CIMA® content and exams have been designed keeping in view six specific needs for candidates to excel in the investment & management accounting profession as CIMA® qualified professionals. These six requirements are: knowledge; comprehension; application; analysis; synthesis and evaluation. The CIMA® program architecture, hence functions as a robust platform to ensure consistency of coverage of CIMA® exams across time and space, and also assist CIMA® Educators in designing training and exam-preparatory courses around CIMA®. The specifications are dynamic, linked to the common body of knowledge, and hence may change in tandem with changes in the body of knowledge. Besides establishing the foundation on which CIMA® certification exams are developed, the knowledge specifications are a good way for candidates to understand the knowledge expectations from them when they are being scored in their CIMA® exams .
Standard route candidates must qualify the Standard CIMA® Level 1 and Standard CIMA® Level 2 exams. Standard CIMA® exams cover 20 knowledge areas – 10 in each level. The Professional pathway candidates are required to qualify only one, unified Professional Pathway Exam covering 13 knowledge areas only.
Investment & Management Accounting - Foundational Principles & Concept Frameworks | Weight | Knowledge e Specs | |
CS-11 | Accounting for Investment & Managerial Decision-Making | 8% | INTERMEDIATE |
CS-12 | Business, Strategy & International Competitiveness | 8% | INTERMEDIATE |
CS-13 | Analyzing Financial Statements for Business Decisions | 12% | ADVANCED |
CS-14 | Managing & Accounting Risks in Business | 12% | ADVANCED |
CS-15 | Cost Structuring, Product Costing & Activity Based Costing | 10% | ADVANCED |
CS-16 | Investment Accounting Framework & Concepts | 10% | ADVANCED |
CS-17 | Financial Markets, Instruments & Derivatives | 10% | ADVANCED |
CS-18 | Techniques of Managing Investment Portfolios | 10% | ADVANCED |
CS-19 | Capital Investments and Capital Budgeting | 10% | ADVANCED |
CS-20 | Management Accounting & Enterprise Performance Analysis | 10% | INTERMEDIATE |
Investment & Management Accounting - Application Principles & Practice Frameworks | Weight | Knowledge e Specs | |
CS-21 | Techniques of Pricing Financial Assets | 10% | ADVANCED |
CS-22 | Techniques & Practices of Valuing Businesses | 12% | ADVANCED |
CS-23 | Practices in International Financial Reporting | 10% | ADVANCED |
CS-24 | Techniques of Currency Risk Management | 10% | ADVANCED |
CS-25 | Accounting Tax In Global Investments and Business | 7% | INTERMEDIATE |
CS-26 | Accounting Transfer Pricing In Global Business | 10% | INTERMEDIATE |
CS-27 | Investment Accounting Techniques & Practices | 15% | ADVANCED |
CS-28 | Investment Audit Techniques & Practices | 10% | ADVANCED |
CS-29 | Corporate Governance & Ethics in Global Organizations | 8% | BASIC |
CS-30 | Technology & Analytics in Accounting | 8% | INTERMEDIATE |
The three levels of expected knowledge followed by the CIMA Institute are as follows:
The levels of expected knowledge as they apply to each of the topics are presented in the table. The levels represent the manner in which topic areas are to be treated and represent ceilings, i.e., a topic area designated as Level C may contain requirements at the "A," "B," or "C" level, but a topic designated as Level B will not contain requirements at the "C" level.