CIMA exams

zootroid

Anyone doing the CIMA exams? What are they like - easy or difficult?

Have to start at foundation level because I never did accountancy in college, only got exampt from 2 foundation level exams - the economics one and the maths one.

Any info is appreciated.

slave1

would suggest that if you have not yet committed to consider the ACCA qualification, it covers virtually everything CIMA does and gives you a better qualification and better job prospectus.
That's only my opinion so others may add.....

Kinetic^

I concur, without a doubt.

OLDYELLAR

slave1 wrote:

would suggest that if you have not yet committed to consider the ACCA qualification, it covers virtually everything CIMA does and gives you a better qualification and better job prospectus.
That's only my opinion so others may add.....

Yea I`d have to agree with considering acca before you make any commitment to cima , Leaves you with a lot more options in the future

Its tough going alright , but it`ll be worth it in a few years.

zootroid

i never wanted to work in practice so never really considered ACA or ACCA.

the money while you're training in practice is supposed to be rubbish anyway.

working in industry 8 months now, and have registered with CIMA. haven't started studying yet, and am just wondering if the exams are difficult, or if i'll get away with 3 days of cramming before it!

MartMax

ACCA qualification does not fit towards practice only. Loads of ACCA qualified working as financial controllers, accountants, etc in industry.

As for money in practice, my mate has been interviewed by small practices offering 50-70K for qualified persons with 1-2 years experience for a senior/manager position. I don't think that's a small money. Is it?

Just hoping this not turning into another which is which best thread. Pardon. I might be bias too, being ACCA qualified working in practice.

Mart

zootroid

mart_max wrote:

ACCA qualification does not fit towards practice only. Loads of ACCA qualified working as financial controllers, accountants, etc in industry.

As for money in practice, my mate has been interviewed by small practices offering 50-70K for qualified persons with 1-2 years experience for a senior/manager position. I don't think that's a small money. Is it?

Just hoping this not turning into another which is which best thread. Pardon. I might be bias too, being ACCA qualified working in practice.

Mart

I said that the money while training was supposed to be rubbish in practice. But i really dont want to get into an arguement about whether ACA/ACCA is better than CIMA as they probably are, and I've already registered with CIMA anyway. Just looking for info on how people found the exams, whether much study is required etc.

Kinetic^

zootroid wrote:

Just looking for info on how people found the exams, whether much study is required etc.

I've heard the exams are.....well......impossible.

7mountpleasant

The certificate and managerial levels are very manageable. I would go down the home study route to be honest with you for the first two levels. The strategic level is tough but if you put in a serious effort most people manage to get it down in two sittings.I would go with BPP for the classes for the strategic level and for the cerrtificate and managerial i think the best route is to buy the CIMA textbooks for each individual subject (way way cheaper than BPP) and then buy any little bits and bobs for each subject from BPP, then go to the revision courses for the subjects and you should be fine. The Top Cima is a piece of p!ss. As regards ACCA/CIMA qualification to be honest it doesn't make at tac of difference. If you look at the salary scales they are pretty identical. The only thing that matters is the relevant expierience.

bangwa

Hello,
I have a question. If i want to take the Certificate level of CIMA, must i attend some courses at any of these training institutions or i can just buy the books, do some self studies, register and seat for the exams. I am asking cos i have been browsing through the CIMA webpage and i didnt see anywhere written that attending courses is not compulsory. Another question is that how long can it take on an average to complete the certificate level of CIMA. I just want to prepare myself before i take this challange. Thanks

libbzs

My sister qualified with PWC as an ACA and I am currently studying CIMA as I didn't want to work in practice.

From experience when I did my in depth research into which accounting body to sit exams with I found that to be taken seriously in practice do ACA - you can also transfer these skills into industry if you wanted to but you must get the minimum experience in practice. CIMA on the other hand is the qualification to do if you KNOW you want to get on with a management accounting job (i.e. Finance Manager, Controller, Director etc within a company). You do not have the same flexibility a with ACA but then you do have the experience in industry that is vital. From adverts in accountancy magazines that my sister and I both subscribe to, CIMA top people seem to earn averagely more than ACAs.

ACA has now introduced a mid-qualification meaning after sitting 6 exams you have something to show for it.

or if you have ever worked in a finance role you probably have some practical work experience that qualifies for CIMA's practical basic requirements!

My Advice - Decide where you want to work (practice or industry), what job you are aiming for in the long term - then check out each boards website and what they will teach you.


Bangwa - you can study for your certificate exams from the books yourself if you are confident in teaching yourself! I am sitting the certificate from self-study and no college tuition! Good luck!!

john_coller

Hello,

I found this thread through Google, but thought I could add some helpful information.

I did the certificate level exams at home from the books, the books were great and the exams certificate level exams were not too difficult.

You have to be careful when booking exams. I studied a 2010 book and ended up sitting the exam from the 2006 syllabus for business law. They had both the 2006 and 2010 exams running concurrently until 2012?!?, so it is worth phoning up to check because there is no mention of it through the online booking system.