- Course Finder
- Career Advice
- PQ Awards 2022
- PQ Awards 2021
- PQ Awards 2020
- PQ Magazine
- NQ Magazine
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.
Copyright © 2024 PQ Publishing.
Privacy Overview
Tips for 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.
1) 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 1-hour per task, each task has two to three sub-tasks
2) Understand the Case Study exam cycle.
- Preseen — Released seven weeks before Exam 1
- Exam 1 — Exam cycle is May and August . The same three to four exam variants are offered both months.
- Results — Released seven weeks after the exam
- Preseen — Released seven weeks before Exam 2
- Exam 2 — Exam cycle is November and February . The same three to four exam variants are offered both months.
C opyright: BPP
3) 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.
4) 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
“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.” – MCS Examiner
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.
0800 048 7804 | [email protected]
About Us Testimonials Exam Dates About CIMA Quick Purchase Basket Help Contact Us studyHUB Home
CIMA Management Case Study
Theory revision series
In our post-exam surveys after almost every management case study exam, students tell us they wish they’d spent MORE time revising the theory from their E2, F2 and P2 exams.
For many students, it’s been months (if not years) between them passing their objective test exams and attempting the case study – a lot of time for their knowledge to slip!
And yet, to revise all three subjects in full is nigh on impossible when you also have to understand the pre-seen and master your case study technique too.
Our aim is to save you time and make your life easier! We have examined the last 8 years of case studies to work out what theory tends to come up regularly and what rarely comes up at all, and summarised all the key examinable topics in a clear and simple way in our revision texts and videos.
Our MCS theory revision series: + Covers all the most important theory that you need to know for the case study exams + Converts the key content from over 1,200 pages of syllabus study texts into just 453 pages + Condenses the theory into manageable chunks, with around 26 hours of video to watch + Gives you the platform to successfully apply the syllabus theory to the pre-seen company and the un-seen exam scenarios
Find out exactly what’s covered and take a look at our samples from the theory revision series below.
“I couldn’t recommend Astranti enough. I used them throughout my case study preparations and found their materials prepared me so well for the exams, meaning I was confident in all aspects from exam technique to theory to case study analysis.”
CIMA Case Study Student , January 2024
“I have completed CIMA’s MCS and SCS with Astranti and have passed them both at first attempt. Great Customer Service, Course Structure is Excellent. Mocks and Theory Revision Kits are the best feature of the course.”
CIMA Qualified , April 2022
Learn what it takes to pass
Focus on the key topics you’re most likely to be tested on
Refresh your syllabus knowledge with help from our tutors
Clear and simple examples bring each topic to life
Reduce revision time
Avoid rereading the full E2, F2 and P2 study texts
Save yourself time and focus on the most important topics
Revise from one place, using our study texts or videos
Switch up your learning
Watch the videos, download the audio or print the study texts
Cement your knowledge in the way that suits you
Content is split into manageable chunks to make things easier
Take a look for yourself…
Part 1 – Key theory from CIMA E2
Part 1 - What's covered?
- Chapter 1: The elements of business models
- Chapter 2: Management and leadership
- Chapter 3: Culture and conflict
- Chapter 4: The management of groups
- Chapter 5: Project management
Total video running time: 8 hours
Part 2 – Key theory from CIMA F2
Part 2 - What's covered?
- Chapter 1: Long-term finance
- Chapter 2: Group accounts
- Chapter 3: Foreign currency transactions
- Chapter 4: IFRS 15 revenue
- Chapter 5: IFRS 38 intangible assets
- Chapter 6: Provisions and contingencies
Total video running time: 9 hours
Part 3 – Key theory from CIMA P2
Part 3 - What's covered?
- Chapter 1: Investment appraisal
- Chapter 2: Activity based management
- Chapter 3: Cost planning
- Chapter 4: Cost management
- Chapter 5: Product life cycle and pricing strategies
- Chapter 6: Risk management
- Chapter 7: Performance evaluation
- Chapter 8: Performance measurement in responsibility centres
- Chapter 9: Transfer pricing
Total video running time: 9.5 hours
What our students have to say…
Please see our testimonials page for our latest student reviews. Here are a couple of examples:
“I have completed CIMA’s MCS and SCS with Astranti and have passed them both at first attempt.
Great Customer Service, Course Structure is Excellent. Mocks and Theory Revision Kits are the best feature of the course.”
