Snapshot
Exact test matrix, scoring sequence, eligibility, current dates, relevant-experience categories and accommodations.
Module status
- •Track: Competition profile
- •Last verified: 2026-07-31
- •Scope: Independent competition training; official sources always prevail.
Legally binding frame
EPSO/AD/428/26 is an open competition for administrators at grade AD 7 in the field of audit. The Notice of Competition was published in Official Journal C/2026/1979 on 14 April 2026. It and its annexes form the legally binding framework. EPSOHQ is an independent training provider; the notice and candidate communications always prevail.
The reserve-list target is 448 successful candidates. Inclusion on the reserve list creates no right to recruitment. Recruiting services may later interview listed candidates for posts, typically in Brussels, Luxembourg or Strasbourg.
Current operational status
The application period ran from 14 April to 19 May 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time. EPSO reports 7,112 candidates. The competition is ongoing. The current competition page gives an indicative testing period of the end of September 2026. EPSO's 29 July update says candidates will sit all tests on one day. Candidate invitations and account messages control the exact date and technical instructions.
Supporting documents other than the identity document must be uploaded by 30 September 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time. Treat that deadline as independent from test preparation.
Exact test matrix
| Test | Language | Questions | Duration | Score | Pass rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal reasoning | Language 1 | 20 | 35 minutes | 0–20 | 10/20 |
| Numerical reasoning | Language 1 | 10 | 20 minutes | 0–10 | Combined with abstract: 10/20 |
| Abstract reasoning | Language 1 | 10 | 10 minutes | 0–10 | Combined with numerical: 10/20 |
| Field-related MCQ | Language 2 | 30 | 40 minutes | 0–30 | 15/30 and one of the highest scores |
| EUFTE | Language 2 | — | 40 minutes | 0–10 | 5/10 |
The field-related test uses multiple-choice questions. EPSO's specialist-test guidance describes four answer options with one correct answer. Training sessions therefore use four options and a 40-minute clock for 30 questions.
Completion and scoring sequence
All candidates invited to testing must sit and complete every required test. This is not a sequence of separate invitations. The processing of scripts is sequential:
- EPSO scores reasoning tests for candidates who completed all required tests.
- Only reasoning-pass candidates have the field-related MCQ scored.
- Candidates who pass the field threshold are ranked by that score.
- EUFTE scoring and eligibility checking run in parallel for a limited number taken from the top of that ranking.
- That limited number will in principle not exceed 1.5 times 448, or 672, but may increase to include equal scores.
Test results are notified only at the end of the competition, regardless of how far a candidate's scripts were processed.
Language rules
Language 1 requires at least C1 in one official EU language. Language 2 requires at least B2 in a different official EU language. The minimum applies separately to listening, reading, spoken interaction, spoken production and writing. Reasoning is taken in Language 1. Field MCQ and EUFTE are taken in Language 2.
EPSOHQ's audit field bank is currently English. Reasoning availability varies by language in the platform. Verify pool availability before relying on it for a full mock in a chosen Language 1.
Education and experience routes
Candidates had to meet one route by the application deadline:
| University studies | Relevant post-diploma experience | Audit experience within total |
|---|---|---|
| At least 3 years | At least 7 years | At least 4 years |
| At least 4 years | At least 6 years | At least 4 years |
| At least 5 years | At least 5 years | At least 4 years |
Relevant experience may consist of one or more of the following eleven categories:
- Audit work described in Annex II.
- Accounting or financial-resource management, including budgeting.
- Procurement or grant procedures.
- Internal-control design or assessment; anti-fraud measures; fraud prevention or investigation; risk management.
- Banking, financial analysis or investment management.
- Statistical analysis, actuarial assessment, mathematical modelling or data analytics.
- IT strategy and governance, compliance, regulatory framework, infrastructure and operations, AI, application development, cybersecurity, or data and information management.
- Taxation or customs.
- Design, management, implementation, oversight or evaluation of projects or programmes funded by national, EU or international financial institutions and organisations in the policy areas listed in the notice.
- Consulting within the remit of those activities.
- Practising law.
The four-year audit minimum remains mandatory even when other relevant categories establish the rest of the total.
Reasonable accommodations
Candidates whose disability or medical condition may affect testing had to indicate it in the application and follow EPSO's reasonable-accommodation procedure. EPSO decides requests after examining the request and supporting documents. Training timing should use the candidate's granted conditions, not the standard clock, when applicable.
Exam strategy
- •Train reasoning to clear both thresholds, but do not confuse pass marks with ranking scores.
- •Give the field MCQ the greatest subject-matter weight: it determines ranking.
- •Complete 30-question field mocks in exactly 40 minutes: 80 seconds per question.
- •Practise EUFTE as a documentation-based communication exercise, not a factual audit essay.
- •Keep documents and qualification evidence as a separate workstream.