Cima

BossArky

I'm about to start off with studying for the CIMA exams. Work are putting people through it. Can anyone here give their opinions on it, difficulty level, subjects to watch out for etc? Hoping to have the first 5 exams from the foundation level done by May and then think about whether or not to go ahead and do the the 10. I checked on the cimaglobal website and my computer systems degree dosen't seem to get any exam exemptions. I know a few people who were exempt for the Business Maths with their engineering degrees.

mountainyman

CIMA is difficult but well worth while. Maybe extend the schedule to three years because I know companies look for first time passers alot of the time.

steo123

guys im lookking at starting cima myself?

how difficult are these exams?the management ones?

any tips /recommenadations?

does this increase my job prospects.

as of now im working in funds industry .wouldthis be relevant experience?

NicheG

I would recommend CIMA. Exams are tough mind you. I was very much a borderline student and only scraped passes through the whole process.
But in such recessionary times; a CIMA qualification is invaluable.

Shivers26

I am studying CIMA - fingers crossed if I pass P5 next week I will move on to my finals
I wouldnt put yourself under so much pressure by taking on 5 subjects at managerial level, especially if you are working. Most people take 2 at a time. I have found P5 the biggest curse.

If you pass all the exams and get your letters it will certainly improve your career prospects.

I_Love_Tomatoes

BossArky, go for it. you may be able to get an exemption from one paper with a degree in anything technical, but if the college or course isn't listed, you should probably get in touch with CIMA and sort it out. Sometimes though it's actually worth sitting one of those level 1 exams just for getting a taster of the type of stuff that's ahead of you... sometimes exemptions are a pain in the arse to negotiate with these professional bodies.

i just came across this site by the way... http://www.cimaforums.com/public/forum it wasn't there when i was studying for November exams. It seems nicely laid out and it's completely dead and void of activity at the moment as it's not really study season yet... but sure you could ask them about exemptions and they might answer... the guys who set it are probably keeping an eye on it so it might be worth asking them there... i signed up but haven't posted anything yet. i'll be doing the finals in may so i might start asking a question or to then

good luck with it. highly recommend it, even if you're not working in accounts. studying is horrible by the way... but great satisfaction in passing any of those exams.

Dublin'09

Hello I am thinking of sitting P1 and P2 in my first CIMA exams. I wonder would anybody have any feedback on how hard P2 is? I was looking at the pass rates CIMA publish and it seems to have the lowest of all the managerial papers. Would any say this is a bad paper to sit in you first CIMA exams?

I_Love_Tomatoes

Make no mistake: P2 can be very tricky; I failed it twice before the examiner changed about 4 years ago (I think Louise Burke is the examiner now... before that, the standard definitely was a bit tougher). Then I ended up passing at the third attempt with a mark of 74 (my best mark to date).

P1 is basically a lot of the ground work for P2, but sitting them together can make sense and there is a bit of overlap; just be aware of what is and isn't on each paper.

I'd say go for it; P1 and P2 complement each other enough to warrant sitting both at the same time; back in the previous syllabus, I sat P2 with what was then Financial Reporting, both of which were tough ones and very different papers to be sitting together.

Also, a point worth noting: In BPP, I think that Michael Barry still does P2. He's a class act, and I imagine you will find it hard to get a better lecturer than him around. For P1 on the other hand, I don't know who teaches it, but when I did it under the old syllabus, the lecturer was woeful :-/ The plus side of this is that it can make you work extra hard,.... meaning you will pass.

You ask if it's a bad paper to sit? That depends on how hard you work... they are very very different to college exams (in fact, I'd have to say college exams were a bit of a joke by comparison)

Dublin'09

Great thanks for that.. I guess I will go with 1&2 then. I wanted to put off sitting papers 7&8 until I find a more Accounting based job as I looked at the course and think it would be beneficial.

Yes it says that Michael Barry is teaching P2 and P1 by Ger Roche in BPP. In DBS P2 is thought by Noel Ryan and P1 is by Anne Kennedy. Does anybody know how either of these compares?

I plan to work hard so hopefully it will go OK. Do you have any Idea how much study time is needed for each paper outside classes / revision class? I don’t mean close to the exams as I plan to take time off and spend the days at it. But on a regular week how much would be needed to put you in a decent position before the last two weeks or so of studying..