“I have purchased the theory revision series for Management Case Study and now Strategic. Very informative and provides useful scenarios you can expect to see in the exams as well as gaining an understanding of how to build application marks in case studies.
I passed MCS first time with the help of this, so I’ve purchased in again for SCS. Fingers crossed! Would highly recommend this revision series. Thank you!”
Passed CIMA MCS , October 2021
Purchase the theory revision series
The Theory Revision Series is also part of our MCS Premium Course. Head to the course page to find out more.
MCS Theory Revision Series £165
To qualify for the pass guarantee you need to ensure you complete ALL of the following steps. Failure to complete all of these steps will mean you will not qualify.
| You must complete both practice exams and one of the mock exams and send them to your allocated marker by the deadlines set out in the course schedule.
| You must not copy the mock exam solutions. If you do so this will invalidate your pass guarantee.
|
| You must achieve an average mark of at least 30% in your submitted practice and mock exams. This is to ensure you are putting in enough effort.
| You must attend or watch the recorded versions of the masterclasses and make notes on the pass guarantee form.
|
| Use the pass guarantee form to document your key learning points throughout your studies, submit within 1 week of the final exam. | You must confirm that you have read and understood the pass guarantee terms. |
View & Print:
1. Click the “View + Print” link to view the study text.
2. Wait for all of the pages to load , this can sometimes take a couple of minutes depending on the size of the document (scroll to the last page to ensure that every page loads).
3. Click on the print icon within the document viewer (NOT the print icon in the browser menu).
4. Follow the steps to print.
Other things to try:
Please try an alternative browser. Google Chrome and Firefox are recommended, but other browsers may also work. Updating your browser to the latest version can help your document load more quickly.
If you are using Windows XP and a version of Internet Explorer older than 9, we cannot guarantee that printing will be possible. We recommend obtaining access to a computer with at least Windows 7.
Updating to the latest version of flash can help to resolve some people’s printing issues ( download the latest version of flash .)
If your document fails to load, try clearing your cache and browser history. If your documents still do not load it may be due to the network you are on. We suggest trying to print on a different network.
If you still cannot print your document we suggest using a different computer and/or printer in case you are experiencing a hardware issue.
This Content is Locked
To access this resource you will need to purchase it, or join our complete course. Visit our quick purchase page to get the resources you need.
| You must complete mock exams 1 to 3 and send them to your allocated marker by the deadlines set out in the course schedule.
| You must not copy the mock exam solutions. If you do so this will invalidate your pass guarantee.
|
| You must achieve an average mark of at least 40% in your full mock exams. This is to ensure you are putting in enough effort.
| You must attend or watch the recorded versions of masterclasses 1 & 2 and make notes on the pass guarantee form.
|
| Use the pass guarantee form to document your key learning points throughout your studies, submit within 1 week of the final exam. | You must confirm that you have read and understood the pass guarantee terms. |
Exam pass rates
Certificate in Business Accounting, CIMA’s CGMA® Professional Qualification Objective Test and Case Study Exam pass rates
Every purchase you make from the AICPA & CIMA is safe and secure. We also guarantee 100% customer satisfaction on most of our products. If you’re not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us.
To start the return process, please contact us first. View all products eligible for refunds .
This site is brought to you by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the global voice of the accounting and finance profession, founded by the American Institute of CPAs and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
CA Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
Management Case Study
Exam windows, exam resources.
Resources to help you prepare for your case study exam.
Exam Resource
A Walkthrough of Real Exam Answers
Tables and formulae provided in exam, free exam and question tutorial management case study, case study performance descriptors, calculator guidance, resitters guide - ot and cs exams, learning resources catalogue, what do my exam results mean, further reading.
Exam Technique
Case Study support 1 – preparing for the Case Study exam
Case study support 2 – planning a good answer, case study support 3 – developing a fuller answer.
Study Support
How to use the CGMA Blueprints
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Full Post Exam Materials MCS and Gateway Nov 21- Feb 22. This document contains the full post exam supporting materials for the November 2021 and February 2022 management / gateway case study exam containing: The CGMA Study Hub keeps you on track to achieve your personal study goals.
CIMA Management Case Study (MCS) Exam - How-to Guide + Tips CIMA Case Study May 2022 - August 2022Practice Tests Academy is your interactive way to successfu...
Full Post Exam Materials May /August 2021 MCS and Gateway. This document contains the full post exam supporting materials for the May and August 2021 management case study and CIMA gateway exam containing: The CGMA Study Hub keeps you on track to achieve your personal study goals.
