CIMA...... Just got started

Yeah I did CIMA from certificate level which meant I was able to go from scratch to passing my final exam in just over 3 years. Found the certificate level perfectly fine to prepare me for the proper exams.
 
Ooh fun.

I'm doing ACA. Have done my first 5 already and passed without issue (Accountancy, Assurance, Tax, Law, Business and Finance) and have FAR and AA coming up in March.

Thankfully the company I work for lets us do self study. Could not face being in a classroom environment for weeks like some of the others.
 
From memory you can do CIMA from scratch with a degree or AAT. Well done to those who passed and best of luck to those with more to come.

Where are you working Hxc?
 
Hxc said:
Ooh fun.

I'm doing ACA. Have done my first 5 already and passed without issue (Accountancy, Assurance, Tax, Law, Business and Finance) and have FAR and AA coming up in March.

Thankfully the company I work for lets us do self study. Could not face being in a classroom environment for weeks like some of the others.
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Doing FAR and BPT self-study, no thanks. :o Fair play for that!
 
Hxc said:
Ooh fun.

I'm doing ACA. Have done my first 5 already and passed without issue (Accountancy, Assurance, Tax, Law, Business and Finance) and have FAR and AA coming up in March.

Thankfully the company I work for lets us do self study. Could not face being in a classroom environment for weeks like some of the others.
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The early ACA exams are ok for self study, I would not have wanted to do all of them that way...
 
So after posting on the first page of this thread...five and a half years later.

Went to Uni to study economics and failed (one module in final year, twice). Left with a Diploma of Higher Education.

Subsequently got a job as a butcher and started my AAT Level 3. In November last year I got a job at a quite fantastic, large, private client firm. Finished off my AAT Level 4 last month and my firm have started me on my Association of Taxation Technician exams.

Still looking to start the ACA but that will most likely be in January 2016.
 
Pudney said:
The early ACA exams are ok for self study, I would not have wanted to do all of them that way...
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I have always hated the classroom environment, barely attended lectures at university, and detest the few days of onboarding we do with my job for the ACA. Currently studying for FAR and AA and it is not an issue, pretty sure it will go fine.

Each to their own, I learn virtually nothing being in a classroom, others cannot stand this self learning pathway we have.
 
Thread Revival:

So what's everyone making of the 2015 syllabus? I managed to complete the Managerial level on the 2010 syllabus in the November sitting, doing quite well in E2 & P2, the latter which had a 33% global pass rate :eek:

I experienced the Objective Testing (computer based, mix of calculative, multiple choice, blank fill etc) before at the certificate level so it was not new to me however the time pressure in F3 was ridiculous.

I'm all for making it harder, now 90 minutes instead of 180 with a pass mark of 70% instead of 50% and all learning outcomes examined rather than a selection but the failure rate has been hideously high, with one trainer provider citing a 12% pass rate for P3. Time pressure in F was unbelievable and quite how you can objectively test strategic level studies still surpasses me.

Which promoted my training provider to announce this in April:

BPP Update – CIMA P3 and F3 Objective Test Examinations
This communication provides our up to date understanding of the issue and some practical advice for our current P3 and F3 students.

We received our pass rate reports for the 2015 OT papers in the middle of April, and they showed that the results for P3 and F3 were lower than the other seven OT papers. (CIMA’s transition rules mean we cannot share any pass rate detail externally until July 2015). We immediately flagged our concerns to CIMA.

Given the pass rates CIMA themselves were seeing across the entire market for P3 and F3, and the feedback they have received, P3 and F3 have been prioritised in their planned review process, and an update from CIMA is now expected in the middle of May.
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And CIMA today:

Thank you for having recently taken our F3 and/or P3 exam(s). We know just how hard you have worked to get this far and recognise that the time and effort of taking the exams is considerable.

A number of you have expressed concerns. We are grateful for the feedback and are committed to addressing it as quickly as possible. We recognise the difficulties that have arisen for some of you.

I would like to take this opportunity to explain the current situation and to let you know that we will be able to confirm your position on 11 June 2015. For some who have failed, this will mean that you will be told you have passed, as we go on to explain.

Our recently launched computer-based objective tests have been widely welcomed as an important innovation. The change in the exam method which meant that results could be immediately given online from January 2015 necessarily relied on predicted scores. Now that we have enough data to analyse actual performance, we know that, in two of the nine subject exams, pass marks were higher than they needed to be to demonstrate competence.

We have decided that we should, and will, change the pass mark for the P3 and F3 exams. We will apply these changes both retrospectively and to future exams.

This means, that following the review which is underway:
• Students who have failed either exam one or multiple times will have their exams reviewed and may receive a pass
• Students who have failed one or multiple times and subsequently passed, will have their earlier fails reviewed to establish whether they would have passed earlier
• Students who have taken the exam and passed first time retain their pass. No pass will be changed to a fail
• The pass mark for the P3 exam has been changed
• The pass mark for the F3 exam will be changed by 3 June 2015 and any exam sat beforehand will be subjected to the review

It is important the review process is fair, comprehensive and robust for each student concerned. Once it is complete, we will contact you on 11 June 2015 with your outcome and to explain the next steps.

