International Compliance Association  Bewertungen 

I recently completed the ICA Diploma in Governance, Risk and Compliance, and unfortunately, I do not believe the course represents value for money.

Having paid over £5,000 for this qualification, I expected a significantly higher standard of teaching, learning materials and overall student experience.

Much of the course material appeared to be recycled, with tutorials relying on outdated slideshow presentations. Considering it is 2026, I would have expected a far more modern, engaging and interactive learning experience, particularly from an internationally recognised professional association.

In total, the course provided approximately nine hours of teaching and five hours of group tutorials. For a qualification costing over £5,000, I find this extremely disappointing.

However, my biggest concern relates to the assessment process and how student grievances were handled.

During one assignment, a lecturer explicitly instructed students to answer a question based on their own professional sector rather than the sector specified in the case study. Students followed this guidance in good faith, only to be subsequently marked down for doing so.

I appreciate that mistakes happen, but the handling of this situation was particularly poor.

Firstly, a session intended to support students with their next assignment was instead used to discuss the marking error. This meant we lost valuable teaching time and missed out on important guidance for our upcoming assessment.

Secondly, during discussions about the marking process, significant inconsistencies became apparent. For example, some students were penalised for using diagrams, while others were not. This raises serious questions about the consistency and fairness of the marking process.

Following a reassessment of my assignment, my grade increased by just one mark. I find it difficult to believe that following incorrect guidance, which fundamentally changed how an entire question was approached, resulted in a difference of only one mark.

To make matters worse, when I requested a marking rubric or a more detailed breakdown of how marks were awarded, I was informed that assessments are marked holistically and that this is not how ICA operates.

While I understand the principle of holistic marking, I struggle to see how students can meaningfully challenge an assessment when they are not provided with sufficient transparency to identify where marks were lost. This is particularly concerning when students are expected to identify specific grounds for an appeal.

Perhaps most disappointing was the attitude towards students who raised legitimate concerns. Despite the incorrect guidance having originated from ICA, some lecturers appeared agitated and defensive when questioned, responding in a manner that I felt was unnecessarily dismissive and unprofessional.

Many students undertaking this qualification are working professionals who have invested significant amounts of money and dedicated their limited time outside of work and family commitments to further their education and professional development.

They deserve to have their concerns treated seriously and respectfully, particularly when those concerns arise from errors made by the institution itself.

There is also a certain irony in an organisation delivering a qualification in governance, risk and compliance demonstrating what I consider to be shortcomings in accountability, transparency, quality assurance and the handling of grievances.

I undertook this qualification because of ICA’s reputation and the value I believed it would add to my professional development. Unfortunately, the overall experience has fallen well short of my expectations.

I am extremely disappointed, particularly given the financial investment involved, and intend to escalate my concerns further.

Based on my experience, I would struggle to recommend this course to other professionals considering investing their own money in the qualification.

Very Bad service from the team. I had missed the duration by 2 days for the exam. I had requested them for an extension of the course for taking the exam by making additional payment. They told it is not possible and i have to enroll again by paying the entire fees

I recently completed the ICA Transaction Monitoring Essential course, and unfortunately, I was very disappointed with the experience.

The course lasted only three hours and cost €330, which in my opinion is far too expensive for the amount and quality of content provided. I expected much more depth, practical examples, and useful insights, but the course felt basic and did not meet my expectations.

Overall, I do not feel that it was worth the money. I would not recommend this course to anyone looking for real value or practical knowledge in transaction monitoring.

Sarina was excellent in answering my query, providing clear guidance and direction throughout. 5 stars for Sarina, an absolute asset to the team. Thank you again. Best wishes.

Awful quality of work of the ICA service desk

My review was deleted for some unknown reason, but here it is again - no need to embellish your reputation!

I contacted the ICA service desk via online form on 31st of July 2025, and a more unprofessional and unskilled attitude is hard to imagine. A few years ago I studied on the AML course and corresponded with the customer support desk and I have never encountered such poor quality as now. The person who answers my messages does not read them at all, although several times I paid his/her attention to this, not to mention that he/she is unable to write their name in the signature as the ICA employees always did. The answers are generic and illogical, the information is incorrect, the issues raised in my enquiry have not been addressed – it looks like I am in correspondence with a bot. My request to escalate the issue is being ignored.
I wanted to enroll in a few more courses provided by ICA this year but after what is happening – no way!
ICA claims to have a high standard of quality in AML/CFT area, but if they are not even able to hire competent staff to work directly with customers, then what quality of service can we talk about?!
If ICA staff members read these reviews, check the whole thread "ICA: 00202204" – Are the answers complete, correct, competent and relevant?! Do you want to receive such answers yourselves from "no name"?!
With this attitude you are losing customers!

