Now in Botswana

Thanks to everyone I met in Zambia - I had a great time and will see you all again in October. Remind me to do a session on 'how to tackle scenario-based questions'. Oh, and don't forget to read my article about verbs ;-)

Is there a 'best' way?

CAUTION - THIS POST RELATES TO THE CIMA 2010 SYLLABUS, SO IS NO LONGER VALID


I am at a conference in Zambia, talking to CIMA lecturers. We were talking about the best way to prepare for a CIMA exam, and I said “start with the exam, and work backwards”.

CIMA study is about passing the exam, so the best way to pass is to do the following:

1 Get the last three exams, suggested answers and PEGs, and compare them.
2 Read the syllabus, and look at the skills you need (as defined by the learning outcomes)
3 Look at how the skills are tested in the three exams, and read in the PEGs why students failed
4 Go to the textbook, and develop the skills you need to pass
5 Try some past exam questions, to see if you have mastered the skills
6 Repeat...

Strategic Level Section B

CAUTION - THIS POST RELATES TO THE CIMA 2010 SYLLABUS, SO IS NO LONGER VALID


I've just done a couple of sessions in Johannesburg, and there was a question that I thought I'd share with you.

"In Section B, are all the questions based on the pre-seen scenario?"

Well, the answer is a very simple 'no'. Section B questions (three at 25 marks, you choose 2) are all completely 'stand alone'. Just like in the previous syllabus, each Section B question will have its own mini-scenario, and you should expect them to each look at different issues in different industries. You still need to be able to apply your knowledge to a range of different contexts, both private and public, for profit or not, large or small.

Thanks to all of you who attended the sessions today - your questions were great, and the time passed really quickly ;-)

Past exam questions for revision

CAUTION - THIS POST RELATES TO THE CIMA 2010 SYLLABUS, SO IS NO LONGER VALID


I was asked, the other day, about past exam questions. The student was concerned that, because the syllabus has changed, there were no past papers to practise.

Don't panic, folks. There are plenty:

- Firatly, there are pilot papers for every exam. These are on CIMA's website under the 2010 syllabus (in the student area).

- Secondly, provided you check that the learning outcomes concerned are still in the syllabus, you can (selectively) use questions from the 'old' syllabus papers. Make sure, also, that the style and length of the question is still similar to those on the 'new' paper. Check the transition guides to make sure.

Hope that helps.

The Africa Tour

Well, as promised, here are the dates on the Guru's tour of Africa. As you can see, he's going to be busy. Bookings can be made through the local CIMA office in each case.

Click for a better view

Home again, Strategic Level, etc.

Well, the guru is home from his Irish tour. The sessions seemed to go well (thanks for your kind comment, Anna) - a total of about 50 students across the three venues. The next 'tour' is Southern Africa in a couple of weeks. I'll post details up here soon.

Lots of questions were asked about Strategic Level. Mainly "what should I do with the pre-seen?". I don't think you should spend ages doing research into the industry - instead, why not use the pre-seen as a revision tool? Every time you revise a model, technique or concept, apply it to the organisation or industry described in the pre-seen. For example (in E3), if you're revising Porter's 5 forces, do a 5 forces model for whatever industry is described in the pre-seen. That way, you'll be rehearsing some of the stuff the examiners might well ask you to do in the exam. There'll be additional 'unseen' information, of course, so you mustn't prepare answers in advance, but at least you can practise the techniques...