The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) offers the most relevant international accounting qualification for business. They are the world’s leading and largest professional body of management accountants. Most accounting qualifications train people to work in private practice, working on external audit and tax issues. CIMA prepares people for a career in business. It teaches skills for strategic advice, managing risk and making key decisions.

In order to study towards this professional qualification you must register as a student member with CIMA.

CIMA's aim is to provide a valuable qualification for students, to support members and employers, and protect the public interest. CIMA has over 88,000 students and 70,000 members in 161 countries. CIMA's focus on management functions makes it unique, and it is internationally recognised as offering the financial qualification for business. CIMA works with leading employers in the UK and around the world to train and qualify financial managers. CIMA prides itself on the commercial relevance of its syllabus, which is continually enhanced to reflect the latest business developments.

Qualifications

The CIMA qualification framework is divided into two parts, the entry level certificate in business accounting and the professional qualification. At Select International College we provide courses to help you complete exams for the following elements of the entry level and professional qualifications.

• The Entry level - five exams
• The Operational level – three exams
• The Management level – three exams
• The Strategic level – three exams

All the exams are operated by CIMA and take place in CIMA designated exam centres in late May and late November. In order to register for these exams you must be a CIMA registered student. For more details on CIMA student membership please visit www.cimaglobal.com.

CIMA Entry Requirements

CIMA qualifications are open to everyone, but your entry level will depend on your previous experience. The syllabus builds step-by-step, and you will develop your knowledge and skills as you progress through the qualification.

CIMA course exemptions

You may previously have passed exams which entitle you to exemptions from some of the CIMA exams. You can expect to receive exemptions if you hold a relevant degree or a relevant professional qualification. For example, AAT membership offers exemption from the whole Certificate level. We advise you to check your starting point with CIMA. To obtain written confirmation of your exemptions status, visit www.cimaglobal.com/exemptions

The Entry Level - Certificate in Business Accounting

This level comprises of:

• Fundamentals of management accounting
• Fundamentals of financial accounting
• Fundamentals of business mathematics
• Fundamentals of business economics
• Fundamentals of ethics, corporate governance and business law

You can sit the five certificate subjects in any order and in any combination to suit your requirements. See suggested study route and paper combination options (PDF 27KB).

Exams

All certificate exams are computer based and can be taken at any time.

Progressing to the professional qualification

You must:

• pass all five certificate computer based assessments (unless you received exemptions) before sitting any operation or management level papers
• complete all computer based assessments by 1 March to be eligible to sit any operational/management papers in May, and by 1 September to sit in November.

The Operational Level - Diploma in Management Accounting

The Operational level comprises of three subjects that are examined separately. Once you have passed all three papers you will be entitled to a CIMA Diploma in Management Accounting. These subjects are:

• P1: Performance Operations
• E1:Enterprise Operations
• F1: Financial Operations

Exam sequence

We advise students to pass the operational level paper before attempting the management level paper in the same pillar. However, it is possible for students to study and sit an operational paper in one pillar and a management paper in another pillar.

Students must pass all operational and management subjects before attempting the strategic level.

Assessment

There is a three hour written exam paper, plus 20 minutes of pre-exam reading time, with three sections:

• Section A - 20 marks: a variety of compulsory objective test questions, each worth between two and four marks. Mini scenarios may be given, to which a group of questions relate.
• Section B - 30 marks: six compulsory short answer questions, each worth five marks. A short scenario may be given, to which some or all questions relate.
• Section C 50 marks: one or two compulsory questions. Short scenarios may be given, to which questions relate.

Pass marks

The pass mark for each operational and management level subject is 50%. Permanent credit is awarded for any paper where candidates score 50% or more.

Award Students who pass all three operational level papers will be awarded the CIMA diploma in management accounting.

The Management Level - Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting

The Management level comprises of three subjects that are examined separately. Once successful in passing all three you will be entitled to a CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting.The subjects are:

• P2: Performance Management
• E2: Enterprise Management
• F2: Financial Management

The Strategic Level - Member of CIMA

It is feasible to have exemptions from individual papers based on previous study (normally university degrees), details of which can be obtained by visiting the CIMA website. Once you have completed the Operational and Management levels you will then be ready to progress to the Strategic level.

The strategic level composes of:

• P3: Performance Strategy
• E3: Enterprise Strategy
• F3: Financial Strategy

For your first effort at this level you must attempt all three papers at the same exam sitting.