C.I.M.A Qualification

musky

Hi I have recently been made redundant and I'm thinking of using my payment to upskill myself.

I was considering CIMA as it seems to lead to a lot more than just a dull practice career.

I have both IATI and IPass qualifications but my only accounts experience in a short spell in practice > 3 months and a good while in accounts receivable/finance 2 yrs +.

I have seen the new syllabus and I think (hope) that I could get through the first two sets of exams in 2010.

My questions are.

Does Cima pay well and is it a good bet from a career standpoint?

Would my attempting all those exams in (seperate sittings 4 and 4) one year be too much?

Would I be out of my depth with the qualifications and experience i have?

Would I be better studing it by home study (makes financial sense with limited cash)?

Thanks in advance

smcgiff

musky wrote: »

Does Cima pay well and is it a good bet from a career standpoint?

Absolutely - an excellent qualification. However, you are wrong to think ACCA, ICAI and CPA are only about practice. I'm ACCA and while spending the first two years of my career in practice I have since spent many more in Industry. If I were starting again I would still take ACCA.

musky wrote: »

Would my attempting all those exams in (seperate sittings 4 and 4) one year be too much?

First of all you will probably get some exemptions for your IATI exams (none for your IPASS I imagine), so you wont have to start from scratch. In General I would say taking 8 exams in one year would be very heavy going, and may very well be overkill. I appreciate you're fired up right now, but the tortoise and Hare comes to mind!

musky wrote: »

Would I be out of my depth with the qualifications and experience i have?

Nope - the study is progressive - would the study material make more sense if you were working in industry while taking the exams? Of course, but it's not impossible outside of industry either. I should point out that they are hard exams - how easily you passed your IATI exams should guide you here.

musky wrote: »

Would I be better studing it by home study (makes financial sense with limited cash)?

Here - I can only add... "You pays your money and you takes your chance!"

Good luck!

musky

Thanks smcgiff

That gives me food for thought, I'll have to do some more 'homework' before I make a decision.

I found the IATI exams quite straightforward but I expect that the CIMA/ACCA ones would be challenging, otherwise they wouldn't be worth sitting.

Can you tell me if its 50 or 60% to pass or does it vary from exam to exam?

Thanks again

Knifey_Spoony

Hi,

I am really considering doing the CIMA exams myself.
I hope you don't mind me adding a few questions of my own, instead of starting a new thread on the same topic...?

Firstly, how much would the classes and exams cost?

I have a degree in Business Accounting from one of the IT's, so would get a number of exemptions. The only problem is, I graduated 4 years ago...so I'm not sure how much of the syllabus I remember now. Would I be better off resitting these exams that I am exempt from, or taking the exemptions and just brushing up on that material myself?

Also...are the exams much, much harder than college exams? I got through my degree and got a good end result with a bit of study. I have a feeling the CIMA exams may be way tougher though.

Also, I know it is hard to give an average...but what would be the low end salary scale for someone who has just gained CIMA qualifications?

Thanks!

Knifey_Spoony

Shannonsider

I've done my CIMA exams and the pass mark is 50% across the board.

I would view both ACCA and CIMA in relatively the same light except traditionally CIMA was more industrial based. I work in Financial Services and I see an accountant mix of about 50:50 (ACCA:CIMA).

One of the huge attractions to CIMA for me was the 'higher salary' and also the additional exemptions I got from my degree over other qualifications. Check out your exemptions as it may have a huge bearing on which one you choose.

I know for some people they get all the exams the first time round, but others (including myself) have had to take a few of them more than once. They are definately harder than college exams but I think its exam technique that people tend to fall down on. It's like everything: if you want something; work hard.

Classes can be expensive, as can exams and CIMA subs. But if you can get an employer to sponsor you, then you are sorted.

Many firms provide a 'CIMA salary survey' so if you google it you should find about the salary expectations as they vary quite a lot.

Best of luck to both of you whatever route you choose :cool:

Consider what classes are available near you if you are outside Dublin.

Knifey_Spoony

Knifey_Spoony wrote: »

Firstly, how much would the classes and exams cost?

Look at the BPP Ireland website to get an idea of the cost of classes.

For the 10 managerial exams you would be looking at about €700 each for classes plus £70? for each exam so maybe €8,000 in total. You can get cheaper though.

Knifey_Spoony wrote: »

I have a degree in Business Accounting from one of the IT's, so would get a number of exemptions. The only problem is, I graduated 4 years ago...so I'm not sure how much of the syllabus I remember now. Would I be better off resitting these exams that I am exempt from, or taking the exemptions and just brushing up on that material myself?

Don't throw away the exemptions - what you did should come back to you and for most they are at the certificate level. With a degree like that you would be bored.

I had to do the law certificate over in the UK and it only took a few days study and question practice but it delayed me from starting the managerial exams for six months.

Knifey_Spoony wrote: »

Also...are the exams much, much harder than college exams? I got through my degree and got a good end result with a bit of study. I have a feeling the CIMA exams may be way tougher though.

With the same attitude CIMA should be no problem. TOPCIMA is very different but is doable.

Knifey_Spoony wrote: »

Also, I know it is hard to give an average...but what would be the low end salary scale for someone who has just gained CIMA qualifications?

No idea - these aren't usual times.

If you're the sort of person who is good at exams and has a business degree it's not really necessary to do courses. Revision weekends (about 200 each are worth it though). Key is to start practicing questions as soon as possible rather than getting bogged down in the large theory books.

CCLAY

Hi,
I hope you dont mind to ask about CIMA, Im planning to go for P1 & P4 Next year. Whic place would you recomend to go for them. Dublin Business School or BPP. I didnt hear good feedback on the P4 at BPP.
Thanks a mill
CCLAY