Year: 2016

  • CIMA: The Gateway Route

    Here is another article from CIMA student Nkunde C. Mbong – this time her path to becoming CIMA qualified by taking the Masters gateway route. An accelerated path to success Desiring to start CIMA and being given an opportunity to go via an accelerated route (considering all the benefits of the CIMA and CGMA designation)…

  • Pass Your CIMA Exams First Time

    The Practice Tests Academy founder Justyna Wachulka-Chan explains, using her own experience on passing CIMA exams, how students can also pass their exams first time.  I bet you have often wondered what does it take to pass a CIMA exam on your first attempt?  The bad news is that there is no one-fits-all solution, BUT there…

  • CIMA MCS February 2017: Menteen

    CIMA have released the pre-seen materials for the upcoming MCS exam in February next year, this gives students the chances to prepare themselves to pass the exam firs time. The MCS exam combines the theory you have learnt from the E2, P2 and F2 objective tests and pulls it together in the form of a…

  • CIMA SCS February 2017: Evestar Reality

    The final set of pre-seen materials for the February 2017 sitting were released by CIMA this week as the SCS students get their hands on the Evestar case study scenario. It perhaps the closet thing to a Christmas present you will receive from CIMA! But nevertheless, those students who sitting case studies in February should…

  • CIMA OCS February 2017: Mavis Venderby

    CIMA released the pre-seen materials for the OCS February exam last Friday 9th December and the case study in question is called “Mavis Venderby”. You can find the official OCS pre-seen materials from CIMA here. I posted an article earlier this month on CIMA Case Study Advice: February 2017 that will give you some more pointers and…

  • Passing the CIMA E2 Exam!

    Passing the CIMA E2 Exam! Passing my E2 exam first time was a welcome relief after my experiences with failing the F2 exam a couple of times earlier this year. The E2 exam itself felt easier than I expected but this could be down to the fact I was really well prepared coupled with fact…

  • CIMA Case Study Advice: February 2017

    Passing the CIMA case studies are the toughest milestones in the CIMA qualification as it combines all of the theory you have learnt in the previous three papers into one BIG exam. They can be especially tough if you have spread your studies out over a longer period of time! Nevertheless, there are countless amounts…

  • CIMA E2: Company Culture

    Understanding company culture is part of the CIMA E2 syllabus and is an easy one for most people to relate (assuming you have some experience in the workplace). Culture is described as a combination of beliefs, values and standards of behaviour that are inherent in an organisation. Company Culture For example, you might work in…

  • The Week Ahead -28th November 2016

    The case studies are done and dusted for another three months! So now begins the anxious wait for the November OCS, MCS and SCS exam results in a few weeks. I would recommend the OCS and MCS students to start thinking about their next steps and what objective test that will take next. So if…

  • CIMA E2: Managing Change

    Syllabus area D of the CIMA E2 paper revolves around managing change through projects. It’s covers 30% of the paper so you need to know enough detail to be able pass the E2 objective test. Lewins 3 step model of change Our good friend Lewin is back with another model, this time it’s his theory…

  • The Week Ahead – 21 November 2016

    It’s the final week of the CIMA November case study exams as the SCS students get to grips with their scenario of ADF. Here are a few exam tips for the SCS students to think about: Get some rest – don’t spend the night before the exam studying until the early hours of the morning.…

  • CIMA E2: Ansoff’s Matrix

    The topic of Ansoff’s Matrix is covered in the E2 syllabus when looking at strategy and to be more specific, it’s used in the strategic choice part of the strategic planning process. Quite simply put, Ansoff’s matrix is designed to look at the market in which the company operates in and the products which the company…

  • The Week Ahead – 14th November 2016

    The OCS students can now put their feet up and look forward to the Christmas period but this means it’s time for the MCS students to sit the Portafone case study this week. Here is a quick look at the industry analysis surrounding Portafone for some last minute revision. CIMA News I found a brilliant…

  • CIMA Subscription Fees

    The annual CIMA Subscription Fees email reminder appeared in my inbox recently so I thought it would be a good time to also remind fellow students not to forget to pay it! Remember, if your membership is not up to date you cannot enter for any CIMA exams!! The annual student subscription costs 108 GBP…

  • The Week Ahead – 7th November 2016

    The OCS students will be counting down the hours until their exam as the Marici Power case study begins from Tuesday this week. Meanwhile, the MCS and SCS students still have a week or two to finalise their exam preparation. Here a few exam tips for students taking their case study this month. Time Management:…

  • The Week Ahead – 24th October

    CIMA News The countdown for the November case study begins as it’s just two weeks until the operational level students face their exam. A reminder of the exam dates for the November case study exams listed below as well links to my recent articles on OCS: Marici Power, MCS: Portafone and SCS: ADF pre seen…

  • CIMA E2: Risk Management

    Project management, as you are probably aware due to the nature of may recent blog articles, plays a significant part in the CIMA E2 syllabus. Managing projects in the finance department (or office) is becoming increasingly common place and it’s an area of the syllabus I can actually relate to my work experiences directly. A key…

  • CIMA Case Study: Industry Analysis

    Students who want to pass their CIMA case study exam will need to develop their knowledge and understanding of the underlying industry. It’s been highlighted in many of the examiners report that students had a basic (if any) knowledge or current industry conditions and failed to apply them to the case study exam. Personally, it…

  • The Week Ahead – 17th October 2016

    CIMA News Having been thinking about changing roles at work in the recent times I was keen to understand the role of Finance Business Partner a bit more. As it seems to be a fairly popular role these days and I also can see myself veering towards this kind of role in the future. It…

  • CIMA E2: Porters Five Forces

    Porters Five Forces is a topic that came up in my recent CIMA E2 studies and it was a model I was not that familiar with. Maybe it came up in my E1 exam but that seems a long time ago now. PESTEL analysis (Policital, Environmental, Social, Technology, Economical, Law) is used to understand the…