The CIMA Thread

mr_edge_to_you · 14-07-2012 4:18pm

kilburn wrote: »

Passed my exams too

Well done. If you haven't already had your experience assessed give the Dublin office a shout. Found them to be very helpful with it. I'd be a nervous enough person so I wanted make sure everything was in order.....the thoughts of having to apply a second time were too much.

kilburn · 15-07-2012 8:20pm

Have a few more exams to go yet but thanks for the tip

statss · 18-07-2012 4:21pm

Griffith College are now offering CIMA

http://www.gcd.ie/cima-time-tables/

mr_edge_to_you · 18-07-2012 5:09pm

R

statss wrote: »

Griffith College are now offering CIMA

http://www.gcd.ie/cima-time-tables/

Thats great news for students. CIMA students now have real options/choices.

I strongly recommend John Riordan for the Business Strategy (or whatever it's called now) paper. Really good lecturer with an awful lot of real world knowledge and examples - makes a class very interesting. Haven't any experience of the rest of them.

ticketsforsale · 20-07-2012 11:04pm

Hi all, Im currently a solicitor looking to move out of law/maybe broaden my cv and was considering cima/cfa/mba. Ive kind of settled on cima, will be working full time with no study leave per se. Just wondering do people have any pointers / whats the best tuition provider, DBS / Griffith /BPP? How do people find the cima material? Many thanks

mr_edge_to_you · 21-07-2012 7:39am

Griffith are new to CIMA but some of the lecturers has vast experience from BPP. DBS is good too. I can't say I found either college better than another. I found some lecturers suited me better than others. I preferred the bPP revision weekends, in DBS they had 3 three revisions day spread out over the term.

I was nine years doing my CIMA exams while working in industry and I only ever got 1 day study leave plus the day of the exam as part of my study package. Minimal study leave is normal for CIMA students but the other side of it is that the pay is better than students in practice.

Best of luck with it anyway. Plenty of advice on here.

MastiffMrs · 25-07-2012 5:45pm

Www.ic-bf.com sent me an email today to say they're doing CIMA classes in city centre.
Couldn't see where in city centre tho, unless they updated their website since!
Seems to be ex BPP lecturers

kilburn · 26-07-2012 11:42am

Woohoo got a letter 5th in Ireland in E1 not bad for home study !

CHLuke · 27-07-2012 5:10pm

Hi all,

My work involves some very basic project 'accounting': basically cost calculations and some grant management, so I thought the Cert. in Business Accounting might be useful to have.

Could anybody give an indication of how difficult the Certificate might be for somebody with no academic business or accounting quals.?

Also, how long should it take?

(I have BA, MA, Postgrad Dip. but all 'Arty' subjects)

Thanks,
CHLuke

mr_edge_to_you · 27-07-2012 5:13pm

CHLuke wrote: »

Hi all,

My work involves some very basic project 'accounting': basically cost calculations and some grant management, so I thought the Cert. in Business Accounting might be useful to have.

Could anybody give an indication of how difficult the Certificate might be for somebody with no academic business or accounting quals.?

Also, how long should it take?

Thanks,
CHLuke

I'd say you'd fly through it. It is quite basic stuff. The hardest part is juggling work with study which takes time to get used to. Finding time especially if you have a family to consider is the biggest challenge.

kilburn · 27-07-2012 5:49pm

Hi there, i agree you will fly through it and you can complete it fairly quickly if you wanted too. But if you take your time a month on each subject is more than enough considering you can sit an exam any time you choose.

CHLuke · 30-07-2012 9:10am

Thanks for the replies. I was a bit concerned I'd be undertaking something that could take a couple of years!

CHLuke

mr_edge_to_you · 30-07-2012 10:00am

Just to clarify, I was referring to the cert only. The other levels are massive steps up and require a lot of time.

fraggle79 · 31-07-2012 5:21pm

Hi,
Just wondering is it possible to complete the above and also the other subjects via the online CIMA learning facility? i.e
is there an Irish variant of F1 or is it all the same.

Im thinking of doing the professional CIMA qualification via online study along with the relevant material available on their website.

thanks for your help.

