cima case study deadline

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Examination timetable.

Examination timetable with dates for all aspects of multiple CS windows

CIMA Exam Dates

Here we present the CIMA exam dates for 2022/2023 in an easy-to-understand way. Accelerate your CIMA journey with award-winning courses from VIVA.

It's always a good idea to plan ahead as early as possible, and especially so when studying for a challenging professional qualification like CIMA. However, the official CIMA exam dates can be a little tricky to find and navigate.

So we have created a simple guide for you here, where you can browse all the important CIMA exam dates and details over the coming 12 months.

A few provisional points before we get to the exam dates themselves:

• Note that there are only set exam dates for the CIMA Case Study exams. The Objective Test exams can be taken at any point throughout the year, contingent on opening dates and hours for official exam centres
• Since 2019, CIMA has changed slightly the structure of the Case Study exams. Previously there was a new pre-seen released for each exam window (i.e. one for February, one for May, one for August etc). Now, one pre-seen covers two exam windows. So the pre-seen released ahead of the November exam also covers the following February's exam. And the pre-seen released for the May exam also applies to the following August's exam.
• Don't forget to register for your CIMA Case Study exam! Be very aware of the deadlines for registering for each CIMA exam window (see below). Students often forget this one.

1. CIMA Exam Dates 2022/2023

Below you can find a simple table with the exam dates for each window over the next 12 months or so. These are the dates when you can actually sit the exams. If you need to locate an official CIMA exam centre, you can find more information here.

Note that these date ranges are inclusive. So for example, it says "10-12 November", that means you can sit the exam on the 10th, on the 11th, or on the 12th.

Typically the dates fall on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. But be sure to double-check, taking into account your local time-zone and how this might affect you.

2. Pre-seen Release Dates

Several weeks before each Case Study exam takes place, CIMA releases the pre-seen document to students. The pre-seen is the document that introduces you to the company and industry that is the focus of the case study. It includes lots of important information that you will be expected to use on the day of your exam to help write your answers.

Usually, you can find the pre-seen document available for download on CIMA's website on the official pre-seen release date (listed below). You can find the most recent pre-seen available for download here.

3. Exam Entry Closing Dates

As mentioned above, this is one that students often forget, or forget to check ahead of time! Be sure to register as early as you can.

Of course, it's important to bear in mind that you cannot register for your Case Study exam until you have officially passed all of the corresponding Objective Test exams at that level (this doesn't necessarily apply to all students, as some students may have been granted exemptions from certain Objective Test exams, e.g. Gateway students for the MCS).

If you are sitting all of the Objective Test exams for that level, you need to factor this into your planning. "Can I realistically have all my Objective Test exams passed by the closing date for the Case Study exam?". An important question to consider!

4. Dates when Exam Results are Released

Important to know the exam results dates, if only to ensure that you time set aside to distract yourself from the nerves/excitement/anticipation in the preceding hours!

Students often ask "but at what time does CIMA release the exam results!?" I'm afraid to say that this one is a bit unpredictable! Sometimes it's literally within seconds of the clock striking midnight (UK time) on the date in question. Other times, students need to wait until later in the morning or even early afternoon to get their results.

That's ultimately at CIMA's discretion, and unfortunately VIVA has no inside knowledge on that particular aspect of CIMA! (... although we're certain we have plenty of insight on others!).

You will typically find your CIMA exam results on your CIMA account, on the CIMA website. So make sure you have your log in credentials ready to go, and your finger hovering over the refresh button...

5. Exam booked? Where to start studying

Now this is going to sound biased, but... VIVA is the place to start! But we say it with good reason. VIVA is an award-winning tuition provider , a certified CIMA learning partner, and a pioneer in terms of delivering premium online learning at a fraction of the cost of traditional institutions.

But don't worry, we're not trying to just sell, sell, sell! You can start learning for your Case Study exam entirely for free , immediately.

We have 2 hours of free pre-seen analysis for every case study exam/window. You can find these free lectures on our YouTube channel here.

We also have tonnes of useful free exam guides and articles in our Knowledge Centre . For example, this extensive guide on how to write a Case Study exam answer here.

If you're impressed by this and want to really nail your exam, then you can explore our award-winning online courses here.

We hope you found this guide useful. If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a message in our chatbox to the bottom right of your screen (or email us at [email protected]).

A huge good luck from the entire VIVA team!

Like to explore how VIVA can help you with your CIMA studies?

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CIMA Dates & Deadlines

Whether you’re a student preparing for exams, a professional planning to start studying CIMA/CGMA, or an employer supporting your staff’s CIMA/CGMA journey, this guide aims to provide you with up-to-date information on exam registration deadlines, exam dates, course dates, and other important milestones.

