A simple tip to help make your revision sink in...

Sometimes it's easy to spend hours revising, revising and revising for your CIMA exams, to find that at the end of it all it feels like you can't remember a single thing.

This is obviously not ideal!

In my 15 years of teaching accountancy exams, I have found a number of ways to overcome this such as effective note-taking and having a structured revision plan.

However, there is an even more obvious way to make your CIMA revision more effective with minimal effort. It may seem simple but is often ignored by many students!

Revision Tips- There's No Standard Formula For Success!

With the amount of effort we invest in our revision, it's only natural to question if we are making the most of our time.

It can be tempting to look at what other people are doing and base our revision plan on that. 

But who is to say that what works for someone else is going to work for you?

Many academics have published theory on how we fit into different types of learning styles.

Some suggest there are as many as seven types of learning styles with others simplifying it down to three. 

It all essentially comes down to how you work best - Do you enjoy reading through the text? Do you respond better to the visual aids in a video? Do you prefer to get hands-on and practice for yourself?

Find what suits you...

OCS Student Experience Survey- Learn From the Past!

If you have yet to take your Case Study exam, what better preparation than to learn from those who have?

It has been a couple of weeks since we launched a survey for OCS students taking the February sitting of the exam- and there has been some interesting results!

A really useful start to revising for a future exam is to look at what past students have said- to ensure you learn from their mistakes and take tips from their successes.

So with that in mind, here are some of the key themes to come from the February OCS survey results:

Preparation

We asked the students how difficult they found the exam in relation to their expectations:


Much More Difficult - 17%    More Difficult - 42%    As Expected - 42%    Easier - 0%    Much Easier - 0%

Operational Level 2015 - Pass Rates

2015 was expected to be a difficult year with the introduction of the new syllabus. 

However, many students performed well considering the change. There were those who might have been a little apprehensive or not as accepting at the start, with some students having studied with CIMA (and the old syllabus) for a long time.

Objective Test Pass Rates

As you can see though, the official results below give a good indication of how operational OT students have performed between January and December 2015:

November OCS - Key points from the examiner's report

Reading the examiner's report can help by giving you an understanding of what the examiner will be looking out for in your own exam.

This way you can build a better structure to your revision, ensuring that the key points are covered by the time the exam comes along next week.

1. Application to the pre-seen = Good

The examiner seemed happy to see that the majority of students were able to apply their knowledge of the theory well to the pre-seen case study itself. This is an important thing to get right, as it shows that you can apply a theory within a worked example, something that will eventually be an everyday part of most of your careers. The examiner also emphasised that there was a good knowledge of the pre-seen company, meaning that students had put in the right amount of time and effort into developing an overall understanding of the pre-seen company, the industry and the potential threats and opportunities that the company may face.

2. Time management = Generally Good

Top case study tips from student ranked 5th in the world!

Earlier this month thousands of students got their results from the November case study exams. Having spoken to a number of these students, there was a rather mixed set of results, with some unfortunately just missing out and others excelling in the final exam.

Last week CIMA released the list of top performers in each of the November case study exams.

Among these lists, there was once again a familiar name.

Student Survey Results - What does it take to pass the Objective Tests?

You may remember a post back in June where we brought you the results from our student survey asking what it takes to pass the OT exams..

Well if not, then I'd like to share with you the latest results from that same survey, which has now had over a hundred responses from OT students from all levels, Operational, Management and Strategic.

The Key Points

The first results are based on the hours spent on revision per week: 

Industry Research Checklist - CIMA Operational Case Study Exam

One of the key areas where you can gain extra marks in the case study exam is having a deep understanding of the company and the industry in which it operates.

We find many students are unsure where to begin when it comes to researching the industry and often there is just too much information available! It can be hard for them to distinguish what is relevant, distill the key points, how they relate to the case study and how they can be applied in the exam to gain vital marks.

So, to ensure you are on the right track we have produced a list of key topics for you to focus on. We recommend that you use this as a checklist when researching the industry. 

Industry Topics

The Products and their History

History

• How old is the industry?
• How did it originate?
• What’s the history from that start point to now?
• Industry life cycle

Tips for Effective Industry Research

Today I came across an old article from one of our many esteemed affiliates, Matthew Evans. The article is centred around 5 tips for the best approach to take when analysing the case study industry.

Although the article relates specifically to the old T4 exam, the principles remain the same for the OCS. The industry analysis is an important part of the case studies now, with recent examiner's reports referring directly to the proper use of industry analysis within the exams. Although the company is at the centre of the case study, with a little bit of industry information provided alongside this, the examiners have highlighted the importance of not simply reciting the information found in the case study. 

Ethical Thinking - Corporate Social Responsibility

In recent years organisations have put tremendous amounts of time, money and effort into ensuring that their corporate image and reputations are better than they have ever been! 

However, as onlookers it can be hard to distinguish between those who do this simply to appear as socially responsible as possible to potential investors, customers or the general public, and between those who genuinely believe that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an important, ethical and moral part of their organisational culture, and something that they truly believe in.

"Corporate social responsibility is about how the company acts towards the community and environment in which it operates. CSR focuses on ethical business management through ways that improve and protect the environment and social relations and supply a positive public image."