Ciaranisco · 02-08-2012 12:19pm

Hi all,

As mentioned on the previous page of this Thread - following BPP's decision not to offer lectures in the 3 Operational Level and Management level exams, Independent College on Fitzwilliam square got involved and took the 3 lecturers for these subjects from BPP.

However, they joined the party a bit late and had an open evening last week in their building on Fitzawilliam St. They're using the BPP materials also.

I preferred their timetable to DBS and decided to register with them to start my CIMA efforts for all 3 Operational courses (P1, F1 and E1).

Funny story, most other CIMA applicants who had been with or planned to use BPP, must have jumped for DBS or Griffith and as a result Independent have some fairly small classes, very small in fact. In fact, it's just ME for Operational level.

That's right, I'm now doing CIMA lectures with the former BPP lecturers in a one on one scenario. They started F1 last Tuesday and will be holding the first P1 lecture tonight. To my knowledge, it will be me on my lonesome again this evening. So if you're registered with CIMA and thinking of sitting Novembers Ops exams, might I suggest you give me a bit of company and join up with them. Otherwise, I can't miss a lecture because then the whole class will have failed to show up... Also, after a days work it's tough to stay focussed for 3 and a half hours in the evening and I would appreciate someone else answering the questions. So give them a call today: 087 6091888

Floria · 06-08-2012 12:56pm

i am considering bpp online classroom. Anybody used before? Thanks for any suggestions.

mr_edge_to_you · 14-08-2012 10:55am

Floria wrote: »

i am considering bpp online classroom. Anybody used before? Thanks for any suggestions.

Not sure what way that works. I can say from experience that actual classroom learning was the most effective way for me. To do it any other way requires a level of self discipline I wasn't prepared to commit to.

You could try it for one exam and see how it goes.

kilburn · 19-08-2012 11:40am

For the certificate level and maybe the operational level you could study yourself but you have to do classroom study for the management and strategic levels as there is a big jump.

ticketsforsale · 26-08-2012 8:20pm

Hi, Just a quick question, I have received exemptions for 3 of the certificate level subjects and am required to study for the two accounting ones. How do most people study for certificate level? Did they do online course or just order text books, how did people find either?

statss · 27-08-2012 10:58am

I got the book from a college library and supplemented that with a BPP Ipass CD I acquired.

kilburn · 27-08-2012 5:58pm

By the CIMA text books and at most one month per subject and you will be flying it

Ciaranisco · 12-09-2012 9:01am

Hi all,

I'm sure there's plenty of folks out there who have experienced doing the pre-CIMA CBA exams and maybe had a similar experience. Aside from there being a limited number of locations in Dublin where you can sit the 2 hour Computer exams, most operate very restrictive time tables. I needed to pass 3 exams in the space of the last 2 weeks (before Sept 12th cutoff to register for November's Operational level exams). So just to give people an idea of how to approach this, here's what I found:

CIMA HQ off Harcourt St; They have one computer and are open 5 days a week. They have a morning and afternoon slot and charge 80 euros a pop, which is the cheapest available, but the slots fill up very, very quickly, when I called a month ago they had 5 available slots before Sept 12th all bunched together.

BPP: Had one day where they were hosting exams, a morning and afternoon session, but could host multiple people, but it was Sept 6th, I had 3 exams to sit. Also, it was 100 for BPP members and 125 for non members.

Liffey College: This is where I sat my 3 exams and I would strongly recommend it to others. I got to sit the exams at the time of my choosing during the day and it was even possible to sit them after work (which I did twice). I think they do weekends too. The price was 99 euro which is well worth the money for the convenience of it. The college is just off Francis St, near Christchurch. (Don't wear a jacket though, it can be a bit warm in the comp room).

I think Tallagh host the exams but like BPP, they're very infrequent.

Anywho, in summary, I would suggest if you are doing or are looking to do CIMA CBA exams, go Liffey College, the flexibility saved me a massive amount of stress and I got through 3 exams in the last week and a half without missing work and before the cut-off date where I needed the exemptions. Also the guys in the office are extremely friendly and are genuinely rooting for you to pass. I think they're getting involved in lectures in 2013 for CIMA too, or at least they mentioned it when I was there.

