January 2022

Here’s Jackie Durham’s ultimate guide to passing exams – full refund if you are unsuccessful!
No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke, nor will she actually be paying out refunds. But after many years at CIMA, Jackie really does know the answers to the most-asked question, “how can I pass my CIMA exam?”.

And yes, we really do get asked that actual question. Obviously, it’s usually followed by some clarification such “I’ve being doing okay so far but I just can’t get past P2”.

The bad news is that it’s not ‘news’, there’s still no miracle behind passing exams – it’s all down to good old preparation, planning, practising and (hopefully) passing. There is plenty of new research into smart studying and insights into the psychology of learning and, as different approaches work for different people, it’s always worth keeping up-to-date with new ideas and techniques.

We have included some interesting articles on study skills in the CIMA Study Planner, for example on memory and recall techniques; how to leverage the last 24 hours before an exam; coping with examination nerves; and so on. There are also practical tips on time management and technique to build exam confidence.

So how you study, where you study, who you study with, what’s motivating you to study and how you cope with setbacks are all super important, but none of them can replace the two fundamental building blocks of exam success which are… drum roll please…

1: Get the knowledge.

2: Practise applying it to exam questions.

TOP TIP: you must do the above in order – 2 before 1 doesn’t work!
It’s a cliché, but there really is no quick fix and toughest of all is that most of us have a topic or subject that we really don’t like, that we see as our nemesis.
This is where technique and psychology come into play. We have to change the mindset of “I hate transfer pricing I never want to do it again!” “What is the point of people skills? I’m not planning on joining the HR department!” “Who invented CAPM anyway? I can do the calculations, I’m just not sure which one I need to perform…”.

As future finance and accounting professionals you will need a multitude of skills across a whole range of business areas – you will need to understand the building blocks in order to see the big picture. You might not see yourself as a ‘leader of people’ today, but the speed of change and developments in technology make it hard to be sure what we will be doing in the future, apart from that fact it’s unlikely to be what we are doing today.

Anyway, back to the challenging topics that, ultimately, we must master. When I was training to be a yoga teacher it was the physiology that had me in a tizz. It was the very first module on the course and I didn’t have a strong science background – I nearly gave up then and there!
I honestly thought I’d never ‘get it’, the difference between tendons and ligaments or how they attach to bones (or is it muscles, or one of each?). Then, one dismal Sunday afternoon, struggling with an assignment and dreaming of a cake-based reward if I could just get past question 1, I suddenly thought, “how can I be a yoga teacher if I don’t understand the mechanics of movement?”.

That was my ‘light bulb’ moment. There was no way round it, I was going to have to understand and needed to find a way to make the diagrams in my book come to life. As soon as I started to put the theory into the context of a yoga posture (the part of the course I did enjoy and was good at) and apply it, it all began to make sense – and what’s more I saw the value of that hard won knowledge. Sometimes ‘looking through the other end of the telescope’ (one of my husband’s favourite phrases for anyone struggling with a problem) is what’s needed to change a negative mindset. Look at the big picture first, then see how the pieces fit together. Learning to enjoy your studies is essential, too.

A cram, pass, move on approach won’t work for professional exams or, even if it does, it won’t give the breadth and depth of skills and understanding needed in the workplace. Being interested in what you are studying makes all the difference to recall, for example. This is one of the great things about the CIMA case studies – they give an opportunity to apply book knowledge to real-life work scenarios in a range of industries. While they are time pressured, challenging exams, many students like Anastasia from the Ukraine really enjoy preparing for and sitting these exams. She said: “I actually enjoyed answering the questions and it was incredibly fun to look at the syllabus topics from a different angle.”

In addition, there are no hiding places if you want to qualify with CIMA; the OT exams can test any area of the syllabus so that basic knowledge is key. Question practice is important here and a top tip is to build it into your study plan from very early on and then build it up.

First up, read a section of your study manual, and then do a few questions to test yourself.
You can even keep your study manual open to remind yourself of anything you aren’t sure about. Then look at the answers and consider why they are right/why you might have got it wrong. Keep the momentum going by adding in longer more complex questions, gradually removing access to your notes, and adding in time pressure. Eventually, move up to full mock exams under timed conditions.

Question practice offers an opportunity to check your knowledge – do you really know the theory, and can you apply it to an exam question? As a technique, it helps build a solid knowledge base that helps with recall, as well as highlighting any weak areas. I know it’s obvious (but I also know lots of people who do this), don’t keep practising areas you are already confident in; it’s the tricky ones you need to focus on, however much you think you’ll never “get it” or “it’s only a small part to the syllabus, hopefully it won’t come up in my exam”.

As CIMA ex-exam supremo Noel Tagoe used to say: “You can’t fly the plane if you’ve only learned how to take off or to land!”

• Jackie Durham, Study Support Manager, the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA and CIMA