Financial Competence Assessment Inventory

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·       The FCAI is a comprehensive measure which assesses a broad range of financial skills. 

·        By providing scores for six components of financial competence (i.e., everyday financial abilities, financial judgment, estate management, debt management, and support resources) the FCAI provides a means of examining individual profiles of relative strengths and weaknesses in financial abilities, whereas summary score measures do not.

·        Because the FCAI can be used to assess six different components of financial competence this allows for the identification of specific financial competence profiles and therefore provides important information for identifying 'the least restrictive alternative' when financial competence is in question.

·        As well as assessing the functional components of financial competence, some FCAI items can be recoded to assess the main processes involved in financial competence, i.e., 'understanding,' 'appreciation,' 'reasoning,' and 'expressing a choice'. 

·        The FCAI does not advocate the use of cut off scores, that is, the measure was not developed with a view to a  'competence threshold’. Instead, the FCAI is used to provide a profile of strengths and weaknesses in the six different components of financial competence to facilitate appreciation of the 'least restrictive alternative'.

·        Because experts believe that setting time limits for completing an assessment is biasing against some people, the FCAI is untimed.