• 18 April 2024

CIMA students will be familiar with the complexities of the CIMA calendar. After Certificate level, there are 3 Objective Test (OT) exams at each level, followed by a Case Study Exam, each with its own deadlines at key points in the exam sitting cycle. A missed course start date or exam entry deadline can throw even the most meticulously planned study schedule off track.  Use this guide to stay on track towards achieving your goals, plan ahead and keep up to date with important deadlines.

Objective Tests (OT’s)

📅Course start dates:   All year round!

Unlike Case Study exams, exams for Objective Test modules do not follow an exam sitting cycle. Therefore, you can book ObjectiveTest exams at various dates all year round. Likewise, you’ll find that FI courses for Objective Test exams start all year round, online and in local study centres. You can also study on-demand via FI Online . Planning and preparation are key to getting the result you want on the big day. Find tips on preparing for your exam below:

🔍 10 Exam preparation mistakes to avoid 🔍 Dealing with exam nerves

May 2024 Case Study Exam Sitting

📖 May Case Study course dates:  06th April – 25th April 2024

Courses for the May Case Study exams start in April and will run throughout the month. Spaces are limited, so we would recommend booking as soon as possible to secure your place. Can’t make these dates?  Study on-demand with FI Online instead.

🔍 What happens on a Case Study course?

🔔 May E xam entry deadlines:

Operational: 23/04/24 | Management: 30/04/24 | Strategic: 08/05/24

📅 May   Exam Week:

Operational: 0 8-10 May  | Management: 15-17 May   | Strategic: 22-24 May

Planning and preparation are key to getting the result you want on the big day. Find tips on preparing for your exam below:

🔍 10 Exam preparation mistakes to avoid

🔍 Dealing with exam nerves

🔍 Case Study Exams: What’s the examiner looking for?

📅 Exam Results Day:  

Operational Level: 27/06/24 | Management Level: 04/07/24 | Strategic Level: 11/07/24

August 2024 Case Study Exam Sitting

📖 August Case Study course dates:  03rd July – 25th July 2024

Courses for the August Case Study exams start in July and will run throughout the month. Spaces are limited, so we would recommend booking as soon as possible to secure your place. Can’t make these dates?  Study on-demand with FI Online instead.

🔔 August Exa m entry deadlines:

Operational: 23/07/24 | Management: 30/07/24 | Strategic: 06/08/24

📅 August   Exam Week:

Operational: 07-09 August  | Management: 14-16 August   | Strategic: 21-23 August

Operational Level: 26/09/24 | Management Level: 03/10/24 | Strategic Level: 10/10/24

November 2024 Case Study Exam Sitting

📖 November Case Study course dates:  27th September – 24th October 2024

Courses for the November Case Study exams start in September and will run throughout October. Spaces are limited, so we would recommend booking as soon as possible to secure your place. Can’t make these dates?  Study on-demand with FI Online instead.

🔔 November Exa m entry deadlines:

Operational: 22/10/24 | Management: 29 /10/24 | Strategic: 05/11/24

📅  November Exam Week:

Operational: 06-08 November  | Management: 13-15 November   | Strategic: 20-22 November

Operational Level: 02 /01/25 | Management Level: 09/01/25 | Strategic Level: 09 /01/25

Quick links: Studying CIMA at FI | Book CIMA courses now | Study Centres | Online Courses

We wish you the best of luck with your studies. Remember to balance your study time with some fun and relaxation too.

Considering starting your ACCA studies? Find more useful articles below:

Experience a CIMA online course before you buy it.

Guidance to help you add structure to your CIMA studies.

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Passing the CIMA case study exams

Mark Foley shares four top tips on mastering the CIMA Case Study Exams The CIMA Case Study exams are the final capstone exams of each level of the CIMA Professional Qualification, which students must pass to gain the CGMA designation. We explore four tips to help you prepare for the exams.

Understand the three Case Study levels

Each Case Study exam lasts three hours, with multiple tasks of equal lengths. There is a natural progression to the levels — Operational, Management and Strategic — that simulate how work as a management accountant progresses. To reach the Case Study level, you will have already passed the Objective Tests, which focus on ensuring that you have acquired the knowledge and skills for each pillar. Case Study exams are more about interpreting data and require practical answers to practical questions and simulate real-life business scenarios.

Operational Case Study (OCS)

Focus — The short-term role of the finance officer and the implementation of decisions.

Skills you need to convey — How to work with others in the organisation and use appropriate data and technology to translate medium-term decisions into short-term actionable plans.

Stats — Three-hour exam containing four tasks related to the enterprise, performance, and financial pillars; allotted 45 minutes per task, each task has two to three sub-tasks.

