Chartered Institution of Management Accountants (CIMA)

Overview of CIMA

The Chartered Institution of Management Accountants, colloquially referred to as CIMA, is a UK-based globally recognized accounting body. The institution primarily offers training and qualification in management accounting or cost accounting related matters. However, its services are not limited to just providing training and courses. It also actively supports its members and even helps them get started on a career.

CIMA came into being as the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants in the March of 1919. The institution was conceptualized by a group of legal professionals and businesspeople with the intent of developing an approach to accounting that would adapt to the rapidly evolving business landscape of their time, i.e. post industrialization. As the world of business evolved further with the advent of globalization, accountants who could provide cost and operations analysis to properly inform performance management became crucial. Hence, the organization that was founded in the early 1900s evolved to become the CIMA of today.

In 1975, Management Accounting was recognized by the Royal Charter as a distinct branch of accounting. As of this writing, that claim has been unanimously agreed upon by the entire world.

Being the oldest management accounting body in the entire world, CIMA boasts an impressive membership of 115,000 strong (as of 2020) in over 180 countries the world over. It is also a member of the International Federation of Accountants.

Academic Excellence

The most popular program offered by The Chartered Institution of Management Accountants, aka CIMA, is the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) certification course. This is a professional qualification that is awarded to students after they complete 4 levels of testing, each level consisting of formal exams and/or case studies. The length of CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification program is not the same for everyone. There are 9 main courses, 3 case studies and 4 CBA courses that the student has to complete at maximum. Depending on the level of education prior to joining the course, the number of courses that the student has to sit through comes down significantly. Usually the program takes 1 to 3 years to complete. However, a sufficiently brilliant student could go through the whole thing in less than a year if they have the aptitude and intention to do so.

CIMA is a valid certification in about 180 countries around the world. That is actually a part of what makes this certification so appealing. With this certification, the student has the liberty to work anywhere in the world.

In the UK, this certification is recognized as being equivalent to a Masters in Finance.

Admissions

There are no hard and fast deadlines on admissions into the CIMA Professional Certifications. The institution has made the exams computerized and hence can be taken by the student at their convenience. However, the mandatory Case Study Exam which only takes place 4 times a year in February, May, August, or November. The objective test for each subject is only 90 minutes long while the Case Study exam takes about 3 hours to complete.

Absolute beginners can get admitted to the CBA level. Students with a bachelor's degree can jump directly to the third tier, i.e. the Management Level. Students who have completed their ACCA or CA level certification are exempted from the exams at the Management level & Strategic Level as well. However, regardless of the exam exemptions, students will still have to appear for the quarterly conducted Case Study Exams.