Cappfinity Assessment: Tests, Results and How to Prepare
The Cappfinity assessment is a strengths-based online assessment that employers such as Deloitte, HSBC, the FCA, M&G and Aviva use to screen graduates and other early-careers applicants. Depending on the employer, it combines a situational strengths test with numerical, verbal or critical reasoning questions, and sometimes an immersive assessment, a job simulation or a recorded video interview.
This page explains what Cappfinity and these employers say about each part, how timing and results work, and how to prepare. Official facts and prep-site reports are labelled separately, because Cappfinity does not publish question counts or pass marks.
Cappfinity at a Glance
What is it?
An online assessment from Cappfinity that looks at your strengths: what you do well, what energises you and what you do often. Employers add reasoning tests and video stages to it.
Which tests?
The employer chooses. Common parts are a situational strengths test and a numerical test, plus verbal or critical reasoning, an immersive assessment, a job simulation or a video interview.
Is it timed?
No countdown on reasoning tests, but time usually counts. Cappfinity calls them “time-recorded, as distinct from time-limited”: you can take as long as you need, but your score combines accuracy and the time you take. Behavioural questions are untimed; written and video answers have time limits.
How long?
Employer estimates range from about 20 minutes for a set of online tests to about an hour for a job simulation. Your invitation is the final word.
Is there a pass mark?
None is published. Cappfinity's analytics include pass, consider and fail bands, but the cut-offs are not public. Many candidates get a strengths feedback report.
Can you practise?
Yes. Cappfinity has a free demo with example reasoning questions and a free Preparation Hub, and several employers run their own preparation hubs.
What Is the Cappfinity Assessment?
Cappfinity builds its assessments around strengths. Its Preparation Hub describes three things it looks at for each skill: Performance (how well you do something), Energy (how much it energises you) and Use (how often you do it). In Cappfinity's terms, a strength is something you do well, do often and enjoy.
The employers in this guide use it for graduate and other early-careers schemes, although Cappfinity also sells assessments for experienced, high-volume and leadership hiring. Deloitte, HSBC, the Financial Conduct Authority, M&G and Aviva all run candidate preparation hubs marked “Powered by Cappfinity”, and the law firm Shoosmiths describes its own Cappfinity strengths-based assessment. Some candidates and prep sites call it Capp.
Because each employer picks its own modules, and employers such as Deloitte and HSBC set the scenarios in their own workplace, two candidates can get quite different assessments. Prep sites name other employers too, but where an employer's own pages do not mention Cappfinity, this guide leaves them out.
Which Cappfinity Tests Can You Get?
These are the parts that Cappfinity's demo and Preparation Hub, and the employers above, describe. Your invitation or your employer's preparation hub tells you which ones you will get.
Part
What you do
Timing
Source
Situational strengths (behavioural)
Read a workplace scenario and put the possible responses in order, from what you would most likely do to what you would least likely do. Other behavioural items can ask you to pick one response, place yourself on a scale, sort responses into groups, or rate statements by how well you do something and how much you enjoy it.
Untimed
Cappfinity Preparation Hub and employers
Numerical reasoning
Answer workplace questions from a table or chart by picking one of five options, typing a number or dragging five items into order.
No time limit, but time usually counts towards your score
Cappfinity demo
Verbal reasoning
Five kinds of task: matching replies by communication style, filling gaps or ranking summaries, fixing spelling and grammar, ranking statements by tone, and true / false / can’t say questions.
No time limit, but time usually counts towards your score
Cappfinity demo
Critical reasoning
Judge four conclusions, arguments or assumptions about a short passage, across deductions, evidence, arguments, inferences and assumptions.
No time limit, but time usually counts towards your score
Cappfinity demo
Immersive assessment
A realistic storyline about the job that mixes behavioural and reasoning questions, with information such as graphs, data tables, audio or video.
Set by the employer (HSBC: untimed)
Employers (Deloitte, HSBC, FCA)
Job simulation
Work through tasks from the role by ranking, selecting, writing short answers and recording video answers.
Written and video answers have time limits
Employers (Deloitte, HSBC)
Video interview
Record answers to a few strengths-based questions, such as what you are good at, what energises you, or whether you prefer starting or finishing tasks.
Video answers usually have time limits to prepare and answer
Employers (M&G, Aviva; timing from HSBC and the FCA)
Cappfinity's Preparation Hub also lists diagrammatic reasoning and a Coding Potential assessment, which needs no programming experience. Of the employers above, the FCA's preparation hub includes diagrammatic reasoning in its practice tests.
