BPP Guide to CIMA Certificate 2017Trust BPP to get you through

Contents

Introduction..........................................................................................................1

How is the syllabus changing?..................................................................2

How is each paper/subject changing?....................................................2

How are the exams changing?..................................................................3

How will BPP’s 2017 programmes help me to pass the new Syllabus exams?.............................................................................................4

What support will BPP offer during the transition to the new syllabus?.................................................................................................4

Where can I find further information?...................................................5

Introduction from Head of CIMA Programme

The new Certificate Level syllabus is fast approaching, with the new exams going live on 11th January 2017 (and therefore the current syllabus exams ending on 10th).

We were involved in the consultation process with CIMA for the new syllabus. We think that the changes being made are the right ones to make and will be well received by students (especially those who are not keen on theoretical mathematics!).

We’ve been very busy here at BPP getting everything ready for our new programmes, and wanted to provide you with some information to help you to plan properly for the transition. This guide will explain what the new Certificate syllabus will look like and why studying with BPP will give you the very best chance of passing your exams.

Steve Malpass,Head of CIMA Programme

°This guide contains links and is best viewed online.

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How is the syllabus changing?

CIMA have consulted with employers around the world over the last 2-3 years, both to shape the changes we saw at Professional Level last year, and in terms of how best to update Certificate Level in a similar way. The aim is to ensure that Certificate Level:

• Addresses the right knowledge and skills for today’s finance professionals, in order to maximise employability. This means modifying the syllabus to capture developments in the business world since the 2011 syllabus was introduced, as well as making the whole Level more practical and business focussed. The most obvious impact here is the end of C3 Business Maths as a standalone subject. Rather than study maths on its own, the new syllabus will get you to do so in the relevant business context within the other subjects.

• Ties in clearly and logically with Professional Level, in terms of the progression of topics through the learning pillars. These links are shown in the diagram below, where you can also see the new reference numbers (BA1-BA4) for each subject.

CIMA Qualification Structure (2017)

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The Certificate Level exams are currently CBAs (Computer Based Assessments) as well as ‘on demand’ meaning that students can sit them when they wish. This is going to continue into the 2017 syllabus.

Similarly the questions in the exam will continue to cover verb levels 1-3 (knowledge, comprehension, application) but they will now always be set in a business context (i.e no algebra just for the sake of it). CIMA are aiming to align the questions with the kinds of tasks undertaken in job roles linked with the 2017 syllabus.

Beyond this CIMA are basically bringing the assessments at Certificate Level in line with what was introduced in the Professional Level Objective Test exams in 2015. They will use the same question types (see below). All questions will be equally weighted and answers need to be 100% correct to be awarded credit. There will be no partial marks for correctly identifying one advantage if the requirement asked for two.

How are the exams changing?

How is each paper/subject changing?

BA1 (was C4)Probably seeing the most change, in that the subject now has a much more practical perspective

in terms of how economic theory can be applied to the real issues facing a business. Has also picked up some maths content from C3 (e.g. forecasting techniques)

More info

BA2 (was C1)No major changes but has absorbed some maths content from C3 (e.g. probabilities and more on investment appraisal techniques).

Process costing has been taken out of the syllabus completely.More info

BA3 (was C2)Probably the least overall change on the face of it, but there is more of

an emphasis on properly understanding double entry as well as digging further into the detail of what ratio analysis can tell us about company performance.

More info

BA4 (was C5)A fair amount of change here, with an increase in the coverage of ethics

and corporate governance and a reduction in law coverage. The law aspects will also focus more on principles and best practice rather than specific English law.

More info

Note: C3 no longer exists as a

separate subject

Although some basic mathematics will be needed in BA3 in order to calculate and manipulate ratios, the rest of the C3 syllabus has been split between BA1 and BA2,

where mathematical techniques will be studied in their business context. The basics of spreadsheets is no longer part of the Certificate syllabus.

More info

Multiple choiceStandard multiple choice items provide four options. 1 option is correct and the other 3 are incorrect.

Incorrect options will be plausible, so you should expect to have to use detailed, syllabus-specific knowledge to identify the correct answer rather than relying on common sense.

Multiple response A multiple response item is the same as a multiple choice question, except more than one response is required. You will be told how many options you need to select.

Number entry Number entry (or ‘fill in the blank’) questions require you to type a short numerical response. You should carefully follow the instructions in the question in terms of how to type your answer – e.g. the correct number of decimal places.