EDITED: A senior level employee from ICA contacted me on 4th of August 2025 trying to explain how I should respond to her subordinates' incompetence, instead of teaching them how they should do their jobs. The totally wrong information provided, irrelevant and good for nothing answers from the customer service desk do not seem to bother her at all. If their senior employee behaves this way, it is no wonder then that so many people write about poor customer services at ICA.
The case is closed. The business with ICA is closed too.

amazing experience .. staff was very understanding and helpful.

I would like to share my positive experience with ICA, especially highlighting Emma’s outstanding service. She was extremely patient, attentive, and professional, taking the time to carefully explain everything and help me resolve my issue. Her support made the process smooth and stress-free. Thank you, Emma!

Reached out to ICA via live chat and an agent called George helped me. Super friendly, extended a deadline, eased my stress. 10/10 from George!

Dear ICA Team,
I would like to share my positive feedback about your services. The structure and content of your courses are highly practical and directly relevant to real-life work in compliance and risk management. The learning materials are clear, well-organised and up to date, which makes it easier to navigate complex regulatory topics and apply them in practice.

I also appreciate the flexibility of your online learning format and the way the assessments are designed to test not just theory, but understanding and judgement. The overall experience has been professional and supportive, and I would be happy to recommend ICA training to colleagues who wish to deepen their expertise in compliance, financial crime prevention and regulatory risk.

I have contacted to be answered my some question for course so I join live chat.
Wherein, I felt very good as service was very noble and humble.

Person Sarina has good manners so your organization should promote her as she may be a growth full candidate for your organization.

I signed up to the anti-corruption specialist course, and found some technical issues when it came to trying to sit the exam. I used the live chat and they rectified it within a couple of minutes and gave me an additional month to complete the course, as a courtesy. Very happy with my experience overall.

Honestly, avoid the ICA Advanced AML Certificate entirely. It's a massive scam and a huge waste of money, especially compared to ACAMS, which is infinitely better—the difference in quality is night and day. The course cost over €3,000, and the content is embarrassingly basic; you can literally Google superior information for free. It was just a couple of lessons with zero guidance on the two assessments, which I passed easily, proving the whole thing is a joke and definitely doesn't measure real expertise. On top of the low quality, the tutor, James, was actively rude and wouldn't even accept questions from students. But the worst part was the administration and their predatory policies: I asked for a simple 48-hour exam extension months in advance due to a mandatory business trip, they flat-out refused, and then tried to charge me a shocking €250 resit fee. That alone shows they care about nothing but milking money, not education or student support. I have took another certification with ACAMS and i have to say they are sooo much better, ICA is just a joke.

Emily was incredible!

I needed to get a certificate back as I needed it for evidence within an interview, but had no way to access my account.

I contact support and Emily was able to resolve this for me. Great service.

Inconsistent marking and no accountability taken by the ICA for clear and obvious marking errors. I urge anyone to avoid this organisation at all costs - there are much better qualifications like FRM, CFA, CAIA, ACA etc.

I had joined for ICA Certificate in Anti Money Laundering in July , but I could not complete it during the two month`s period. Today I contacted the Support Team , Emily, She helped me to reopen the course module and exam. Thanks for the great support!

I'm very sad, I've been suffering for 5 months to determine the assessment 2, I sent many emails too late to get a response from ICA contact center
up today, I'm still suffering, although I paid money for a new date for assessment 2 concerning the GRC Certificate

ORDER CONFIRMATION NO C-FE-7943-86f1-ab5f

until now not received any confirmation FOR MY ASSESSMENT NO 2

He fulfilled all my requests. He provided very fast support.

Today, while submitting my second certification exam, I encountered a problem with uploading my response document.
Please note that it was a Monday and I was already at work, feeling extremely tired and stressed.
As we all know, stress can sometimes play tricks on our minds.

An angel from above, in the form of Joshua from the customer support team, guided me through every step of the submission process and explained everything clearly and patiently.
He was calm, supportive and helped ease my anxiety.
ICA, please know that your customer support service, thanks to Joshua, truly saved someone’s day.

I am deeply grateful to Joshua and perhaps to the person behind that name :)

This is a reminder of the power of human connection.
I would choose a human over AI a thousand times.

Always good, always efficient, always friendly.