CIMA and me, ADHD and FLP

Mandy Ross explains how she qualified with CIMA after changing her study pathway to the CGMA Finance Leadership Program (FLP).

Iaccidentally fell into finance through a prior job. There was an opening in the accounts department, and as I quite like numbers I applied for it. From there, I worked up through AP, and through processing.

Then, when I became an accounts assistant, a colleague suggested that I do my accounting exams. Both my finance director and finance manager at the time were CIMA qualified so they heavily influenced my decision to do CIMA over any other qualification – mostly because it’s a more rounded qualification, and a little bit more interesting than traditional accounting.

Once I had done the certificate level I took a break from studying, before coming back and doing the traditional route. But I found it overwhelming – not so much the content, but the actual studying with working full time.

I’m neurodivergent. I have ADHD, and as people with ADHD and other neurodivergences know, sometimes studying can be a little bit challenging, especially if there are issues around focus.

I decided to study CIMA via the Finance Leadership Program (FLP) – it just seemed like a much more accessible approach. Once I got started it really changed things for me.

My experience of FLP was a less stressful, less overwhelming experience than the traditional route. The textbooks for traditional route, as a lot of you probably know, are quite thick, and when you pick one of them up it can be quite daunting.

It made studying much easier. The content was still the same, but the actual process of studying was much easier. It’s much more flexible. Those little tick boxes, once you’ve done a module, are just like a little sticker on your sticker chart, which is a great motivator.

FLP is all online. You can literally pick it up and do it anywhere you like. I’ve sat in waiting rooms and done a little bit, even sat on the bus.
And I did some lying by the pool on holiday. It’s just much easier to accommodate around a bit of a work/life balance.

Also, it’s in bite size chunks, so although you can do the same with a textbook, it’s just a different mindset. It’s just a different way of learning. For me, it was easier to study that way.

It wasn’t that the content was any easier. It was still hard. You still have the case study, but it was easier to learn.

You can set yourself targets for how much you want to do in a week and almost make it a little competition for yourself. There are built-in aids there to help make it more accessible for people that are not neurotypical, and possibly other disabilities or even life challenges such as working around kids. It’s really forward-thinking and it’s a very accessible approach to learning.

A stressful wait

Waiting for your exam results is probably one of the most stressful times in your life. I did, however, manage to get some sleep, but I set an alarm clock for about a quarter to midnight because CIMA are not the nicest in releasing their exam results at midnight.

I was actually in bed when I got my exam results. I was refreshing my phone, waiting for the results to come through. When I got the little notification saying that I passed my final exam.

I can’t even describe the feeling. It was really exciting, but it was also a huge relief. I felt the weight lifting off my shoulders. I didn’t think it would affect me as much, but I was just so pleased. It was just such an achievement to get there in the end.

Being chartered rather than just an accountant, it seems to give you validation. I’ve been through all the hard work. I’ve got there in the end, and now I’m a Chartered Global Management Accountant.

Completing the qualification not only gave me some extra technical knowledge, it’s given me confidence in my leadership. I’ve recently implemented a project at work which I’m not sure I would have had the confidence to take to the senior members of the team had it not been for my CIMA studies.