View key dates to help you plan your studies Plan your CIMA's CGMA® exams. On-demand tests are available all year. 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 through Friday.
As part of the Management case study exam, you'll have 30 to 60 minutes to write a financial report or response to a colleague, manager, or senior executive via email. In the exam you can expect 4 tasks to answer. A good, clear, writing style is very important. Use short, digestible, paragraphs to make it easy for the marker to read, and give ...
A comprehensive guide to the Management Case Study for May, August, November 2021 and February 2022 exam windows. Why do I need it? To help you prepare for the MCS exam by understanding examinable topics, the assessment approach and exam weightings. The CGMA Study Hub keeps you on track to achieve your personal study goals.
April 2022. 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. ... Management Case Study (MCS)
Dedicated to helping you pass your case study exam. Ever since our first CIMA case study course over 14 years ago, Astranti has gained a reputation for offering the most comprehensive case study courses in the market. Our courses are dedicated to providing you with the best advice and support to help you pass your exams on the first attempt.
The CIMA Professional Management Level Case Study Text will provide you with the understanding of the Integrated Case Study requirements. You'll also have the tools to analyse the pre-seen material for your exam. Kaplan Publishing is the only official publisher of CIMA approved material, meaning that all of our books and materials have been ...
Exam resources from the last CIMA case study - November 2023 & February 2024. In this section you can access the pre-seen documents and interim examiner's reports for the previous case study sitting, as well as links to our pre-seen analysis video archive playlist on YouTube. The full examiner's reports are usually published around the ...
CIMA Case Study Student, January 2022 "I purchased the full course and it was brilliant; the preseen analysis was very useful, the exam technique was absolutely vital, and I was really grateful for the marked mocks and support from tutors (and other students on Yammer)." ... Planning is one of the keys to passing the CIMA Management Case ...
The pre-seen for the May/August 2022 CIMA management case study exam has been released! This time the MCS is on Piping Tea, a company which produces packaged...
This document contains the full post exam supporting materials for the May and August 2022 operational case study exam containing: pre-seen material. exam variants. suggested solutions. examiners report. marking guidance.
The online Familiarisation Workbook focuses on the pre-seen information provided by CIMA and includes in-depth analysis of the data specific to each live case. Registered in England and Wales. Number: 1028790. 179-191 Borough High Street, London SE1 1HR. Books and materials for CIMA Professional Management Case Study.
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. 1) Understand the three Case Study levels. Each Case Study exam lasts three hours, with multiple tasks of equal lengths.
ACCESS. Strategic level case study Highest AchieversStrategic level case study Highest Achievers. Check out the latest CIMA diploma in management accounting highest achievers! February 2024. Strategic case study. November 2023. Strategic case study. August 2023. Strategic case study.
This site is brought to you by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the global voice of the accounting and finance profession, founded by the American Institute of CPAs and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
This document contains the full post exam supporting materials for the November 2022 and February 2023 Strategic Case Study exam containing: pre-seen material; exam variants; suggested solutions; examiners report (available from 28 April) marking guidance (available from 28 April)
Study on the move Online content and even our Pocket Notes are designed to help you when you've on the move. If you can't carry your big textbook around, you can still access everything you need to keep up with your learning. Study text, exam kit and revision cards for CIMA qualifications. Includes two marked mock exams for all subjects.
For the second year running, Astranti has been presented with a Global Pass Rate Excellence Award in the AICPA & CIMA Registered Tuition Provider Excellence Awards!. This award is presented to tuition providers who exceed average pass rates over three case study windows and across all three levels of the CIMA Professional Qualification.. It's an honour to have won this award in both 2022 and ...
Pass rates Certificate in Business Accounting and CIMA's CGMA® Professional Qualification Objective Test and Case Study Exam pass rates . ... founded by the American Institute of CPAs and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Free exam and question tutorial management case study. Exam Resource. Case Study Performance Descriptors. Exam Resource. Calculator guidance. Exam Resource. Resitters Guide - OT and CS exams. Exam Resource. Learning Resources Catalogue . Exam Resource. What do my exam results mean. Further reading.
Case study exams can be sat at a Pearson Vue centre, or remotely at home. Find your nearest Pearson VUE centre. Case study exams are across a three day period four times a year - February, May, August, and November. For these dates visit the CIMA website. Exam structure: The Case Study exams consist of a series of tasks based on pre-seen material.