The Self Directed Learning and Assessment Route | CIMA (2024)

The Self-Tailored Learning and Assessment Route

Giving individuals the freedom to choose their study methods, plan their own learning and decide when to take their exams

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The self-tailored study and assessment route to completing the Professional Qualification is made up of nine subjects that are organised into three pillars and three levels.

The three pillars are designed to cover finance and a range of other business areas:

  • The Enterprise Pillar - Develop and implement strategies
  • The Performance Pillar - Track activities and ensure that strategies are realistic and effective
  • The Financial Pillar - Prepare and understand financial statements to keep an eye on performance and inform company decisions

As you progress through the qualification, the content of each of the three levels encourage progressive, constant development of knowledge across the three pillars, ensuring you have the skills business need the most, positioning you to take on leadership roles within your organisation

Self-Tailored Learning and Assessment route structure

Self-Tailored Learning and Assessment route structure

Subjects

Nine subjects organised into three pillars and three levels

Objective Tests

Nine 90 minute computer-based and on-demand exams

Case Studies

You can take three three-hour exams at each level during four windows per year. You will need to pass all three objective tests (or have an exemption) before sitting the case study exam

Completion time

Three to four years

The Structure

The Operational level

At the Operational level, the focus is on short term decision making. Once you’ve completed it, you’ll be able to work with others in your organisation and use appropriate data and technology to translate medium term decisions into short term actionable plans.

Once you’ve finished the Operational level, you’ll be awarded the CIMA Diploma in Management Accounting (CIMA Dip MA).

E1 Managing finance in a digital world

P1 Management Accounting

F1 Financial Reporting

Operational Level Case Study

you are exempt from this level

You COULD CHOOSE TO start the qualification with any of these subjects

E1 Managing finance in a digital world

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Managing finance in a digital world

In this first subject of the Professional Qualification, you’ll learn about the central role that finance plays in an organisation, and how and why technologies used impact the finance function.

You’ll learn how to use and examine data collected and processed by machines to create and preserve value for organisations.

And you’ll get to know how the finance function is structured and shaped, and how it interacts with other parts of the organisation to achieve the objectives of the whole organisation.

Syllabus at a glance:

A. Role of the finance function

B. Technology in a digital world

C. Data and information in a digital world

D. Shape and structure of the finance function

E. Finance interacting with the organisation

Assessment: Objective Test

  • Format: Computer Based
  • Availability: Online and on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office or at any of the 5,500 Pearson VUE centres around the world
  • Length: 90 minutes
  • Questions: 60 objective test questions
  • Marking: Computer marked
  • Results: Provisional results available immediately followed by confirmation no more than 48 hours later

P1 Management Accounting

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Management Accounting

Here, you’ll learn why costing is done and what it is used for, including appropriate costing methods and techniques and where digital costing might be used.

Then you’ll cover how budgets are prepared and implemented across the organisation and the impact these have. You’ll also learn how techniques are applied to ensure sound short term decision making against a backdrop of risk and uncertainty by using appropriate risk management tools.

Syllabus at a glance:

A. Cost Accounting for decision and control

B. Budgeting and budgetary control

C. Short term commercial decision making

D. Risk and uncertainty in the short term

Assessment: Objective Test

  • Format: Computer Based
  • Availability: Online and on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office or at any of the 5,500 Pearson VUE centres around the world
  • Length: 90 minutes
  • Questions: 60 objective test questions
  • Marking: Computer marked
  • Results: Provisional results available immediately followed by confirmation no more than 48 hours later

F1 Financial Reporting

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Financial Reporting

In your first Finance subject, you’ll find out who the regulators are, what they do and why and how regulations are applied.

You’ll learn how to prepare basic financial statements using financial reporting standards and how to distinguish between types of taxes, calculate corporation taxes and issues affecting taxation.

Finally, you’ll learn which tools are used to ensure that the organisation has enough cash to ensure its continuing operations.

Syllabus at a glance:

A. Regulatory environment of financial reporting

B. Financial statements

C. Principles of taxation

D. Managing cash and working capital

Assessment: Objective Test

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Online and on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office or at any of the 5,500 Pearson VUE centres around the world
  • Length: 90 minutes
  • Questions: 60 objective test questions
  • Marking: Computer marked
  • Results: Provisional results available immediately followed by confirmation no more than 48 hours later

Operational Level Case Study

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Operational Level Case Study

The case study exam tests the knowledge, skills and techniques that you’ve learned throughout the Operational level in a role simulation. You’ll be asked to respond to authentic work-based activities, mimicking a job role linked to the Operational level e.g. an entry-level finance professional.

Assessment: Case Study Exam

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Four windows each year (Feb, May, Aug, Nov) at any of the 5,000 Pearson VUE centres around the world or online at your home or office
  • Length: 3 hours
  • Questions: Role-based business simulations
  • Marking: Human marked
  • Results: Available around 6 weeks after the completion of the exam window

The Management Level

At the Management level, you’ll focus on translating long term decisions into medium term plans. Once you’ve completed it, you’ll be able to use data and relevant technology to manage organisational and individual performance, allocate resources to implement decisions; monitor and report implementation of decisions; as well as prepare and interpret financial statements to highlight business performance.