Now onwards to try and sit + pass 3 operational level exams in November... If something painful is worth doing, it's worth doing fast!

spupazza · 13-09-2012 1:01pm

Hi guys, I'm looking for material to study all the 6 exams at operational/management level.
If any of you has ebooks or printed books pls pm me.

kilburn · 20-09-2012 5:48pm

Anyone got E2 and P2 books for sale?

julyjane · 22-09-2012 1:54pm

Anyone got any experience of the face to face PER assessment? I'm planning on going next month but for Stg£233 I'd want to be fairly sure of getting it! I've had an assessor look over my detailed record and they said I'm most likely to pass but couldn't guarantee it obviously.

mr_edge_to_you · 22-09-2012 4:23pm

Hi julyjane

I did mine online in July, no problem. I had it reviewed prior to submission by an assessor who said it was an excellently prepared detailed cv. They said it was "in line with what CIMA require".

I know a few people who have attended face to face assessment and all found it a straight forward process.

The key thing is to have it reviewed first and make sure it's right. It's more difficult if your application is refused initially and you have to reapply - more intense scrutiny. Clearly you've done the hard work already and had it reviewed so you should be fine.

Best of luck with it!

Btw. I have to commend the staff in the Dublin office who were of enormous help with the process. Great people to deal with.

ckww84 · 17-10-2012 2:59pm

Looking for some grinds in F1 for the November sitting in 5 weeks. Struggling with cashflow statements and a few other areas. Anybody know anyone giving grinds in Dublin?

Ciaranisco · 17-10-2012 3:13pm

Gar Mulvey is running his F1 Revision course through International College in Dublin (on the corner of Fitzwilliam Sq) this Friday 19/10/12, Saturday and Sunday from 9.30-5.00 each day. I think they're charging 220 for the revision course. If you have Friday and the weekend free, I can't think of anything better for preparing for F1. It's a small class too. (5 people or so).

mickeymax · 19-10-2012 11:38pm

Hi all,

I need some help please. To cut a long story short, I started CIMA in college many years ago but dropped out in second year. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do but I do regret it. I am now almost 40 and have had a relatively successful career in sales and sales management. I have given serious thought to returning to study CIMA and in time qualify as I know sales has a shelf life. My problem is that I have to make sure I am making the right decision. I have a young family and they are obviously my main priority and motivator.

If possible, I would like your thoughts on the following please:

Am I to old to carve our a successful career in this field?
What route should I take after completing the cert in business accounting? (should I for example try and get experience at this stage and combine with study to progress further or should I try and pass more exams before trying to get experience?)
At what stage yould I be considered a part qualified accountant?
How difficult would it be to get practical work place experience?

I have been in touch on a number of occasions with the CIMA office in Dublin and they have been very helpful but I would like some opinions from you guys who have possibly been in a similar position.

I would genuinely appreciate any feedback, good or bad!

Thanks,
M.

mr_edge_to_you · 20-10-2012 10:23pm

Am I to old to carve our a successful career in this field?

Certainly not. I know many people who are still doing exams at that age. You will also find that there will be many people who are older than you in the classes.

What route should I take after completing the cert in business accounting? (should I for example try and get experience at this stage and combine with study to progress further or should I try and pass more exams before trying to get experience?)

I would suggest looking at the various colleges (DBS, BPP - I think Independent are getting on board with CIMA - not sure). See what timetables suit you. Just get stuck in to the exams. No point putting off the exams regardless of what role you're in.

At what stage would I be considered a part qualified accountant?

Technically your part qualifed once you have registered as a student and sucessfully apply for exemptions or pass your first exam.

How difficult would it be to get practical work place experience?

Hard to say. You will get the experience eventually but the problem is you may have to take a step down to move into a more direct finance/accounting role. If you have a young family you need to consider the financial implications in the short/medium term.

You're sales background may be more suited a commercial accountant/ business analyst role. This would probably be a good move.