Is the Cappfinity Assessment Timed?
Cappfinity's demo describes its reasoning tests as “time-recorded, as distinct from time-limited”. There is no countdown and you can take as long as you need on each question, but the demo says your overall score combines the accuracy of your answers with the time you take, so work as quickly as you can without losing accuracy. Cappfinity's Preparation Hub adds that your instructions will tell you when a test is time-recorded.
Employers say the same in their own words. Deloitte says its numerical and verbal reasoning modules are time factored, so the time you take affects your score, and Aviva says your time on each numerical question counts alongside accuracy. The exception is the FCA: a 2024 FCA video says its online assessment has no time limit and that time is not scored.
Behavioural modules, including the situational strengths test, are untimed. The exceptions are written and video answers, which have time limits for preparing and answering. Deloitte, for example, gives averages of about 35 minutes for its behavioural module and 12 minutes for its numerical module, and lets you take the modules in any order within a five-hour window.
The Cappfinity Numerical Test
In Cappfinity's demo, each numerical question gives you a short workplace scenario next to one exhibit: a table laid out like a spreadsheet or a simple bar chart. The exhibit usually contains more data than the question needs, so part of the task is finding the right numbers. You answer in one of three ways:
Pick: choose one of five options.
Type: enter a number in an answer box; the question tells you the unit (for example, pounds).
Rank: drag five items into the right order.
Cappfinity's hub and the Deloitte, HSBC and FCA preparation hubs say a calculator, pen and paper are allowed and recommended. HSBC and Deloitte list multiplication, division, decimals, percentages and ratios as the skills involved, and the demo questions ask for things like a rate per item, the share of a target still to reach and a discounted price.
What prep sites report: about 12 to 15 questions per test, and difficulty that changes with your answers. Cappfinity does not publish either, and its demo uses a fixed set of questions, so treat these as unconfirmed.
The Cappfinity Situational Strengths Test
Aviva calls this part the Situational Strengths test, and M&G lists situational strengths tests. In it, you read a short workplace scenario and put the possible responses in order, from the action you would most likely take to the one you would least likely take. Cappfinity's hub, Deloitte, HSBC and Shoosmiths all describe this ranking task.
Cappfinity's advice is to answer honestly and not to second-guess what the employer wants, and the FCA's preparation hub says of its practice assessment that there are no right or wrong answers. Real assessments are often set in the employer's own workplace: Deloitte says the scenarios in its practice version are not specific to Deloitte, unlike the real one, and M&G says you work through situations like those you might face in the role.
Is there a right answer? Cappfinity does not publish an answer key. Its G-Cloud listing includes pass, consider and fail data among its analytics, which suggests employers can sort results into bands. That is our reading, not a published rule.
What others report: prep-site samples show five responses per scenario. One prep site reports 16 scenarios in the version it attributes to EY, and a Deloitte candidate reported 22 in 2016. Cappfinity does not publish a count, and it likely varies by employer. Some prep sites also claim that the ranking test records how fast you answer; no official source confirms this. Cappfinity's hub does list a separate behavioural item where you rate statements by how well you do something and how much you enjoy it, but it does not say whether the situational strengths test uses it.
Cappfinity Stages by Employer
These employers describe their own processes on official pages or Cappfinity-powered preparation hubs. Processes change from year to year, so check your invitation. Checked 19 October 2026.
Deloitte UK (Graduate, BrightStart, Industrial Placement and Summer Vacation Scheme)
Application form
Immersive Online Assessment: a Welcome & Integrity module, then behavioural, numerical and verbal modules in any order. Entry Level Apprenticeships and some shorter programmes take one combined One Stop assessment instead of stages 2 and 3
Job Simulation with ranking, selection, written and video answers (about 50 to 60 minutes)
One or two online assessments, depending on market and programme: an Online Immersive Assessment with behavioural and reasoning questions (untimed, allow about 50 minutes) and/or a Job Simulation (allow about 30 minutes). Some programmes use a single Simulate assessment (about 60 minutes) instead
Assessment centre (an Experience Day, virtual or in person)
Verbal, numerical, critical reasoning and situational strengths tests (about 20 to 40 minutes depending on the test, 5 days to complete, can be split across sittings)
Strengths-based one-way video interview (within 5 days)
Many candidates receive an automatic feedback report after the online stage. Deloitte sends a strengths feedback report and says it is not the outcome of your assessment, and Shoosmiths sends a personalised strengths report.
