Beginners Advice

Hi John,
CIMA in my opinion is hard work and you have to take into consideration work pressures, life commitments along with study. Have you studied? Depending on whether you have a relevant degree, an MBA or AAT, you may be exempted from certain papers. It might be worth having a chat to CIMA and finding out.
If you have spoken to CIMA and know what exams to embark on then I would recommend taking a look at this link www.cimaglobal.com/Studying/study-and-resources/ which will give you an overview.
If you do not have any exemptions, CIMA is made up of 4 levels. Each level has 4 exams so 16 exams in total. The papers in the certificate level and all the other exams apart from the case study papers are known as objective tests. When you sit an objective test, you get a provisional pass or fail after the exam. You have to wait 48 hours for confirmation of your mark. They are 90 minutes in total. You need to score 70% to pass and you can book them at an exam centre or at home. This link has more information. www.cimaglobal.com/Studying/Exams/
The case study exams can only be sat in Feb, May, Aug and November. These exams are 3 hours long and you need to score 60%. It is about 7 weeks to get a case study result.
CIMA is made up of a certificate level - 4 exams in economics, in management accounting, financial accounting and corporate governance
Operational exams: 4 exams - finance accounting F1, management accounting P1, and enterprise paper E1. After finishing all three papers you have to pass an operational case study
Management level 4 exams E1, F2, P2. You will have to pass a management case study exam.
Strategic Level 4 exams E3, F3, P3.To finish you will need to pass the Strategic case study exam.
To qualify you need 3 years of relevant practical experience and apply for CIMA membership.
If you have any further questions please shout!