CIMA

Hi,

I am looking to start on-demand CIMA qualification via one of the providers below.

I would be much appreciated it if anyone shares the experience with BPP, Kaplan or First Intuition.

Also, someone from AAT webinar yesterday said she went straight to MSc in management business after finishing her level 4 (without a degree). and that gave her a chartered management accountant status. Is it possible without sitting the case study exams, assuming there must have some exemptions but a bit unsure about it.

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Fluentchoi

I can give you desription of what it's like to study with BPP and Kaplan, albeit not for CIMA, if you want.

I haven't head a case where someone can skip levels 5 and 6 and go straight for an MSc before, so I cannot comment.

Reply 2

Fluentchoi

That’d be great as I haven’t studied anything on my own. Thank you.

Reply 3

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Fluentchoi

That’d be great as I haven’t studied anything on my own. Thank you.

If it's a standard CIMA course, you should be going in 2-3 evenings a week, and you should have 4-5 weeks before you need to take the exam.

Between each session you would have a lot of material to cover, so you would need to be on top before moving on to the next session. If you don't keep yourself up to date, you will really struggle to get everything done. This is presuming that you are working alongside your studies.
A standard course with either Kaplan or BPP (not too sure about First Tuition, but it should be similar) would include online material, textbook, workbook, quizzes, and flash cards. You should be using your workbook as much as you can and occasionally use the textbook as reference material. The online material is great as a refresher, but it's not likely that you would be able to make full use of the material in the allotted time.
The tutors you get would be people who have done the exams before (they're not lecturers) and they would be able to offer you tips and insights into the tests.

If you haven't done enough reading and studying, or done your studying properly, then there could be a 50:50 chance that you can fail your exam. By that time, you should go for the revision classes, although I don't know if your employer would subsidise those on top of the main course.

When it comes to presentation, I prefer Kaplan because they are clearer than BPP, but BPP is more common and is the bigger company. These are major course providers in the UK, and whilst they charge a lot they do provide a lot in return (more than you would need). In terms of the material they give you, it should be roughly the same. In terms of quality though, it depends more on the individual tutor and I can't give a fair opinion on the tutors on the CIMA courses in either companies.

All 3 companies should provide online courses if you choose not to go to the in-person lessons. I didn't had good experiences with online courses for professional qualifications, but I think that's more down to the fact the recordings were of bad quality and that I always preferred in person sessions wherre I get to ask questions upfront. I have mixed experiences with online courses in general though, so it's not always down to the company or the format.

If you are studying CIMA whilst working in an accounting related role, your employer should be able to subsidise the cost of the courses.

Reply 4

Fluentchoi

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with those providers, MindMax2000.
My employer has already confirmed to support study but it would really be depending on the price.
For myself, I need closer support on reviewing my work such as mock exam answers as I am nowhere near confident in writing.

I studied AAT via a college course. They provided with past BPP mocks. I didn’t like BPP at all because their mock questions made me confused and often the answers were wrong. However, BPP seems to be very popular which I have started thinking there must have the reason. That’s why I wanted to find out.