No pass mark or percentile table is published. Claims online about a “good Cappfinity score” cannot be checked, and the employer decides how results are used alongside the rest of your application.
How to Prepare for the Cappfinity Assessment
Read your invitation and your employer's preparation hub. They tell you which modules you will get, the deadline and how adjustments work.
Try Cappfinity's own practice first. The Cappfinity demo has three example numerical questions and five each for verbal and critical reasoning (one per section), with no sign-up. The Cappfinity Preparation Hub has free behavioural and cognitive practice once you accept Cappfinity's privacy notice and user agreement.
For the numerical test, have a calculator, pen and paper ready. Practise finding the right figures in a busy table, check the unit and rounding before you type an answer, and work quickly as well as accurately, because time usually counts.
For the situational strengths test, answer as you would really act. Read every response before ranking, and think about what you would do in your first months in the job.
For video and strengths questions, prepare real examples. Think of times you did your best work, what energised you and what drained you, and practise saying them out loud within a time limit.
Prepare your setup. Cappfinity says most tests run on a phone but recommends a desktop or laptop and prefers Chrome. Choose a quiet place and a stable connection.
Follow the integrity rules. Deloitte, for example, starts with a Welcome & Integrity module and bans the use of AI tools in its online assessments.
If you need extra time or another adjustment, ask the employer before you start, using the contact details in your invitation.
Have a recorded video stage coming up?
Candidate Falcon's one-way video interview practice lets you rehearse timed, recorded answers and get feedback on what you said. It is general video interview practice, not a Cappfinity simulation, and Candidate Falcon is not affiliated with Cappfinity.
It is a strengths-based online assessment from Cappfinity, used by employers such as Deloitte, HSBC, the FCA, M&G and Aviva. Depending on the employer, it combines a situational strengths (behavioural) module with numerical, verbal or critical reasoning tests, and sometimes an immersive assessment, a job simulation or a recorded video interview. The employer chooses the modules.
Is the Cappfinity test timed?
There is usually no countdown, but time usually counts. Cappfinity’s demo describes its reasoning tests as time-recorded rather than time-limited: you can take as long as you need, but your overall score combines your accuracy with the time you take, so work quickly as well as accurately. Your instructions say whether a test is time-recorded. Deloitte and Aviva say time affects the score on their reasoning tests, while an FCA video from 2024 says time is not scored in its assessment. Behavioural modules are untimed, except written and video answers.
What is the Cappfinity Situational Strengths Test?
It is a behavioural module where you read a workplace scenario and put the possible responses in order, from the action you would most likely take to the one you would least likely take. Cappfinity asks you to answer honestly rather than guess what the employer wants. Cappfinity does not publish how many scenarios or responses there are: prep-site samples show five responses per scenario, one prep site reports 16 scenarios in the version it attributes to EY, and a Deloitte candidate reported 22 in 2016.
Can I use a calculator in the Cappfinity numerical test?
Yes. Cappfinity’s Preparation Hub and the Deloitte, HSBC and FCA preparation hubs say a calculator, pen and paper are allowed and recommended. The demo questions cover percentages, rates and discounts read from tables and charts.
How long does the Cappfinity assessment take?
It depends on the employer. Deloitte gives averages of about 35 minutes for its behavioural module and 12 minutes for its numerical module, the FCA about 40 to 50 minutes for its online assessment, HSBC about 50 minutes for its immersive assessment and M&G about 20 to 40 minutes per test. Any time stated in your invitation takes precedence.
Is there a pass mark for Cappfinity?
No pass mark is published. Cappfinity’s G-Cloud listing includes pass, consider and fail data among its analytics, which suggests employers can sort results into bands, but the cut-offs are not public. Many candidates receive an automatic strengths feedback report, and Deloitte says its report is not the outcome of your assessment.
How can I practise for the Cappfinity assessment?
Start with Cappfinity’s free demo, which has three example numerical questions and five each for verbal and critical reasoning (one per section), with no sign-up. The Cappfinity Preparation Hub has free behavioural and cognitive practice once you accept Cappfinity’s privacy notice and user agreement. If your employer has its own preparation hub, use that too, because it describes the modules you will actually get.
Can I take the Cappfinity assessment on my phone?
Cappfinity says most of its tests run on a phone, but it recommends a desktop or laptop and prefers Chrome. HSBC recommends a laptop or tablet rather than a phone for its online assessments, which include graphs, data tables and audio or video.
