*IMPORTANT* CALCULATOR SETTINGS FOR UPCOMING CFP® CERTIFICATION EXAMS

    *IMPORTANT* CALCULATOR SETTINGS FOR UPCOMING CFP® CERTIFICATION EXAMS

    The CFP Board sets rules regarding materials allowed in the exam room, and will usually "clear" calculators. Proctors at exam testing centers are resetting all financial calculators back to original factory settings.

    As a result, any settings for compound interest and decimal settings are being deleted.

    One student reported, “Prometrics reset both of [my calculators] to factory settings before I entered the exam. It was quite a shock to see my calculator wasn’t the way I set it up when I turned it back on.”

    To solve this issue, we recommend you clear your calculator and practice the steps for resetting it back to the essential compound interest and decimal settings.

    Below are the directions to reset your HP financial calculator to the preferred settings when taking the CFP® exam:

    CLEARING YOUR FINANCIAL CALCULATOR

    HP10BII and HP10BII+

    • Press [ON]

    • Hold the first key from the left ([N]) and the first key from the right ([FV]) on the top row

    • Release all three keys at the same time

    • The calculator will go blank, and then display CORP HP 2000

    • The message will disappear and the calculator will display “ALL CLEARPress the [ON] key to clear the message


    HP17BII

    • Press and hold [CLR]

    • Press and hold the first key from the top left and the first key from the top right

    • Release all three keys at the same time

    • The calculator will display MEMORY LOST

    • Press [CLR] to clear the message


    HP12C

    • Press ON to turn off the calculator

    • Press and hold the { - }

    • Press and release ON

    • Release { - }

    • The screen will display “Pr Error”

    • Press {Enter} and the calculator will reset to the default settings, and the memory will be erased.


    RESTORING YOUR CALCULATOR SETTINGS

    Setting the Number of Decimals to Four


    HP 10BII and HP10BII+

    Keystrokes

    Display    

    [ORANGE- SHIFT] [DISP] 4

    0.0000

     
    HP 17BII

    Keystrokes

    Display

    [DSP]

    SELECT DISPLAY FORMAT

    [FIX]

    TYPE # DIGITS (0-11); PRESS [INPUT]

    4 [INPUT]

    0.0000


     HP 12C

    Keystrokes

    Display

    [f] 4

    0.0000

     Setting the Period of Compounding to One Per Year


    HP 10BII and HP10BII+

    Keystrokes

    Display

    1 [“ORANGE” shift] [P/YR] (NOTE – the [P/YR] key is the [PMT], not the [N] key

    0.0000

     
    HP 17BII

    Keystrokes

    Display

    [FIN]

    SELECT A MENU

    [TVM

    1 P/YR END MODE

    [OTHER]

    1 P/YR END MODE

    1 [P/YR]

    1 P/YR END MODE

    EXIT

    1 P/YR END MODE

     

    HP 12C

    The HP 12C is automatically set to one period per year


    Practice and memorize these steps before exam day. The last thing you want is to go to the exam and worry about figuring this out, so make sure you know how to do it before you go to the testing center!

    If you have questions about this or have important information about exam day procedures you feel other students should know about, please contact us at (877) 863-3009 or at info@dalton-education.com.

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