Anyone who has cleared 12th class or is above 16 years old irrespective of whether he/she is from commerce stream or any other stream.  Depending upon prior qualification and/or experience, a candidate can get up to 15 paper exemptions. 

There are 4 levels in CIMA (Certificate, Operational, Management and Strategic Level)  and each level has 4 exams, totaling up to 16 exams (all are computer based exams). 13 exams are on demand objective exams for 2 hours each whereas the remaining 3 are pre seen based case study examinations (Operational Case Study or OCS, Management Case Study or MCS and Strategic case study or SCS) of 3 hours each held quarterly in February, May, August and November.

Depending upon the candidate’s past experience and qualification, this course can be completed between 8 months to 36 months.

Cost of doing CIMA qualification depends upon which route you are following for doing CIMA (i.e. Normal route or FLP route or Pathways).  

On an average, for an undergraduate going through FLP route, CIMA’s cost without coaching (in India) is around INR 2 lakhs and with coaching, it comes out to INR 4 lakhs.

For a professional through pathways program, approximate cost of doing CIMA varies from INR 2.5 lakhs to INR 5 Lakhs.

For a candidate who is going through Normal route, will incur approximate CIMA cost of INR 3 lakhs without coaching and INR 6 lakhs with coaching.

FLP (Finance Leadership Program): Under this route, an eligible undergraduate student will be writing only three case studies exams (i.e. OCS, MCS and SCS) at the CIMA examination centers.  An eligible commerce graduate or post graduate would be able to complete CIMA by only writing two case study exams (i.e. MCS and SCS). 

Fees for this route can differ and increase significantly if you go on your own instead of going through an approved learning partner like The WallStreet School. 

CIMA has come up with pathway routes for professionals in which they have to write only 1 to 2 case studies exam (i.e. MCS and/or SCS) depending upon their prior qualifications and experience.  A CA/CMA India has to write only SCS and is exempted from 15 papers of CIMA.  An MBA(Finance) or MCom who has got experience of 6 years or more, has to only write MCS and SCS exams.  A Professional has more than 10 years of experience in the relevant accounts or finance field can directly write the SCS exam.  All these pathways are subject to approval by CIMA, UK.

Yes, there are certain subsidized fees available to eligible candidates.  Eligible candidates are those who are studying with a University Partner of CIMA or are studying with Approved Learning Partners of CIMA like The WallStreet School.  There is a substantial savings (upto 70%) an eligible candidate can achieve while doing CIMA with an approved learning partner or University Partner.

CIMA’s scope in India and globally is increasing exponentially.  Through CIMA, a student is not only able to make career only in Accounting, Finance or Management Accounting domain but also he/she becomes eligible to work in the Management Areas as well.  This unique proposition in CIMA qualification makes it stand apart from other professional qualifications.

Further, after every level, CIMA awards you with a diploma, advanced diploma or the membership through which scope increases in India as well as globally.  Also, association of CIMA with AICPA, US has helped in increasing the opportunities and scope further. 

In India, MNC organizations and Big four consulting firms (i.e. PwC, Deloitte, KPMG or EY) hire CIMA after every level in different profiles relating to Financial Reporting, Management Accounting, Finance and Management.

CIMA UK gives you the expertise in diversified areas, making you eligible to kick start / progress in various profiles including but not limited to the following:

Average pass rate of CIMA exams differs depending upon the following: Level and Type of Exam i.e. Objective or Case Study. A summary of average pass rates is follows.

So, Case studies exams have an average pass rate of 60% to 70% while Objective test exams have an average pass rate close to 50% to 60%.

An aspirant can do CIMA through the following routes:

1. FLP (Finance Leadership Program): Under this route, an eligible undergraduate student will be writing only three case studies exams (i.e. OCS, MCS and SCS) at the CIMA examination centers.  An eligible commerce graduate or post graduate would be able to complete CIMA by only writing two case study exams (i.e. MCS and SCS).
2. Pathways: CIMA has come up with pathway routes for professionals in which they have to write only 1 to 2 case studies exam (i.e. MCS and/or SCS) depending upon their prior qualifications and experience.  A CA/CMA India has to write only SCS and is exempted from 15 papers of CIMA.  An MBA(Finance) or MCom who has got experience of 6 years or more, has to only write MCS and SCS exams.  A Professional has has got more than 10 years of experience in the relevant accounts or finance field can directly write SCS exam.  All these pathways are subject to approval by CIMA, UK.
3. Normal Route: Under Normal route, an undergraduate needs to write all 16 exams of CIMA qualification starting from Certificate Level to Strategic Level.  A commerce graduate needs to write 12 exams starting from Operational Level to Strategic Level. 

Primarily, there is no difference in terms of knowledge or recognition in India/abroad whether you go by FLP or Pathway or Normal Route.  However, there is huge difference in Time and Efforts involved in each route.  Pathway programs are primarily for working professionals and take least time, followed by FLP route and lastly Normal route which on an average takes roughly 3 to 4 years to complete.

CIMA is a preferred choice for anyone looking to make his/her career in the fields of Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, Finance or Management.  CIMA makes a lot of sense for the following reasons:

1. Evergreen Skills:   In CIMA, you will develop the skills through which humans can never be obsolete like data backed decision making for the business.
2. Leadership: You will learn how to make decisions and lead the business or assist in that process across three levels of the company i.e. lower level management, middle level management and top level management.
3. Global Recognition: You will earn CGMA (Chartered Global Management Accountant) designation and become a CIMA member as well, which will open doors for job opportunities in 180 countries of the world.
4. Association: Set up of “The Association” of AICPA (US) and CIMA (UK) has amplified the recognition and reward of CIMA professionals exponentially.