Management Case Study (MCS)

Focus — The role of the finance manager involves translating long-term decisions into medium-term plans.

Skills you need to convey — How to use data and relevant technology to manage organisational and individual performance; allocate resources to implement decisions; monitor and report the implementation of decisions; prepare and interpret financial statements to show performance.

Strategic Case Study (SCS)

Focus — The role of the senior finance manager entails long-term strategic decision-making.

Skills you need to convey — How to support organisational leaders to craft strategy and evaluate and manage risks that might prevent the successful implementation of strategy, including sourcing financial resources; value the organisations.

Stats — Three-hour exam containing three tasks related to the enterprise, performance, and financial pillars; allotted one-hour per task, each task has two to three sub-tasks.

Understand the Case Study exam cycle

Understand the pre-seen materials

Pre-seen materials — known as ‘preseens’ — are background information about the fictitious organisation featured in the Case Study exam. This information forms the basis of the tasks you can expect to see in the exam. The preseen tells the story of the company, including the industry and context in which it operates, its financial statements, management accounts, markets and competitors. Preseens are usually 26–30 pages long. Key tips include:

• Be ready — Familiarise yourself with the company, industry and current events.

• Analyse — Perform an analysis such as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) or political, economic, social and technological (PEST); review financial statements and reporting issues. The end of the preseen will contain live issues regarding what is happening in the industry. For instance, a new standard may have come out that will change reporting standards from the current year to the next and that the Case Study exam must address.

• Cross-reference with the blueprint — Being able to know what you can do is critical. Can you discuss finance options, dividend policy or evaluate digital strategies?

Tackling ‘I can’ from each of the core activities in each of the sections is necessary for success. For instance:

• I can identify relevant costs and benefits. • I can advise on the communication process. • I can recommend a dividend policy. • I can use appropriate technologies to gather data for costing purposes, from digital and other sources.

Have a broad syllabus knowledge and know your company intrinsically.

You become the person when you role-play the exam. Avoid prefabricated answers, as the exam will have details not included in the preseens. Your answers have to be relevant to the question.

Plan your exam approach Manage your time — If you can complete a section early, that time does not get applied to the next section. We suggest spending all of your allotted time within the section.

Keep your answers real and relevant — Remember, this is a role-based exam; identify one or more factors that might be relevant, then explain why that approach would be relevant. The more tangible details you provide, the higher you are likely to score. Do not offer irrelevant arguments for the sake of padding your answers. Aim for neat, discreet paragraphs.

Understand the scoring — People mark the exams, and the pass rate is 60%. Even though a scale is scored 80 out of 150, 60% is the pass rate.

The sub-tasks will be weighted differently. Each case will contain tasks from all five of the core activities:

• Evaluate opportunities to add value. • Implement senior management decisions. • Manage performance and costs to aid value creation. • Measure performance. • Manage internal and external stakeholder.

Scoring example

As the MCS Examiner said: “For a 12-mark answer, it might be possible to identify, say, four issues. A candidate who aims to write about four topics only has to score three marks for each to obtain full marks.”

You have all the tools you need to do well on the CIMA Case Study exams. From all of us at the Association, we wish you the very best for your next Case Study exam.

• The content of this article is based on a Case Study Masterclass webinar delivered by CIMA and BPP in November 2020

CIMA CURRENT ADVICE

Should you sit your case study exam online?

Many students do have a successful experience sitting their case study exams online. However, due to the less controlled environment of the online setting and the need for a continuous and regular internet connection, there are some students who have a disrupted exam experience. Test centres offer a reliable, controlled environment in which to take a test. Where possible, if you feel comfortable travelling to a test centre and feel at ease with the safety and hygiene procedures that have been made available in test centres as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, we recommend that you take your case study in a test centre.

Pearson Vue have more information on the measures that have been put in place.

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CIMA - PC Exams (PearsonVUE)

View key dates to help you plan your CGMA® CIMA exams. Objective Tests on demand exams are available all year.  Case Study Exams are session based, with 4 exam windows a year ( February, May, August & November) You can take your exams at our Pearson Vue Centers or you can take your exams online from your home or office. 

CharterQuest is PearsonVUE certified at all 3 campuses. CIMA students can book for their PC exams on our online pc exams portal if the exam registration is open. The exam fee is paid to CharterQuest and this will be remitted to PearsonVUE on the student’s behalf. Book Online now. 

In 2015 CIMA introduced PC Exams for all student assessments. CIMA Students have Objective Tests and Case study exams which they can write via our PearsonVUE Licensed centers at all campuses. 

study exams which they can write via our PearsonVUE Licensed centers at all campuses. 

There are four (4) cycles in which any case study can be written at specified exam week windows: February, May, August and November. 