Drag and drop Drag and drop questions require you to drag a “token” onto a pre-defined area. These tokens can be images or text. This type of question is effective at testing the order of events, labelling a diagram or linking events to outcomes.

Hot spot These questions require you to identify an area or location on an image by clicking on it. This is commonly used to identify a specific point on a graph or diagram. The basics of spreadsheets is no longer part of the Certificate syllabus.

Item set 2-4 questions all relating to the same short scenario. Each question will be ‘standalone’, such that your ability to answer subsequent questions in the set does not rely on getting the first one correct.

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How will BPP’s 2017 programmes help me to pass the new Syllabus exams?

Our Certificate 2017 programme will be based around our award-winning approach to learning, BPP Momentum. This is a structured learning route to being ‘exam ready’ and is proven to increase your chances of success.

• Choose from a range of study methods to suit your learning style, including Online Classroom, Online Classroom Live and In Centre.

• We’ll help you track your progress via a personalised Achievement Ladder, identify your strengths and weaknesses through a series of assessments and provide targeted support when you need it.

• The assessments are made up of exam standard practice questions that gradually cover the whole syllabus, and are presented to you in an online format designed to replicate the real CBA – an invaluable way to prepare for your exams

• Our expert tutors and Programme Advisors are behind you every step of the way. As professionals ourselves, we understand how best to guide and advise other professional people.

Our programmes also include the new BPP Course Book which will guide you through your syllabus content learning. They are an enhancement on traditional course notes, borrowing features you would usually see in a BPP Text book, and are designed to make your learning as efficient and effective as possible. Our question banks have also been thoroughly reviewed for the new syllabus, to ensure that all questions are set in a business context like the real CBA, and there will be 450-500 new style practice questions included for each paper.

We have courses starting every month for each of BA1, BA2, BA3 and BA4, beginning in January/February 2017. You can access all our dates and prices on our website, or by clicking here.

A “provisional result” will be displayed as soon as the CBA is complete and then formally ratified within 48 hours along with a breakdown of performance by syllabus area.

Where the CBAs do differ from Professional Level is their duration. They will all be two hours long (as opposed to 1.5hr for Professional Objective Tests). The Certificate exams will contain 60 questions, apart from BA4 which will contain 85 as it will not contain any time-consuming numerical questions.

CIMA will be announcing the pass mark or “passing standard” in October 2016.

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Where can I find further information?

• On our website www.bpp.com/cima

• You can register for our Certificate 2017 Q&A webinar on 12th October at www.bpp.com/cimacert17

• Call us on 03300 297 529

• You can also visit CIMA’s website for further detail about the syllabus change at www.cimaglobal.com

To reassure you during the transition, if you are studying for a current syllabus exam with BPP but do not manage to pass it before the current exams stop on 10th January 2017, then you can come back on a new syllabus course free of charge in early 2017.

As part of this we will provide you with guidance on exactly what has changed in the syllabus, so that you can prioritise your resit studies accordingly.

So, with this in mind, here’s our advice, depending on the situation you are in:

I haven’t started studying Certificate Level yet, when should I start?

You could still study for and pass an exam before the current syllabus CBAs come to an end on 10th January. If you are doing this we would recommend studying C2 or C1 as these are the ones that are changing least in the new syllabus and, on the off chance you do need to resit the exam after 10th January, you won’t have too much new content to look at.

I’m part way through but don’t think I can get it all finished before 11th Jan, what should I do?

The key thing here is to try to pass any exams for which you have already studied by 10th January. You can then move on to your next paper(s) under the new syllabus.

I’ve just passed my last Certificate paper, when should I start my Operational Level studies?

Its an advantage to start studying Operational Level as soon as you can after Certificate Level as you will find a lot of your learning is directly relevant. There’s enough time to study for and sit your first Operational OT exam before the end of the year.

The syllabus change means I’m going to bypass C3 and not study any Business Maths. Am I going to be at a disadvantage later on?

If you haven’t studied C3 then that’s fine as (a) if you still have BA1 and/or BA2 to study in 2017 then you will cover a lot of it then and (b) even if you don’t need to then any maths knowledge that you do need will be covered in future BPP courses when it becomes relevant (e.g. we provide students with a lot of basic maths learning resources as part of our Operational Level P1 Programme)

What support will BPP offer during the transition to the new syllabus?

The transition rules are very straightforward. Any exams passed (or exemptions) will carry over on a 1:1 basis, so you can just smoothly move into the new syllabus. However, we realise that a syllabus change can add to stress if you are running out of time to pass an exam or two, so we want to offer some specific support.