Once you’ve finished the Management Level, you’ll be awarded the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting (CIMA Adv Dip MA).

E2 Managing Performance

P2 Advanced Management Accounting

F2 Advanced Financial Reporting

Management Level Case Study

you are exempt from this level

You COULD CHOOSE TO start the qualification with any of these subjects

E2 Managing Performance

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Managing performance

You’ll learn the fundamentals of business subject and how new business and operating subjects can be developed to improve the performance of organisations.

Discover how different styles of leadership can be used to improve the performance of individuals to achieve organisational goals and how to use performance management concepts and techniques to implement strategies effectively and efficiently.

You’ll be able understand use of project management concepts and techniques useful in implementing strategies.

Syllabus at a glance

A. Business subjects and value creation

B. Managing people performance

C. Managing projects

Assessment: Objective Test

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Online and on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office or at any of the 5,500 Pearson VUE centres around the world
  • Length: 90 minutes
  • Questions: 60 objective test questions
  • Marking: Computer marked
  • Results: Provisional results available immediately followed by confirmation no more than 48 hours later

P2 Advanced Management Accounting

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Advanced Management Accounting

You’ll learn how to use cost management, quality and process management and value management to provide organisations with cost advantage.

You’ll understand the criteria, process and techniques that are used to decide which projects to undertake, how to manage the performance of organisational units to ensure that they achieve their objectives.

Discover how to analyse risks and uncertainties that organisations face in the medium term, especially capital investment decision making, and how to manage those risks in the implementation of such decisions.

Syllabus at a glance

A. Managing the costs of creating value

B. Capital investment decision making

C. Managing and controlling the performance of organisational units

D. Risk and control

Assessment: Objective Test

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Online and on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office or at any of the 5,500 Pearson VUE centres around the world
  • Length: 90 minutes
  • Questions: 60 objective test questions
  • Marking: Computer marked
  • Results: Provisional results available immediately followed by confirmation no more than 48 hours later

F2 Advanced Financial Reporting

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Advanced Financial Reporting

You’ll learn about sources and types of funds and how much they cost, as well as the key financial reporting standards on which financial statements will be based and the application of those standards to prepare group accounts.

You’ll also learn about the International Integrated Reporting Framework and its components and how to conduct analyses of financial statements and their limitations.

Syllabus at a glance

A. Financing capital projects

B. Financial reporting standards

C. Group accounts

D. Integrated reporting

E. Analysing financial statements

Assessment: Objective Test

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Online and on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office or at any of the 5,500 Pearson VUE centres around the world
  • Length: 90 minutes
  • Questions: 60 objective test questions
  • Marking: Computer marked
  • Results: Provisional results available immediately followed by confirmation no more than 48 hours later

Management Level Case Study

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Management Level Case Study

The case study exam tests the knowledge, skills and techniques that you’ve learned throughout the Management level in a role simulation. You’ll be asked to respond to authentic work-based activities, mimicking a job role linked to the Management level e.g. a finance manager.

Assessment: Case Study Exam

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Four windows each year (Feb, May, Aug, Nov) at any of the 5,000 Pearson VUE centres around the world or online at your home or office
  • Length: 3 hours
  • Questions: Role-based business simulations
  • Marking: Human marked
  • Results: Available around 6 weeks after the completion of the exam window

The Strategic Level

The Strategic level focuses on long term strategic decision making. Once you’ve completed it, you’ll be able to support organisational leaders to craft strategy; evaluate and manage risks that might prevent organisations from successfully implementing strategy; value organisations; and source financial resources required to implement of strategy.

E3 Strategic Management

P3 Risk Management

F3 Financial Strategy

Strategic Level Case Study

you are exempt from this level

You COULD CHOOSE TO start the qualification with any of these subjects

E3 Strategic Management

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Strategic Management

You’ll learn about the foundation of strategic management and get an understanding of the dynamics of the organisational ecosystem and how it affects the strategy of the organisation.

Next, you’ll learn all about strategic choice and how options are generated, linking them to the purpose, values and vision of the organisation and how the options are evaluated, chosen and integrated to form the strategy of the organisation.

You’ll cover how strategy is implemented, how implementation objectives are achieved and how change is managed.

And you’ll learn about the different technologies that underpin digital transformation and various elements of digital strategy.

Syllabus at a glance:

A. The Strategy process

B. Analysing the organisational ecosystem

C. Generating strategic options

D. Making strategic choices

E. Strategic control

F. Digital strategy

Assessment: Objective Test

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Online and on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office or at any of the 5,500 Pearson VUE centres around the world
  • Length: 90 minutes
  • Questions: 60 objective test questions
  • Marking: Computer marked
  • Results: Provisional results available immediately followed by confirmation no more than 48 hours later

P3 Risk Management

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Risk Management

How to identify, evaluate and manage enterprise risks.