CIMA students who are not currently enrolled with CharterQuest can also book to write their exams at our PC exam centres.   Click here   to only book your exam without taking any of our courses. 

PearsonVUE has set up practice exams for students. Try CIMA Practice exams    here   . 

Why Choose Our Exam Centres

• Book to write your exam any time of the year, when you are ready
• Book at any of our 3 exam centres – reschedule your exams at no extra costs during the exam booking window period
• Write your exams on Saturdays/Sundays at our Pretoria/Parktown campuses
• Instant results after completing your exam

CIMA 2024 Exam Timetable

There are four windows a year when you can sit the case study exams (February; May; August; and November). Within each window, exams will be available for three days from Wednesday to Friday.

Pre-seen material for the case studies can be found on the  Study Hub . See the below dates and mark the CIMA Exam deadlines. 

February 2024

August 2024

November 2024

CIMA exam fees 2024: a comprehensive guide

This article has details on CIMA exam fees for current or future professionals who want to study CIMA. This includes costs around CIMA membership and subscription fees that are required as part of your studies.

The CIMA exam fees guide is updated regularly.

CIMA Registration fee

To get started with the CIMA qualification, you’ll need to pay the registration fee of £95.

If at any point you need to re-register, for instance if you take an extended break from your studies, the fee is also £95.

The registration fee includes your first year’s CIMA subscription. This is required by all students and qualified CIMA professionals to maintain their CIMA membership status. The subscription runs for a single calendar year – 1 st January to 31 st December.

Alternatively, if you qualify for the accelerated CIMA route via the professional or master’s gateway, the registration fee for both of these options is £425.

What is the CIMA subscription fee?

The annual CIMA subscription fee guarantees your status as a CIMA member.

Fees for the CIMA subscription vary based on your circumstances:

• £130 for those currently studying CIMA
• £300 for those who passed the Strategic Case Study exam (the final exam)
• FREE for new students (first year’s subscription)

CIMA subscription fees are due by 31 March each year to avoid lapsed membership.

What do the CIMA exams cost?

The standard CIMA route to qualification costs £2,293 to sit all the exams. 

This does not include the cost of any resits, which will be the full amount for each exam you need to take again.

Adding the cost of the registration fee and annual subscription over four years , the total cost of the Professional Qualification comes to £2,827.

The fees are broken down as follows:

• You are in a Tier 1 country (Western Europe, Australia, Singapore, USA and Canada)
• £95 for a CIMA student registration
• £390 for annual CIMA student fees over three years
• £2,437 for nine Objective Test and three Case Study exams

If you need to complete the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting before starting the Professional Qualification, you will pay £468 for four Objective Test exams.

Additional costs

There are additional costs that you will need to bear in mind when completing the CIMA qualification.

In order to put yourself in the best position to succeed in the exams, you will need to factor in training costs and extra purchases such as study texts.

Your overall fees will change depending on whether:

• You qualify for an exemption
• You need to resit
• You are in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 market

What are the CIMA study programme costs?

Many people studying the CIMA qualification will have their training paid for by their employer. If you are self-funding CIMA, you have various training options that will affect your study costs.

For example, you could choose to study using all pre-recorded learning materials or through online live evening classes. You may also choose to purchase additional resources such as a mock exam.

There are currently three models for CIMA training:

• Buy paper: Buy your CIMA paper individually and choose from different study modes
• Subscription: Our monthly subscription is a cost-effective way to study for a CIMA qualification
• Apprenticeship: Complete CIMA via an employer-funded apprenticeship route

View study costs by CIMA level and paper.

CIMA exam fees breakdown

View CIMA exam fees by level:

Each level contains multiple Objective Tests.

Read the guide to the CIMA exams.

CIMA exemptions

Exemptions to CIMA papers may be available if you have qualifications or experience relevant to accounting, finance, and business.

If you have a degree related to these subjects, it is likely you will be able to bypass the first level of the CIMA qualification, the Certificate in Business Accounting.

Unlike other accountancy bodies, CIMA does not charge a fee for exemptions.

If you think you may be eligible to an exemption, see CIMA’s exemption policy.

Read the essential guide to CIMA exemptions.

Need help getting started with CIMA? Get in touch with BPP.

BPP is a holder of the CIMA Excellence Award, awarded to select providers with exceptional pass rates. Training with a high-quality institution will help you avoid having to pay costly resits, while feeling confident about becoming a CIMA-qualified accountant at your own pace.

Discover the CIMA levels

Introductory Certificate

First full part of qualification Operational

Build on existing knowledge Management

Become Chartered Strategic

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CIMA Exam Dates 2024: W hen (and how) should you take your next exam?