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AFP Exam 2 Cheat Sheet — CSI Applied Financial Planning

High-yield CSI AFP Exam 2 cheat sheet covering topic weights, retirement-led case triage, follow-through planning, tax, estate, insurance, conduct, and recommendation traps.

Use this AFP Exam 2 Cheat Sheet after the chapter map is familiar. AFP Exam 2 is the later follow-through stage in the CSI applied-planning path: it expects you to update recommendations when client facts, retirement timing, tax effects, estate needs, risk exposure, conduct issues, or implementation constraints change.

Route fit

If your study goal is…Better route
early advisory workflow, discovery, and client relationship basicsPFSA
broad Canadian planning foundations and topic vocabularyFP I
deeper planning development and cross-topic mechanicsFP II
first applied-planning recommendation judgmentAFP Exam 1
later follow-through case integrationAFP Exam 2

Topic weights

AFP Exam 2 topicWeightFast exam instinct
Professional Conduct and Regulatory Compliance10%the updated recommendation must remain ethical, disclosed, documented, and role-appropriate
Client Relationship and Practice Management7%communication and engagement quality control the follow-through file
Asset and Liability Management13%cash flow, borrowing, debt, real estate, and capacity decide feasibility
Risk Management and Insurance12%coverage must still match need after the client facts change
Investment Planning15%portfolio fit depends on objective, account, risk, holdings, leverage, and review
Tax Planning14%after-tax consequences often decide between plausible follow-up actions
Retirement Planning19%the heaviest area; income timing, benefits, accounts, tax, and succession must work together
Estate Planning10%documents, liquidity, beneficiaries, business ownership, and tax affect implementation

Follow-through case triage

StepWhat to ask before choosing an answer
Identify what changedWhich fact is new, stale, missing, or now more important?
Recheck the old planDoes the prior recommendation still fit the updated facts?
Find the retirement effectDoes the change alter retirement timing, income, tax, benefits, or survivor needs?
Check implementationCan the client carry out the next step with current liquidity, documents, and authority?
Check conductIs disclosure, consent, confidentiality, referral, complaint, or role scope now relevant?
Document and reviewWould the file explain why the recommendation changed or stayed the same?

High-yield planning cues

Stem cueStronger response
retirement date or income target changesupdate projections, account sequencing, and tax impact before recommending
business ownership appearscheck succession, valuation, liquidity, estate, and tax consequences
debt or real estate pressure appearstest cash-flow feasibility before adding long-term commitments
insurance need changesrevisit exposure, product fit, ownership, beneficiary, tax, and affordability
estate documents or beneficiaries appearcheck whether documents, liquidity, and family intent still align
client wants to proceed quicklyconfirm updated facts, explain trade-offs, and document understanding
referral or complaint issue appearshandle conduct before treating the technical strategy as ready

Common traps

  • treating AFP Exam 2 like a simple retake of AFP Exam 1
  • underweighting retirement planning even though it is the largest weighted topic
  • keeping the old recommendation when the updated case facts no longer support it
  • identifying the topic correctly but missing the follow-through sequence
  • ignoring tax, estate, insurance, debt, or business effects because the visible issue looks narrow
  • choosing the quickest answer instead of the one that keeps the client file defensible

Final review checklist

Before answering an AFP Exam 2 scenario, ask:

  1. What changed since the earlier planning point?
  2. Does the prior recommendation still fit?
  3. What retirement, tax, liquidity, estate, insurance, or business effect follows?
  4. What fact is missing before the next recommendation?
  5. What conduct or documentation issue affects the file?
  6. What follow-through step keeps the plan defensible?

Practice this exam

Use this free guide for review, then Start AFP Exam 2 Practice on Finance Prep for timed questions, topic drills, and detailed explanations.

Revised on Friday, May 29, 2026