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Certificate in Business Accounting
Last year
CIMA launched a new revised 2006 CIMA Certificate in Business
Accounting qualification syllabus.
Employers place
a very high value on CIMA's commitment to update
the syllabus regularly.
We have refreshed
all of the Certificate subjects and introduced a
new and exciting module covering ethics. In adding ethics
to this level in the CIMA qualifications framework, CIMA is
signalling the crucial place the topic has in CIMA's curriculum
and the part ethics plays in being a professionally qualified
Chartered management accountant.
For a five
month period, between 2 October 2006 and 2 March 2007,
Certificate students could choose whether to sit assessments
under the old 2000 or new 2006 syllabus subjects.
As
from 3 March 2007 all Certificate students will sit assessments
under the new 2006 Certificate syllabus.
Follow the links above to see the full syllabus for each of the
new 2006 subjects.
If you passed
any assessments (or were awarded exemptions) from the 2000
syllabus before 2 October 2006, you will be given credits on a
subject for subject basis against the new 2006 syllabus
subjects. Full information about the transition arrangements is
available.
Suggested
study routes for the 2006 syllabus subjects
You can sit the
five new syllabus subjects in any order and in any
combination to suit your own individual study requirements.
CIMA suggested
some
study route options [New
Window; PDF 27KB] -
download these to see some of the alternative single, two and
three paper study combinations that are possible.
Please note
that these study routes are intended only as a guide.
Upon
completion of the Foundation level exams you will be awarded
the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting.
If
you have a relevant degree (equivalent to a UK honours degree),
in accountancy or business for instance, you may be entitled
to an exemption from the foundation level. See your entry
point for details.
C01 Fundamentals of Management
Accounting
C02 Fundamental of Financial
Accounting
C03 Fundamentals of Business Mathematics
C04 Fundamentals of Business
Economics
C05 Fundamental of Ethics, Corporate Governance and Business Law
Assessment
You will be examined by computer based assessment (CBA). You
can take these assessments at a time that suits you in one
of the accredited CBA centres.
Computer based assessment
If you are studying for the
Certificate in Business Accounting, you will be assessed by
computer based assessment (CBA). CBA uses the computer to
deliver questions and receive answers. Each of the five
assessments can be taken flexibly when you are ready.
Computer based assessments can
be taken at CBA accredited centres throughout the world.
Colleges offering tuition towards the Certificate in Business
Accounting are often also centres where you can sit the
examination. Ask at your local college offering CIMA or look at
the
CBA centre list [New
window] for more
information.
The CBA system can ensure that
a wide range of the syllabus is assessed, as a pre-determined
number of questions from each syllabus area (dependent upon the
syllabus weighting for that particular area) are selected in
each assessment. You can therefore be confident that you have
a solid grounding in business and accounting in preparation for
the Managerial Level subjects.
Types of questions
Computer based assessments use
objective test questions. The most common type of these
questions is ‘multiple choice’, where you have to choose the
correct answer from a list of possible answers, but there are a
variety of other objective question types that can be used
within the system. These include true/false questions, matching
pairs of text and graphic, sequencing and ranking, labelling
diagrams and single and multiple numeric entry.
Candidates answer the questions
by either pointing and clicking the mouse, moving objects
around the screen, typing numbers, or a combination of these
responses. Try this
online demo [New window] to get
a feel for how the technology will work.
As well as using the online
demo you may also find it useful to download past objective
test questions from the paper based exams for exam practice.
You can find these in the
Study Resources area [New window]
of the website.
Exemptions
These qualifications will give exemptions from the CIMA Certificate
in Business Accounting. Therefore you will have direct entry
into the CIMA Professional Qualification:
- A
relevant degree that specialises in accountancy or business
- The
Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Technical level
-
The Open University (OU) Certificate in Accountancy
To find out if you can claim exemptions check CIMA
online
database. [New window]
We
give exemptions to make sure that you are not re-assessed
in a subject that you have already studied. Before you decide
whether to accept any exemptions look at our syllabus and
exam papers to make sure that your knowledge is up to date.
The
CIMA Professional qualification is built upon the knowledge
you gain from the Certificate so it is important that you
are confident that you have a good understanding of the subjects
- this will give you a greater chance of success in future
CIMA exams.
If
you are exempt from all of the five Certificate level subjects
you will not receive the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting.
You must sit at least one Certificate assessment to be awarded
the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting – for example,
you can be exempt from four subjects and sit one Certificate
assessment.
Important
dates and deadlines
The CBA system
is very flexible so you can sit your Certificate level
assessments as and when you are ready.
This means that
it is possible to fast track through to the Managerial level
exams if you so wish. If you plan to do this, please be aware
that the following progression rules apply:
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You must
pass all five Certificate level computer based assessments
before you can sit Managerial level papers.
-
You must
complete all computer based assessments by 1 March in order
to sit Managerial level papers in May.
-
The
deadline is 1 September if you want to sit Managerial level
papers in November.
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