Creating the right environment for your CGMA exams is vital, says Nasheen Wuisman – and here’s how you can do it.
Embarking on the journey to become a CGMA designation holder with CIMA is both an exciting and rewarding experience. Yet ‘exam day’ are two words that can easily fill you with dread.
Over the past few months I’ve been approached by some of our CGMA candidates asking me to tell them more about the exam day itself. They placed specific emphasis on adjustments that might be possible for them to be able to focus on the exam better.
Succeeding on your CGMA journey does take individual determination and personal resilience.
Whilst you put in the necessary question and skill practice from your side for the day to go as smoothly as possible, we also work to provide you with the right support to make your exam day as comfortable as possible and make sure that we’re creating the right exam environment for you.
In this month’s column I’d like to build awareness by talking about how we’re committed to providing the necessary support to help you succeed in your CGMA exams. Our goal is to create a level playing field, allowing each and every one of our candidates to demonstrate their skills and capabilities fully.
How we can support you
We can offer adjustments as per our special accommodation policy to candidates, allowing those with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary illnesses and injuries equal access to our exams. These include:
- Testing environment: We make adjustments to the testing room at the test centre, such as setting up a specific workstation or providing the candidate with a separate room to sit their exam.
- Extended time and supervised rest breaks:
We grant a candidate extra time to complete their exam and ensure that they’ve scheduled rest breaks during the exam. - Assistive technology: We offer tools such as screen readers, speech-to-text software, or specialised keyboards to aid candidates with reading and writing tasks.
- Alternative formats: We offer exam materials in different formats such as large print, or adjusted contrast or font to accommodate a range of needs.
How to apply
If you think that you’d benefit from some reasonable adjustments to be made, please fill in our dedicated online application form. After completing the form, you’ll need to send any supporting medical documentation to special. accommodations@aicpa-cima.com.
When to apply
You can apply for reasonable adjustments at any time, but we strongly recommend:
- Doing so, as soon as possible after diagnosis by a healthcare professional. Applying early will allow you to be able to focus on your learning, confident that your requirements are in place when exam day arrives.
- Being sure to apply before scheduling an exam. We process applications within seven working days of receiving your documentation.
Remember to allow sufficient time between booking your exam and exam day to allow the test centre to set up reasonable adjustments on your behalf.
We’ll keep the adjustment in place until you complete your studies with us, meaning that you only need to apply once. If your needs change or a new adjustment needs to be put in place, you will just need to send us updated medical documentation. If you have a temporary illness or injury, the reasonable adjustment will be in place for a pre-defined period.
Where to sit your exam
When making the decision as to where to sit your exam, it’s worth bearing in mind that due to the remote nature of online exams, it isn’t possible to provide the full range of adjustments away from a test centre. Make sure to check our guidance to help you make the best possible decision to suit your needs.
Planning for your exam day
It’s important that you build in planning for the big day as early as possible and not leave it to the last minute. Here are my top tips:
- Find out as much as possible about how the exam day works in a test centre and online, knowing what it involves will help you to visualise the day early and reduce stress.
- Decide what works best for you and whether you might benefit from some adjustments.
Complete your application for special accommodations early so that you have one less thing to do as the exam gets closer. - Plan your travel to a test centre, make sure to give yourself plenty of time and have a back-up plan in case of strikes, disruptions, bad weather – or if things just don’t go to plan that day.
- Try to plan the day before your exam if possible and make sure that you’re not working late in the night. If you have a young family, try to get support so that you can get a decent night’s sleep. Poor sleep can have a huge impact on your exam performance on the day.
- Clear your head – complete focus is key, but it can be hard as we must juggle so many responsibilities in our professional and personal lives. I’d still advise you to give it a go to see how your performance improves when you do.
Finally, do your best on the day, no one can ask any more of you. Always remember that we’re here to support you. Contact us early to make sure we know how we can help you.
- Nasheen Wuisman, Senior Manager – Global Academic Progression at AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants
