Hi everyone! 👋

I'm looking for past papers or recalled questions for the MRCPI Part 2 Written exam. If anyone has any resources they're willing to share, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance! 🙏

Just wondering how you guys found the MCS compared to the OCS in terms of difficulty.

In terms of content difficulty I’m not seeing any significant (if any) jump at all. However, I am finding that the core activities are a bit more mixed up so am finding it a bit more challenging to figure out what may come up in the test.

I scored a 113 in my OCS in May and I’m working quite a bit harder for the MCS which I’m sitting this November as I expect it to be more challenging. I know difficulty is subjective but I am very curious if anyone who’s sat both (particularly if you sat both recently) can share their experience.

Recently started studying p3, there seems to be a lot of text like I’m talking 60 page chapters of text, real life scenarios, concepts and loads of additional blurb

I’m almost done with chapter 5 now and feel like it’s taking forever assuming it is all necessary knowledge to have?
I’ve not read ahead either but there seems to be very little computations in this unit compared to the other P pillars.

My method of studying has been going through the chapters and making notes of key areas on a mind map in excel but I feel like I’m constantly writing notes given the size of the chapters, has anyone else got any recommendations which may help me get through the chapters a bit quicker?

I have a question for people who use Kaplan On Demand and everything that goes with it (study text, practice kit) as well as aptitude 1 & 2. Namely, I started studying Ba1. The experience so far is as follows. I watch the video lessons and in parallel I use the Integrated Workbook. When I tried to do all the questions related to the first chapter (knowledge check, practice kit, test yourself, aptitude 1 & 2) I had 84% correct answers. I am interested in whether those questions are sufficient in terms of showing the level of knowledge that is required or is it necessary to know the study text from beginning to end because the questions can come from any part of the book and there are no rules? If the practice questions are enough to pass in terms of the part of the material that needs to be mastered, I think I would continue with this approach ?

Hey guys,

I recently passed my SCS and got my PER approved a while back. I’ve also paid the CIMA membership application fee.

Just wondering what happens next? Do I need to do anything else or just wait for CIMA to get back to me?
Also, does the AICPA & CIMA dashboard change once you become a member? Mine still looks the same, so I’m a bit confused haha.

How long did it take for you guys to get your membership confirmed after making the payment?

Anyone who’s recently gone through this, please let me know!

Thanks!

Hello! I thought it would be a good idea to compile my thoughts and knowledge on BA2 and BA3 as I would've loved to have seen a post like this before doing those modules!

So, for context I am a recent university graduate but have not been able to get a job so I thought I could start the CIMA qualification to add to my CV, but also because I am interested in pursuing a career in accounting. I have no accounting background but I am someone who enjoys maths and would say is quite studious.

From previous research, I saw that when deciding the order to take the modules, it's best to do BA2 and BA3 together as there is some overlap between the two. (Personally, I didn't think there was much but can see why people said to take them together)

Because I do not currently have a job, I have had to self-fund this endeavour, and looking around, course providers can be pretty expensive! That is why I decided to just buy the Kaplan study texts and exam-practice kits and use them to study the content myself, without a tuition provider. (If anyone has advice about tuition providers feel free to comment!!)

BA2

I started with BA2 first and used the Astranti tutorial videos as I went along to make sure I was understanding the content. (Do bear in mind the videos do seem a little out-dated as there is content on the website that is not needed for the exam). I also found there to be a few mistakes in the videos so be careful with that too.

Because I have a strong maths background, I quite enjoyed BA2 and seemed to understand and grasp the concepts well. Once I finished learning the topics, I then spent a week revising and making sure I understood everything. I.e, making sure I could identify what topics were being asked when seeing a question and making sure I know the steps to work things out. After that , I used the exam-practice kit to go through all 200 questions. I would mark it and highlight the questions I got wrong as well as the topics related to the incorrect questions. This is so important!!! I made sure I had a list of all the things I got wrong, as well as keeping a tally of silly mistakes and topics that I kept getting wrong so I could go back and revise things if I needed to.

One thing to note is when you buy the books from Kaplan, you also get some free online resources. When you login to your kaplan account you will also get the e-version of the books and more questions. I also did the online exam-practice kit questions and did the same process of highlighting mistakes. (Although note there are a few questions that are the same as the actual exam-practice kit book)

Once I felt confident in answering questions I attempted the mock exams. (There is one mock in the study text and exam-practice kit each, as well as ones on the e-version of the books. I.e, 4 mocks) As well as these mocks, I also completed the Astranti mocks but felt they didn't really represent what the exam would be like as there were questions that were not related to the topics to be examined.

As well as these mocks, PearsonVue also has an exam simulation using the format for the exam which is good to do beforehand. It has actual practice questions (~20? I can't remember) which is also good to go through.

The pass mark for the exam is a scaled score of 100 out of 150. So as a rule of thumb, I try to aim for more than 70% as a guide to passing a mock.I got ~75% in the mocks and normally had around 30 minutes to spare in each mock to double check. Again, when marking my mocks I would highlight the questions I got wrong and noted silly mistakes and topics I was getting wrong. Once I had gone through the topics that I was getting wrong, I felt confident enough to do the exam.

I took the exam in-person as I did not want to risk anything with taking it online and was surprised to find the exam quite a bit harder than all the mocks I had taken. It did throw me off a bit in the exam!! The questions seemed a lot more application based and a lot more wordy. The questions provided a lot of information, not all of it is necessary, so you have to be careful as that can catch you out! I was working to the very last minute and thought I had failed. To my surprise I passed!! I got a score of 113. 

BA3

From research, I had found that many people found BA3 to be easier than BA2. However, because I do not have an accounting background, I did actually find this module to be harder.

Again, I used the same approach to revising as I did with BA2 but did not watch all astranti tutorial videos. I only watched the ones on topics that I was struggling to grasp. The main thing for this module is to actually understand the double-entries taking place. Once you understand the why, it becomes a lot easier to remember. I used Quizlet, an online flashcard making app, to write down all the double entries so I could go through them the day before the exam. I also used it to note all the equations you need to remember for the exam. I personally found bank reconciliations and suspense accounts the hardest to wrap my head around. For these I watched videos from Opentuition.

Once I felt confident with the topics, I also used the same approach for taking the mock exams. I did not attempt the Astranti mocks this time as I didn't really use them when revising. I did the PearsonVue simulation and did those questions there and also did the mock exam from the Accowtancy website. Please note the Accowtancy mock exam had all the questions exactly the same as the PearsonVue simulation and online Kaplan mock, just with different values. So I personally did not feel this was a good representation of a mock exam as I could remember how to answer the questions. I went on to do the mock exams from the textbooks as well as the kaplan online ones. I failed one of the mocks miserably (57%) and the other ones I was getting between 70 and 80%. I was also using up the whole time to complete the questions with no time to spare or double-check.

I booked myself for the exam but did not feel as confident for BA3 as I did for BA2. I was quite nervous for this one as I thought the exam would be just as hard as BA2. I went for the exam in-person again and found the exam to have a similar difficulty-level as the Kaplan mocks. The question styles were similar too and there were no curveballs in the exam! I came out of the exam thinking it wasn't too bad and found out I passed!!! To my absolute surprise, I got a score of 148.

Closing remarks

Note: I started revising for BA2 in June and passed at the end of July. And passed BA3 at the end of September.

Doing this qualification requires a lot of discipline and I'm sure everyone out there, with the right mindset, can pass too!! Onto BA4 next!

Feel free to add any tips in the comments if I've left anything out!!

I can see an excerpt from the CIMA website on google which says “You are able to schedule case study exams before you have completed the objective tests (OTs) for the level. You must pass (or be…”

That’s under a link to their FAQs but then I can’t find that within the FAQs so I don’t know.

Basically I have E2 left which I’ll do next week and then book onto the MCS. E2 will be done before the window closes on the 27th October but I want to try and book now while there’s still good times available for the online version of the case study. I don’t want to sit it at 3am lol.

Anyone done this? Please advise!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently preparing for the CIMA P2 objective test and would appreciate some feedback from people who have recently sat the real exam, particularly anyone who used Astranti mocks.

I’ve now completed three Astranti mocks, with the following results:

For context, I’ve worked through the entire Kaplan textbook and exam practice kit. Between mocks, I’ve been reviewing every incorrect answer, revisiting the underlying topics and doing additional practice on my weaker areas.

One thing I’ve noticed is that the first Astranti mock (the free one) felt considerably harder than the subsequent paid mocks.

I can’t help wondering whether this is intentional, perhaps to encourage people to purchase the additional mocks, although that’s purely my speculation.

I’m particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has completed the Astranti mocks and subsequently sat the real P2 exam.

A few questions:

1. How did your Astranti mock scores compare with your actual CIMA P2 result?
2. Did you find the first (free) Astranti mock noticeably harder than the paid ones?
3. Were the Astranti mocks representative of the real exam in terms of question difficulty and complexity?
4. What scores were you consistently achieving on mocks before you felt ready to sit the exam?

I’m currently just below Astranti’s 70% pass threshold, although my scores have been improving. I still have Astranti Mocks 4 and 5 to complete.