Where strategic risks emanate from, how to evaluate them and understand how oversight of these risks is critical to the governance of the organisation.

How internal controls can be used effectively in the risk management process and how to identify, analyse, remedy and report strategic risks including cyber risks.

Syllabus at a glance:

A. Enterprise risk

B. Strategic risk

C. Internal controls

D. Cyber risk

Assessment: Objective Test

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Online and on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office or at any of the 5,500 Pearson VUE centres around the world
  • Length: 90 minutes
  • Questions: 60 objective test questions
  • Marking: Computer marked
  • Results: Provisional results available immediately followed by confirmation no more than 48 hours later

F3 Financial Strategy

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Financial Strategy

You’ll learn about the different strategic financial objectives and policy options that are open to organisations.

Next, you’ll cover the types of funds available to organisations to finance the implementation of their strategies, including where and how they access these funds at the right time, in the right quantities and at the right cost.

Then you’ll move onto the sources of financial risk, how to evaluate and manage financial risk appropriately, and techniques in business valuation to assess whether a company has created and preserved value within the organisation.

Finally, you’ll learn the valuation techniques to calculate the value of organisations and the conditions applicable for such calculations, especially intangibles in the digital world. You’ll learn how to report intangible value and their drivers in integrated reporting.

Syllabus at a glance:

A. Financial policy decisions

B. Sources of long term funds

C. Financial risks

D. Business valuation

Assessment: Objective Test

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Online and on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office or at any of the 5,500 Pearson VUE centres around the world
  • Length: 90 minutes
  • Questions: 60 objective test questions
  • Marking: Computer marked
  • Results: Provisional results available immediately followed by confirmation no more than 48 hours later

Strategic Level Case Study

You are excempt from this subject

You COULD start here

Strategic Level Case Study

The case study exam tests the knowledge, skills and techniques that you’ve learned throughout the Strategic level in a role simulation. You’ll be asked to respond to authentic work-based activities, mimicking a job role linked to the Strategic level e.g. a senior finance manager.

C3

  • Format: Computer based
  • Availability: Four windows each year (Feb, May, Aug, Nov) at any of the 5,000 Pearson VUE centres around the world or online at your home or office
  • Length: 3 hours
  • Questions: Role-based business simulations
  • Marking: Human marked
  • Results: Available around 6 weeks after the completion of the exam window

Assessment of Practical Experience Requirements (PER)

Once you complete the Strategic level, your last step before earning the CGMA designation and becoming a CIMA member is to demonstrate that you have a minimum of three years’ relevant work experience (this can be accumulated before, during and after your studies). Your experience is assessed through the Practical Experience Requirements (PER) application.

The Self Directed Learning and Assessment Route | CIMA (1)

Award:

The Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation and membership of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (ACMA or FCMA).

What study methods can you use?

What study methods can you use?

Your learning is supported with over 60 hours of on-demand video.

Tuition provider courses

If you like to learn with others, appreciate the support of having a tutor on -hand and benefit from the structure of the formal study, look at signing up with a tuition provider. You’ll find online-only courses, classroom, and a mixture of both. Costs will vary between providers, so check with them directly for information on fees.

Distance learning

Want to study in your time, on your terms? Choose when and where you study with CIMAstudy.com — the only online learning resource reviewed and approved by CIMA, delivered in partnership with Kaplan. Costs vary depending on the level of the course you’re taking: check the breakdown of fees on CIMAstudy.com.

Online and distance learning with CIMAstudy.com

CIMAStudy.com is the only online learning resource reviewed and approved by CIMA, delivered in partnership with Kaplan. It’s ideal if you live somewhere with little or no tuition provision, or if you prefer to self-study at your own pace.

Can’t decide?

Whatever your learning style, the CGMA Study Hub is your go-to resource. With articles, webcasts, videos, and access to all CIMA- approved study products, you’ll find a study aid that works for you. There’s even a well-being section to help you through your studies, with resources on everything from exam nerves to getting motivated.

Which learning and assessment route should I take?

Shape your studies how you want, using a tuition provider or opting to self-study, or enrol on the CGMA Finance Leadership Programme for a fully guided study experience.

Find the right learning route for you

Am I eligible for exemptions?

If you have a degree or a qualification, you might be exempt from certain Certificate in Business Accounting or CGMA Professional Qualification exams. That means you could qualify sooner than you think.

Check your exemptions

Start your registration

Before you choose your registration route, make sure you have the following to hand:

  • Your contact details, including address, phone and email
  • Your current employment details (if you are working)
  • Details of your tuition provider (if you are studying)

Register for Self-Tailored Learning and Assessment Route

Ready to start your registration? Start here at aicpa-cima.com/register

The Self Directed Learning and Assessment Route  | CIMA (2024)

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