Industry News | the cima student

May 2016 OCS, MCS, SCS: Industry Analysis

Posted on April 20, 2016 by cimastudent Leave a comment

The pre-seen material for the May 2016 CIMA case study exams have been released for a good few weeks now, so you should have a good understanding of the case study scenario.

However, it’s crucial you complement your knowledge on the case study by researching the industry in question. To pass the CIMA case study exams you must be able to give full and comprehensive answers that cover the pre-seen material, unseen material, technical knowledge AND the real life industry analysis.

By ticking all of these boxes when writing your reports and email replies in the case study exam you’ll give yourself the best chance of passing.

See below for some useful links that will help you prepare for exam day. Meanwhile, Astranti have spent hours and hours doing the research for you, you can also find the industry analysis preview videos below.

Good Luck for those preparing for the May case study exams!

OCS May 2016 Case Study: Sanchez Navarra

Here are some useful links on the beauty and bath products industry that will help you understand the real life situation around Sanchez Navarra.

Market Research on bath and body products – taken from euromonitor.com

How to lead a successful bath and body business – taken from indiebusinessnetwork.com

Cosmetics manufacturing business plan – taken from bplans.com

You can find the full video of the OCS Industry Analysis here

MCS May 2016 Case Study: IC Optical

The opticians industry is an industry most of the population can relate to. If you don’t wear glasses then someone in your family usually does, so you should know something at least on how the industry works. Even if it’s just the expensive price lenses and frames cost!

Here are some useful links of the industry analysis and further down you will find a preview of the industry analysis from Astranti.

Opticians: Industry facts – taken from hoovers.com

Top 10 Business trends for the eye care industry – taken from eyecarebusiness.com

Opticians in the UK: A market research report – taken from ibisworld.co.uk

You can find the full video of the MCS Industry Analysis here

SCS May 2016 Case Study: Dreem Park

Finally, the Strategic level case study exam is focused on the theme park and amusement industry. Here are a few links on the trends and market reseach associated with Dreem Park – you can also watch a preview of the industry analysis that has been compiled by the guys at Astranti.

Amusement parks and attractions industry information – taken from iaapa.org

Theme Park industry trends and opportunities – taken from prnewswire.com

Park world online: industry news and info – taken from parkworld-online.com

You can find the full video of the SCS Industry Analysis here

What’s the difference between CIMA and ACCA?

Posted on January 8, 2016 by cimastudent Leave a comment

A common question among students who are deciding on what route to take on their studies is “What’s the difference between CIMA and ACCA?” or perhaps even the question “What’s better? CIMA or ACCA?”

In my experience, there feels like a rivalry between the two qualifications.

When I started to work in finance, ACCA was the more prevalent qualification. Most employers in the UK would recommend their staff to study for the ACCA qualification but it feels like CIMA is becoming more and more relevant (and popular) in the modern business world.

But what is the difference between the two qualifications?

Well, generally speaking the CIMA qualification is designed for people who work in industry rather than practice.

CIMA is geared around management accounting and interpreting financial information to make strategic decisions, whereas ACCA looks more specifically taxation, audit and working in practice as opposed to the operations of a business.

That isn’t too say that one qualification is “better” than the other. That just offer different skills and a different perspective.

Despite the differences between the two accounting bodies there remains a set of core topics that both ACCA and CIMA cover.

– Financial Accounting
– Financial Reporting
– Principles of Business Taxation
– Ethics

Meanwhile, CIMA specifically focuses on Operations Management and Management Accounting while ACCA doesn’t, whereas ACCA looks at External Audit and Advanced Taxation whereas CIMA doesn’t.

This leads to the obvious conclusion that if you want to work in public practice or as an auditor then ACCA is probably the path for you. But if you’re more interested in the operations of a business and interpreting financial information then CIMA ticks the boxes you are after.

There is a useful tool and graphic on the CIMA website (picture above) that illustrates the differences between CIMA and ALL of the alternative qualifications.

It’s well worth a look if you want to see a high level view of what you’re actually studying!

On a more light hearted note, I found this quote on the differences between CIMA and ACCA which sums it up quite nicely “.. with ACCA you look to close loopholes, whereas with CIMA you look to make them.. “