I’m trying to gauge whether I’m approaching exam readiness or whether I should be aiming for consistently higher mock scores before sitting. Currently booked for Tuesday.

Thanks in advance!

I completed my college in May and passed the august SCS exam, I need to search for a job and get my PER signed i came across a comment where they mentioned i need to complete my PER and SCS and pay around 375 pounds to keep my membership active, but I to get my PER signed it will take 3 years in the mean time how much should I pay for my membership?

Hi everyone! For those who’ve sat F3 recently, what’s the actual exam like? Is it mostly calculations, calc-based theory or a decent mix of both? Any topics that came up more than expected or caught you off guard? Just trying to get a feel for what to expect. Thanks! 😊

I failed my SCS exam with 78 points and it frustrates me to my core that CIMA doesn’t want to or can’t provide me with feedback specific to me and what I wrote. SOMEONE marked my paper, they must have made notes on the scoring and the rationale for it, why can’t you share that? I understand that they have a lot of students and they have to streamline processes somehow but c’mon, it’s so dehumanising. I can see which areas I need to improve on on the website but it’s still very generic and all they can give me is ‚exam blueprints’ which are about as useful as a chocolate teapot. There, rant over.

EDIT: I got into the online classes with Kaplan! I’ve been reading/listening to the pre-seen just now and it sounds fairly alright. I’m not gonna do any other providers because I’m doing this via my employer.

So I cleared the CIMA SCS exam. What are the next steps and what should I keep in mind before going forward? For example, do I need to subscribe to CIMA again or not? I don't understand anything. Can anybody help me?

After feeling the exam went ok I really need some feedback or advice on how to kick this over the line for November .. I sat the mocks passed the mocks with a decent margin so this has floored me to be honest! Any one have any suggestions for tuition providers to support here would be much appreciated

For those that have done the P1 exam, what type of questions were asked mainly? I feel like the CIMA Kaplan Aptitude tests have a lot of questions where you have to enter an answer rather than “pick the correct answer” or “select the correct 3 answers” type of questions. The reason why I’m asking is because generally, if it were a “pick the answer” question, you’d have 1/5 of getting the correct answer whereas if it’s a “type the correct answer” question it’s either 0% or 100%. I know there’s a lot of maths questions in this module so hoping the questions will be “pick the answer from the list” after doing my calculations then at least I’ll know if my answer is right if that makes sense?

SCS results in a few hours, how are u guys feeling??

i hope everyone passes and never has to see the blue old screen again 😂

Hi Everybody,

I am coming up to MCS and am becoming aware of PER as a requirement for my CGMA.

For some context: I have worked as a process engineer for the past 3 years. My day to day involves evaluating projects, finding and implementing opportunities to augment value in manufacturing, (a lot of) make or buy decisions, and managing costs of quality alongside my other more pure engineering tasks.

Reading the PER documentation, "experience in a finance role" is consistent in the verbage. I personally have no doubt my experience is relevant, and my supervisor is on the same page. However this leaves me with some doubt about whether CIMA will accept it.

Just wanted to solicit opinions and/or prior experiences with PERs on non-finance roles with significant financial influence/exposure:

- How did you frame your experience?

- Did you face any difficulty in securing PER with a non-financial role?

- What steps could I take to improve my chances of getting my PER approved?

Thanks and good luck on November Case Study prep everybody!!

SCS August Sitting… how is everyone feeling about incoming results this week?

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by f3 syllabus any advice on where to start or what to prioritise focus on? I got exempt from f2 and f1 so not sure what to expect!
Please any insights welcome 🙏🏽

I got a provisional fail for my F3, but I think it should be very close to 100. I ran out of time with 5 questions unanswered. Went back home, bought CIMA aptitude in rage and had a 42/60 finished in time. I feel like I have the fundamental knowledge, it’s just that I’m at bad at time management. I was zoning out in the exam, when I was at q3 the time was already 80 minutes.

I’m thinking of resitting it again in the next 4 days. I would need all the support that I can have. 🥲

(For context I passed all the previous objective tests first attempt)

Hi guys starting CIMA FLP route and considering getting a laptop to help me study.

I will be doing all the exams from home because this is the only option in my situation.

Just wondering if this MacBook is going to be sufficient to study CIMA and do my exams online.

If you using this set up how is it?

ama

The SCS pre-seen is finally out.

You can find it below on the CGMA Study Hub:

https://cima-planner-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/SCS_Nov26_Feb27_Pre_seen_Material_91eeefda56.pdf

Curious to know what you all think.

Hi there! I'm interested in going the FLP route for the Strategic Level. Do you perhaps have suggestions on which South African providers I can reach out to? I work full time, so would not be able to go to classes. Anything I need to be looking out for while looking for a provider?