The hardest part is juggling CIMA exams and classes with an existing hectic job and home life.

If you are going for it just working on the exams and start applying for a more relevant role.

Best of luck.

mr_edge_to_you · 20-10-2012 10:28pm

On a different note - yours truly finally received his certs yesterday confirming his status as ACMA, CGMA. Its kind of strange actually seeing the certificates - the end of the line in relation to the studying and exams. obviously CPD kicks in now!

julyjane · 21-10-2012 2:22pm

Well done Mr_edge

Were you at the membership session in Dublin last week? I was there and my experience was approved but I still have T4B to do so I'm aiming for May now. I would have done it sooner but until reccently I thought I wouldn't get T4A for a long time yet.

@mickeymax I don't think 40 is too old by any means. I am 30 and there were people older than me there last week, and at exam seminars I've been to. (I've always done home study so don't know about classes) If anything 40 is a better age to be than 20, I find the older I'm getting the more I can focus on goals. 5 years ago my goal was having a good time with the good wages I was on. At 40 you still have a good 20-30+ years working life ahead of you.

Re: getting a job with experience, current salaries are not too far above the floor. I was unemployed for 18 months until this time last year, my current contract is nearly up and there doesn't seem to be much else around, although I'm not in Dublin so if you are there are more opportunities. Having worked in Sales I'm sure you've made a lot of contacts already and know a lot about a lot of industries so that is a big selling point for you. If you're not already on linkedin then set up an account and make a few connections

ayeartilsunday · 14-11-2012 5:34pm

I am looking into joining CIMA, and just have a few questions......

1) Is there any tuition providers in the Galway region?

2) I would have to sit fundamentals of business mathematics first, does anyone have a recommendation on how to study this? Length of time to spend on it? Is the online study sufficient?

kilburn · 16-11-2012 12:00pm

I would imagine if your working a month is more than enough time just by any text book and practise questions it is a fairly handy subject

16-11-2012 3:44pm

ayeartilsunday wrote: »

I am looking into joining CIMA, and just have a few questions......

1) Is there any tuition providers in the Galway region?

2) I would have to sit fundamentals of business mathematics first, does anyone have a recommendation on how to study this? Length of time to spend on it? Is the online study sufficient?

Unfortunately I'm not aware of any providers in Galway. It is a bit of a catch 22 - there aren't many CIMA students in the west of Ireland because there aren't any classes available and there aren't any classes because there aren't many students.

Maybe contact CIMA in Dublin or the West of Ireland Branch to be sure:http://www.cimaglobal.com/Our-locations/Ireland/Members/Branches/West-of-Ireland/

I don't know much about your second question - I imagine online study should be sufficient.

statss · 16-11-2012 5:12pm

I noted each hour of study I did for my first certificate paper - all self study - this included reading, question practising, and mock exams. In total, I spent 54hours on C02 and passed on 1st go with 51% (!)

Currently I have 30 hours of study logged for C01 and I am confident I am close pass level, (mock I did yesterday gave me 48%). Another 10 or so hours should do it and I will book the exam.

There is enough "easy" marks available at certificate level to pass without too much stress. You don't need to know the book inside out.

I'll go to a tuition provided for the next level so I am not worried about missing too much with this approach. The aim is to get the cert out of the way.

kilburn · 21-11-2012 12:23am

Best of luck to all sitting exams this week

masalbeagdubh · 22-11-2012 2:58pm

I was going to study some of the operational CIMA subjects online. I was wondering has anyone experience of studying CIMA online and if they had any reccomendations which provider would be best.

kilburn · 22-11-2012 3:01pm

Hi, I bought the CIMA study texts and practice kits for the operational level. They are very thorough and more than enough to get you through the exams at operational level

statss · 20-12-2012 11:22am

Anyone starting tuition in the Spring? Am I currently debating between taking 2 or 3 papers. I work full time. I could probably manage the 3 but would have easier few months doing just 2 I suppose.

mr_edge_to_you · 20-12-2012 5:26pm

It all depends on yourself. My approach was do two and aim to pass two. I was never disciplined enough to juggle sitting three papers. Well obviously with the strategic papers I had to sit all three but I didn't do courses for all three.

