PQ CIMA exams
What the examiner wants When it comes to the CIMA case study exams, Clancy Peiris knows what type of answers the examiners love to see
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IMA case study exams are designed to test our students’ ability to deal with tasks and solve challenges in a real-life business environment. Generally speaking, examiners love to see answers where students demonstrate good technical understanding and can apply their knowledge to the particular business scenario presented in the exam. They also love to see answers where students can showcase sound professional judgement when applying the syllabus content to their case study exam. To this effect, examiners have instructed markers to adopt a holistic approach to marking, which means that your answer to each sub-task is read in full before being assessed on its own merits. Here are top five things you should be familiar with and grasp to produce CIMA case study exam answers examiners love to see. 1 Understand your role To better understand the examiners’ expectations at each level, you should start by looking at the specific role being simulated in the CIMA exam blueprints. This includes understanding the role of finance, the job role being simulated as well as the related job tasks. The simulation will require you to demonstrate that you have acquired the knowledge, skills and mindset of the CIMA finance professional along with an appreciation of the impact of the features of the simulation such as the
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context, organisational structures, environment and ecosystem within which the organisation operates. For instance, in the CIMA Operational case study exam the role simulated is that of an entry level finance professional, called ‘Finance Officer’ in the exam. The Finance Officer is responsible for planning and coordinating business operations through the preparation of budgets and financial reports based on data collected by the organisation’s information systems. At this level, you’ll be assessed on six core activities that accurately represent the most frequent and critical tasks an entry level finance professional should be able to perform. Being familiar with the role and the job tasks simulated along with the core activities and assessment outcomes for each case study exam is extremely useful for students. So don’t forget to read the CIMA examinations blueprint for your level available on the CIMA website – it’ll help you get in the right mindset, think like a finance professional and keep your answers relevant. 2 Sharpen your technical knowledge Each level of the CIMA Professional Qualification culminates in a case study exam, which integrates the knowledge, skills and techniques from across the three pillars into one synoptic capstone examination. The case study exam is a role simulation. It requires candidates to perform authentic work-based activities presented during the course of the exam, drawing together
learning from each of the three subjects to provide solutions to the issues and challenges asked – just as a CIMA qualified professional does every day, you need to draw on your knowledge and skills to support the business. To pass the case study exams, you’ll need to have solid technical knowledge and understanding of all the syllabus topics across each of the core activities. It’s not sufficient to rely on what you remember from sitting your objective tests, because chances are you won’t – so revise the technical materials! You’ll also need to strike the right balance between technical understanding and practical application to the issues and challenges raised in the scenario. Simply reproducing rote-learned answers or pure technical knowledge will score very few or no marks. If you successfully complete the core activities (or business-related tasks) for the role being simulated, you’ll be demonstrating your technical knowledge of course – but most importantly, you’ll demonstrate that you have the skills and mindset expected of a finance professional at that level. To help you prepare for this, I’d again recommend that you have a look at the CIMA exam blueprints to shed some light on what’s examinable by helping you understand the core activities, assessment outcomes and weightings for that level. 3 Check the performance descriptors For each case study exam, CIMA has developed performance descriptors to help you make sense of your exam results feedback. Don’t overlook them, here’s why. PQ Magazine August 2021
