Qualification Overview
Subjects
Nine subjects organised into three pillars and three levels
Objective Tests
Nine 90 minute computer-based and on-demand exams
Case Studies
Three three hour exams at each level that you can take during four windows per year. You will need to pass all 3 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).
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
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
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
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).
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
Assessment of Practical Experience Requirements (PER)
Once you complete the Strategic level, your last step before earning the CGMA designation and becoming a CIMA membership 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.

Award:
Membership of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (ACMA or FCMA) and the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation.
What study methods can I use?
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 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 own time, on your own 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.
Independent study
Study by yourself with official CIMA endorsed study texts, exam practice kits and revision cards. Your only cost will be the texts, materials and exam fees.
Can’t decide?
Use our Study Planner to help you decide the right study method for you. You can browse all CIMA approved study products, resources and courses in one place.
How much does qualifying for the CIMA Professional Qualification cost?
1. Registration
All new students pay a one-off registration fee, which also covers your first year’s subscription. For most students, registration costs £77.
Re-registration, applicable if your CIMA membership has lapsed and you want to join again, is £77.
2. Annual Subscription
Your first year’s subscription is included in your registration fee.
Your annual student subscription gives you access to things like the Future Mindset pack, the CIMA Study Planner, FM magazine and a listing in the CIMA student directory.
You’ll need an active student subscription to be able to sit your exams and submit your practical experience requirements (PER) which you need to pay every year (after your first year) on 1 January.
3. Exemptions
We removed exemption fees in 2019, so if you think you don’t need to sit certain CIMA exams because of your relevant degree or qualification, all you need to do is tell us about it. We’ll email you with details of how to do that once you’ve registered. You can check whether you’re exempt from any exams using our exemptions calculator.
4. Cost of Exams
You’ll need to pay for each of the nine exams you sit as part of the CIMA Professional Qualification. Take a look at the breakdown of fees below.
CIMA Professional Qualification
Per Operational Level Objective Tests | £115 |
Operational Level Case Study Exam | £195 |
Per Management Level Objective Tests | £130 |
Management Level Case Study Exam | £199 |
Per Strategic Level Objective Tests | £185 |
Strategic Level Case Study Exam | £289 |
Am I eligible for exemptions?
Already got a degree or qualification? You might be exempt from certain Cert BA or Professional Qualification exams, so you could qualify in less time than you think.
Start your registration
To get you signed up as a CIMA student, we’ll ask you for:
- Your contact details, including address, email and phone
- Your current employment details (if you’re working)
- Details of your tuition provider (if you’re studying)
Register with CIMA for:
Professional Qualification