We will be unable to confirm any student’s individual position before 11 June, so please be patient with us for a little longer.

We recognise and are grateful to you for being one of the first students to take these new exams. Given the gap between the actual pass marks and those needed to demonstrate competence, I am sorry that we were not clearer in managing your expectations and setting out the basis on which results might be reviewed, and if necessary, changed.

Whilst this is by no means unique to CIMA – as you may be aware from coverage of similar issues reported by many other exam boards – I do recognise that this has had some significant impacts depending on individual circumstances for you and fellow students who were the first to take these exams.

We are committed to working with you to ensure that you are in the best possible position to succeed in your studies – and will review your situation with you once your results are confirmed on 11 June.

You have my personal commitment that we will do right by you on your journey with CIMA.

Yours sincerely,

Noel Tagoe
Executive Director, CIMA Education
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Speechless...
 
That is ridiculous, there are likely to be people who have been kicked off training schemes/lost jobs for failing those exams who might now get a pass.

Heads should roll.
 
BennyC said:
Speechless...
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Really quite astonishing, I understand that to an extent it can be difficult to test exams comprehensively before releasing them but I really hope no student loses out because of whatever happened and that CIMA does its level best to ensure that it all works out. A 12% pass rate would suggest that the exams haven't been calibrated properly. The upcoming AGM could be interesting viewing after this.
 
My company heavily pushes CIMA however the feedback from our grads is that the new syllabus is poor. It has been badly implemented, riddled with mistakes and impossibly time pressured.

As a member I am highly embarrassed at the current shambles.
 
I've sat E2 and F2 so far under the new syllabus, I'm tacking P2 in June and looking to take the case study on in August.

I must admit I much preferred the old paper exams, they were in much greater depth and as such easier to study for. There was also a wealth of past exam papers available which gave you some guide for what to expect. The transition to the new syllabus has been very hit and miss also - you're expected to have knowledge of things that have appeared in F1 and E1, however these were not in the F1 and E1 syllabuses until now so there is a bit of a knowledge gap which served to derail my F2 studies a bit.

From a students point of view, I enjoy being able to sit the exams when I want, taking on 3 exams in 3 months without the need to overlap my studies but I am concerned that it devalues the qualification.
 
As the pass mark is now so much higher presumably the papers themselves must now be easier - otherwise the pass mark would have remained the same. Having sat both would you agree with that, Rids?
 
semi-pro waster said:
Really quite astonishing, I understand that to an extent it can be difficult to test exams comprehensively before releasing them but I really hope no student loses out because of whatever happened and that CIMA does its level best to ensure that it all works out. A 12% pass rate would suggest that the exams haven't been calibrated properly. The upcoming AGM could be interesting viewing after this.
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[TW]Fox;28097638 said:
The whole thing is ridiculous, the new testing scheme is pathetic. What was wrong with traditional written exams?
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SpeedFreak said:
My company heavily pushes CIMA however the feedback from our grads is that the new syllabus is poor. It has been badly implemented, riddled with mistakes and impossibly time pressured.

As a member I am highly embarrassed at the current shambles.
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Apparently the case study uses a scalar marking scheme too, which none of the training providers were told, and to quote a tutor 'you could fail with 62% but pass with 53% depending on your proficiency across the competences.'

I too preferred the old style exams as whilst there were right/wrong answers you could still display a level of understanding and competence and gain some marks even if you couldn't fully answer the question. Now it's either completely right or completely wrong and even practise & revision kit answers are laughable and completely subjective and totally hopeless, can't help but laugh.

You're not even given a mark now, just pass/fail and 2 days later you can login to see which areas of the syllabus your were/weren't proficient in but failing say all 5, with 69% could give the illusion that you're no where near passing when it'd be quite the opposite.

At £115 a pop it's a total cash cow.
 
[TW]Fox;28097772 said:
As the pass mark is now so much higher presumably the papers themselves must now be easier - otherwise the pass mark would have remained the same. Having sat both would you agree with that, Rids?
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Its really hard to say - I'd say that your knowledge of the whole syllabus needs to be better, but perhaps more superficial. Although you may need to be able to manage all the calculations involved in producing a full set of group accounts, you know that you're not going to be expected to do it in an objective test. With the paper based exams before I found that it was quite easy to question spot where you big marks were going to come from and you could really focus in on those particular syllabus areas - for example every single F1 exam since the 2010 syllabus was introduced has a full 25+ mark question on published accounts.

I have found on both E2 and F2 that more obscure syllabus areas tend to be tested - I think on a 60 question paper I had 5 questions on asset classification (AFS, HTM, FVPL, etc) which was a 10 page chapter in the study text.
 
[TW]Fox;28097772 said:
As the pass mark is now so much higher presumably the papers themselves must now be easier - otherwise the pass mark would have remained the same. Having sat both would you agree with that, Rids?
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Not at all, with half the time available, every syllabus area/outcome examined, no written materials available except for dry wipe boards & marker pens and subjective answers to objective test questions...

I don't want the qualification to be easy but it shouldn't be ridiculously difficult either. I haven't an aversion to putting the work in, believe you me but just a fair chance at passing would be nice.People have managed to pass but as you can imagine very few.
 
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