from the beginning and in its entirety. In addition, for each part of the CertBALM® (i.e. the Unit 2/3 exam, the Unit 4/5 exam and the Case Study) you may only attempt each of these a maximum of four times within the four year period.
11. Plagiarism and Collusion Policy / Assessment Rules and Regulation Policy
Please make sure you are familiar with the ACT’s Plagiarism and Collusion Policy and Assessment Rules and Regulation Policy which ALMA abides by for the CertBALM® qualification. Any breach of these policies will be investigated and may result in further action such as disqualification from the assessment, a warning, suspension from the CertBALM® for a fixed period or disqualification from the CertBALM® qualification in its entirety. The outcome of any investigation is final and cannot be appealed against.
12. Disqualification for use of AI
Use of generative AI, such as ChatGPT, CoPilot, Grammarly etc. is a serious breach of the Plagiarism and Collusion Policy and will be investigated. You may be asked to provide supporting evidence as part of an investigation. If a student is deemed to have used AI within the CertBALM® Case Study assessment, action may include a disqualification from the Case Study exam, a warning, suspension from the CertBALM® for a fixed period or potential disqualification from the CertBALM® qualification in its entirety. The outcome of any investigation is final and cannot be appealed against.
13. Cancellation
You may cancel the CertBALM® online course any time up until 6 weeks before the course start date and receive a full refund of the course fee. Thereafter, no refund will be given.
Refunds will be processed within 28 days of receiving your request via bank transfer to the original payer.
14. Assessment Deferral Requests
Assessment deferral requests are made to the ACT and must be completed no later than 10 working days before the assessment date and you will be booked onto the next assessment session. Deferral requests are subject to the ACT’s discretion and are chargeable.
15. Cancellation of the CertBALM® Residential School by ALMA
ALMA reserves the right to cancel a Residential School up to and including on the first day of the school in extreme circumstances. If ALMA should cancel a Residential School, ALMA will try to reschedule the Residential School and will inform students of dates and location.
Any travel costs incurred are entirely the delegate’s responsibility. Neither the ACT nor ALMA will accept any liability for the reimbursement of travel costs.
Refunds will be processed within 28 days of receiving your request via bank transfer to the original payer.
16. Change of Course and Substitutions
If you need to change to a different course or substitute your place on the CertBALM® course with another student from your organisation, you must notify ALMA via email. Any change of course or substitutions will incur an administration fee of £150 plus VAT. Notifications must be made to ALMA at least one month in advance of the course start date. Once you have registered and paid for the CertBALM® qualification, you must start within two years of the course you originally booked on to.
17. CertBALM® Alumni
Following successful completion of the CertBALM® qualification, the names of students will be published on the ALMA website, the ALMA newsletter and in the ALMA Conference brochures.
Updated: March 2026