CIMA - Managerial Level Johannesburg, South Africa

Course details

The management level is made up of three subjects. Students who have completed the Managerial level are awarded the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting and will receive the letters CIMA Adv Dip MA.

There are three papers within the management level which has been designed to develop knowledge and skills in a progressive manner. To progress from the management level, students are required to complete three Objective Tests (OTs) and one Integrated Case Study (ICS).

Upon completion, students will receive the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting. Students can then progress to the strategic level.

All operational and management level subject examinations, in each learning pillar, must be successfully completed before attempting strategic level subjects.

Advanced Management Accounting

Overview:

Focusing primarily on the long term, P2 builds on the insights about costs and thier drivers (from P1) to provide the competencies needed to analyse, plan and manage costs to support the implementation of the organisation's strategy. It shows how to manage and control the performance of various units of the organisation in line with both short-term budgets and long-term strategy. Finally, P2 covers investment decision making and risks associated with such decisions. It provides the basis for developing deeper understanding of various types of risk affecting the strategy and operations of organisations (covered in P3).

Covers:

1. Cost planning and analysis for competitive advantage.
2. Control and performance management of responsibility centres.
3. Long-term decision making.
4. Management control and risk.

You will learn how to:

1. Analyse, plan and manage costs to support the implementation of the organisation's strategy.
2. Manage and control the performance of business units within the organisation in line with short-term budgets and long-term strategy.
3. Make investment decisions, taking into account the risks related with such decisions.

Project and Relationship Management

Overview

E2 emphasises a holistic, integrated approach to managing organisations, from external to internal perspectives. It builds on the understanding of organisational structuring gained from E1 and is centred on the concept of strategy and how organisational strategy can be implemented through people, projects, processes and relationships. It provides the basis for developing further insights into how to formulate and implement organisational strategy, which is covered in E3.

Covers:

1. Introduction to strategic management and assessing the global environment.
2. The human aspect of the organisation, managing relationships.
3. Managing change through projects.

You will learn how to:

1. Develop a holistic approach to managing organisations from external and internal perspectives.
2. Implement organisational strategy through people, projects, processes and relationships.

Advanced Financial Reporting

Overview:

F2 builds on the competencies gained from F1. It covers how to effectively source the long-term finance required to fund the operations of organisations, particularly their capital investments. It also deepens the coverage of financial reporting to more complex aspects of group accounting and analyses the rules governing the recognition and measurement of various elements of the financial statements. Finally it shows how to analyse financial statements to provide insights about financial performance and position of the organisation over time and in comparison with others.

Covers:

1. Sources of long-term finance.
2. Financial reporting.
3. Analysis of financial performance and position.

You will learn how to:

1. Source long-term finance.
2. Produce and analyse complex aspects of group accounting.
3. Use analysis of financial statements to provide insights about the performance of the business over time.

Managerial Level Case Study

The integrated case study exams combine the knowledge and learning across the three subjects, and are set within a simulated business context relating to one or more fictionalised organisations which are based on a real business or industry. The technical content and theory for the three subjects at a level will have already been tested thoroughly in the objective tests; the case study exam aims to test the application of this knowledge to real life business scenarios and, in so doing, tests the higher level skills of application, analysis and evaluation. The case study incorporates calculations, short answers and essays. Candidates must have completed or be exempt from the three objective tests at a particular level, before attempting that level's integrated case study.

Covers:

P2, F2 and E2 content

You will learn how to:

Apply the knowledge you have gained in the three subjects to reflect real-life work situations.