Courses are expensive enough so need to make sure you get value for money.

kilburn · 20-12-2012 7:06pm

Didnt sit the exams i booked in November, so trying to decide myself how many to sit in the resits.

Crybabygeeks · 02-01-2013 5:51pm

Hi all,

Apologies if this has been asked before but seeing as everyone here seems very knowledgable on the topic and there may be others with the same query as me at this time of year so i thought no harm in asking it again

I have decided to give CIMA a go and plan to sit the first level in May this year. I have been given exemptions from the CBA and one of the final strategic level exams so guess I'll start with the operational exams. I work full-time with sometimes fairly long hours duringthe week but always with the weekends off.

My key questions are:
1. Are there any exams that complement each other and may be best to sit together?
2. Would people recommend study at home or classes?
3. Does anyone have an example of a good study plan?

Many thanks in advance to anyone that may be able to help.

Best of luck to all starting out, working through & finishing

grange mac · 04-01-2013 3:10am

Any of ye planning topcima for end feb?

julyjane · 04-01-2013 12:17pm

Not in February but T4B is all I have left to do, just need to get my rear into gear after the silly season.

Do BPP Ireland still do CIMA courses or even still exist? The info on their website seems old. I've always done their home study courses because I'm not Dublin-based and I just don't have the time or money to travel to a classroom course. Even if I had the money I'd end up missing classes due to family commitments so I work better studying from home.

I have a friend doing managerial level and she says she will not do an exam unless she can do the classroom course. When I was at managerial level I bought the whole home study course but at strategic level I just bought the BPP textbooks and revision books and they were much cheaper. Didn't get to submit a practice exam though, I passed but my marks were always in the low to mid 50's.

A few times a year CIMA ran free study and exam skills seminars which I attended and got great advice from. I'm unsure now what to do re: T4B, should I make the effort and go to a class or keep on with home study.

grange mac · 04-01-2013 12:26pm

Its all about doing mocks with t4, failed it 3times with same mark 23/50 so starting it again for feb as pre seen out next week....then exam 6 weeks later

Im out of work so I used to buy mocks from bpp, dont know if they doing mocks yet.

julyjane · 04-01-2013 12:37pm

3 times that's rough

Hopefully you're nearly there though. I'm out of work myself again, even if I pass TOPCIMA it won't be easy getting jobs as a qualified ACMA with only barely enough experience to pass T4A. I didn't think I had enough experience for T4A but I got it anyway so only T4B to get over now.

grange mac · 04-01-2013 12:51pm

Yeah, may talk to later in year about t4a. Have experience just not multinational exp and they are only guys recuiting....told wife as soon as I pass this were off as dole is sole destroying. Onlything that keeps me sane is farm back home but you wouldn make a living from it.

Ill get notes from somewhere and have no issues with u taking them to help u in may as the fees are nasty for courses.

Have a good day.

Meursault · 08-01-2013 4:23pm

masalbeagdubh wrote: »

I was going to study some of the operational CIMA subjects online. I was wondering has anyone experience of studying CIMA online and if they had any reccomendations which provider would be best.

I tried the online course for the Operational Level, but to be honest I didnt like it, and ended up buying the text books also, which i find easier to read through. It could be down to personal preference though.

Meursault · 08-01-2013 4:29pm

Howdy all.

I need to repeat P1. I was thinking of doing the extra exam sitting in Feb.

If anyone who has passed P1, and wants to get rid of the textbook, I might be interested in buying it, if it is the recent versio and you are based in the Cork area.

Also, a work colleague of mine mentioned that they often repeat the same types of questions in the extra exam sitting (in Feb) as the questions that appeared in the previous sitting (in Nov). Is there any truth to that? I cant ever imagine CIMA being that predictable?

Another theory is that an examiner will often ask the same types of questions, so if you know who is writing the next exam, there is a pretty good chance of predicting what will appear in that exam, based on what that examiner asked in previous examinations?

cheers

M

The CIMA Thread

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