r/CIMA

Just did mine today. Not too bad

I want to enroll to the FLP programme and I qualify to start at MCS level. I also have 6 years of finance experience. Would 1 year be enough to finalize the qualification, meaning the Strategic Level and SCS?

How many hours needed to study CIMA? I can maybe do 1-2 hours a weekday around work, and 2-3 on a weekend. I don't want it to take over my life completely, maybe take 3-4 years to complete.

Just wanted to share the good news that I finally cleared my CIMA exam! It’s been a long road of balancing work and study so seeing that "Pass" was a huge weight off my shoulders.

I know how stressful the prep can be, so for anyone currently in the thick of it, here is a breakdown of the resources I actually used to get through:

Video Content & Lectures

I leaned heavily on YouTube for the technical areas. It’s a great way to break up the dry textbook reading:

Astranti: I found their Top 10 Issues and pre-seen analysis videos really helpful for getting into the right mindset for the Case Study.

Practice & Question Banks

The biggest hurdle for me was the time pressure. I used CertsTopic for my practice runs because their question style felt very similar to what I encountered in the actual exam. It helped me get used to the wording and, more importantly helped me manage my pace so I wasn't rushing at the very end.

A Few Key Takeaways:

Focus on the "Why": Don't just memorise formulas. Understand the logic behind them, as the exam likes to test your application rather than just your math.

Timed Mocks: I did a few full-length mocks under exam conditions. It’s exhausting, but it’s the only way to build the stamina you need for the real thing.

Take Breaks: Burnt-out brains don't retain info. Give yourself permission to step away when you hit a wall.

Happy to answer any questions about the specific topics or how I structured my study schedule. Good luck to everyone sitting their exams soon!

Hi

Curious if anyone is taking the FLP with the skills plus. I work full time plus have kid (plus part qualified Acca but after taking a pause after my daughter was born I would have to restart that) work have agreed to pay for the FLP for 2-3 years.

Im curious if whats provided in skills plus is enough for self study. Eg is it only videos or does it also include text books for example (online is fine I can use my tablet)

You’ve been selected for an audit disappeared on my dashboard today.

Anyone knew what does this mean??

Thanks!

Hi all,

I am not great at passing exams and messed up my acca studies a decade ago. I splashed thousands of pounds on courses.

Flp is a great way for me to get qualification. I don’t have mich money so was hoping to come
up with a plan to pass flo in one year.

Are there any good sources that I can use for free to prepare for case studies before paying the £2k subscription?

Can i do case studies whenever or are there set exam dates? When are these?

I find website very difficult to understand.

I appreciate your help and support!

Anyone else not feeling ready or confident? 😭

Mocks are done - did the worst on my last one.. thought I’d be improving by then! 😂

I read model answers and would just never think to write half the stuff in there. I know they are perfected with the luxury of time etc but it’s still disheartening at this stage

Send help!!!

I signed up for CIMA Traditional Route on 14 Feb 2026 and:

-Did E1 on 28 Feb 2026 (113/150)

-Did F1 on 14 Mar 2026 (125/150)

-Did P1 on 4 Apr 2026 (113/150)

I’m 27 this year as a Senior Finance Executive working in-house in a SME. During work hour, I tend to have quite a bit of down-time (I secretly automated half of my day to day work) and I will use this time to study while at work.

My way of study is simple: brute forcing all the mocks I could find, I didn’t even read the study text at all (waste of money imo).Also, the only resources that I’ve paid are Kaplan Mock, Study Text and CIMA Aptitude.

I watched some of the lectures on OpenTuition but I can’t really focus. So I chose to just keep spamming mocks and ask AI to explain for me.

Below will be the resources/mocks that I used for each test:

E1

- Accowtancy (120 questions)

- Astranti (60 questions)

- Kaplan Mocks (250 questions)

Total: ~430 questions

F1

- Accowtancy (120 questions)

- Astranti (60 questions)

- Kaplan Mocks (250 questions)

- Viva (60 questions)

- This is the only exam I have fully watched all the lecture videos on OpenTuition, this lecturer is the only one among the other 2 that could make me listen.

Total: ~490 questions

P1

- Accowtancy mocks (120 questions)

- Accowtancy tutorial questions (~200 questions for all topic?)

- Astranti (60 questions)

- Viva (60 questions)

- Kaplan Mocks (250 questions)

- CIMA Aptitude 1&2 Test yourself (979 questions)

- CIMA Aptitude 1&2 Mock (120 questions)

- PearsonVue (28 questions)

Total: ~1817 questions

All these numbers are actually underestimated already, I’ve been using AI to generate more questions but it can’t be traced. For me, P1 is by far the hardest, I just did my OCS today and P1 isn’t even close.

Honestly, I would say my way of studying isn’t worth it at all. I’m doing this because I’m self funding. I will still be doing this all the way until I finish CIMA, no matter how many more exams it has, I won’t stop. If you have the money I would highly suggest to either go for FLP or get a tuition provider.

Hi all, I'm resitting my MCS exam in 9 days. I've done the mocks, in my first attempt I wasn't referencing the case study enough, and this time I'm apparently not expanding my points enough.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for making sure your answers are expanded as much as you can?

I'm using AI to generate questions and mark my answers as if they're a harsh examiner, and I feel like it helps, but apparently not!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

I am really struggling with P2 atm. I’m more than half way through the content now through Kaplan, doing the classes and we’ve just finished chapter 8. Honestly I’m struggling so much. It’s like I think I get something, I’ve got it memorised and know the steps/understand and then I attempt one of the questions from the subjects I struggle with and it’s like I know nothing in the exam kit. The main questions that I’m struggling with being abc costing, throughput, anything npv, annuity and ARR. honestly I don’t understand how or why I keep getting them wrong at all. I got an exemption from p1 so I’m wondering if that’s why I’m finding it so hard. I did the Kaplan consolidation test the other day and got 47%. My exam is June the 8th. Any advice at all? Having a bit of a panic attack about it tbh.

I passed CIMA F3 wirh 3 weeks of preparation. But i have been studying for CIMA P3 since the last 2.5 months . I really have failed with this exam . I attempted the actual exam once and got 88/150. Almost close right!!
But here is the catch- i now am more strong in the concepts. I scored 40-60% in my mocks prior to my first attempt.
And now i have given the same mock papers ( CIMA STUDY) and now i scored 45% and 47% - for the same f*ing mock paper i had given a momth ago.

I really struggle with the SATA questions as most of them - including some options are open to how you interpret it and especially how they want a question to be answered .

I really am done with this subject and find no possibility of passing this without gambling away £250 for every attempt to just try my luck to get a fairly easy q.paper. I had 27ish SATA questions in my actual exam and i dont know how to just get 67%.
At this point it really feels like CIMA exploiting me and i barely dk how to be successful in my next attempt.
Also i have seen many of you who has /is going through the same issue.
Please help and advise me on how do i do this

I am writing E3 first attempt in 7 days. I have been seeing mixed reviews with some saying it’s too easy and others saying they have failed several times. I am using Kaplan and the notes are lengthy with lots of models to memorise. Does anyone have any last minute tips for E3 that can help? I am very nervous because I don’t want to underestimate it then make silly mistakes but I also don’t want to waste time studying aspects that may not even be necessary to pass.

Hi all! Starting F2, wondering if anyone had any tips or advice for me?

Hey!

It has been a short while between management and strategic levels, but what I do remember is thinking I spent far too long on technical recap in the lead up to my case studies in the past, and that it would be much better to just go through all of the mock papers instead to get a sense of what they ask for and what they want you to mention.

That being said, there will still be certain things that are important/useful to have memorised for the exam. What have you all found most important?

It seems so far (only been through a couple of papers so far) that the frameworks and 2x2 grids from E3 are important but they're all really easy to remember anyway. All the little rules for corp gov seem like they'll be super important to have ready for fast recall also.

I submitted my PER beginning of March, & after a month I decided to check my CIMA profile online as I didn’t receive any email updates pertaining to its progress. Turns out it had been approved & there was a link to upgrade membership.

This is where I’m stuck as that link opens a PDF declaration in another tab & it loads endlessly on the main tab without any feedback. I then raised an IT ticket via chat & they committed to investigate & resolve within 14 working days. Nothing came out of that. I followed up, but they just keep on extending the ticket resolution timeframe without any real guarantee that they’re looking into this.

Curious to find out if any of you encountered the same issue & how you resolved it. Also would like to know how long it typically takes from membership upgrade to getting the application approved.

Hey guys, I am looking for some guidance with regard to PER and how I must fill in. I have only worked for 3 months now. Do I fill in the PER once I am done with the whole 3 years or can I add it even now? I also want to know what are the core areas that I must fill in with respect to STAR.

Hello All,

I’m planning to start the CIMA FLP Management Case Study in a couple of weeks using the CIMA learning platform. I’d appreciate any advice or tips on how to approach the studies effectively and give myself the best chance of passing on the first attempt.

Thanks.

I got my PER approved last week and upgraded my membership after having passed the SCS in Feb.

Just wondering when I can expect to get my physical certificate? How have people’s experiences been time frame wise receiving the certificate after upgrading membership?

Thanks!