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CIMA exam tips

What is coming up in May 2008

We want to help tip the balance in your favour – here are our tips for the May CIMA sitting

Performance evaluation
* Variance analysis – calculations and interpretation
* Budgetary control in the modern business environment
* Transfer pricing – impacts on divisional performance
* Absorption and marginal costing v ABC and throughput accounting
* Process costing – has not been examined at length for four sittings
* Time series
* Backward variance
* Backflush accounting

Decision management
* Optimal pricing
* Learning curves
* NPV with tax and inflation
* Joint probabilities and pay-off tables
* Pareto analysis
* Post-completion audit
* Capital rationing
* Breakeven analysis
* Expected values and data tables
* Supply chain management
* Customer profitability analysis

Risk & control strategy
Section A
* General discussion on risk and control using a scenario
* Discursive element on currency risk management strategies
* Application of corporate governance, NEDs, and internal controls
Section B
* Costs and benefits of an internal control system
* Plan for the internal audit of specific organisational activities
* Problems associated with audit of activities and action to solve these
* Development of IM, IS and IT strategies appropriate to the needs of an organisation
* Basic calculations on currency risk management, including forward contracts or money market hedges
* Uses for and calculations of Value at Risk
* Discussion of risks in banks to include liquidity and credit management in the wake of current issues in this sector
* Ethics and fraud

Organisational management and information systems
* Value chain
* Use of IT in marketing
* HR including an aspect of performance management (eg appraisal, training); business profitability and strategic plan implementation
* Change management (eg acquisition or merger)
* TQM and its impact on an organisation, including motivational aspects in times of change
* Segmentation
* Customer services
* Quality of supply
* Marketing mix
* Procurement

Integrated management
* Possibly two questions on project management, one in each section. Areas could cover critical path analysis and project stakeholders
* Negotiation
* Functions of a manager
* Groups and teams featuring Belbin and/or Tuckman's theories, and the advantages that team working presents to an organisation
* Innovation and flexibility, in terms of how an organisation can boost its level of innovation including network organisations
* Organisational objectives, for example SMART objectives and the usefulness of the mission statement
* Decision making models
* Environmental analysis

Business strategy
* Braithwaite and Drahos/civil society
* Either NPV or ratio analysis with commentary in section A with up to 15 marks for calculations
* Strategic choice – appraising different strategic options, best approached using Johnson and Scholes 'Suitable, Acceptable, Feasible' framework
* The role of IT/IS, possibly mixed with a question on either e-commerce or an academic model such as Porter's five forces/value chain
* Stakeholder analysis, identification and strategies for dealing with them, Mendelow's matrix may help
* Environmental analysis, how an organisation can perform this process by either a 'systematic approach' or by use of models such as PEST, five forces or competitor analysis.
* Benchmarking
* SWOT
* Relationship marketing – four P's

Financial accounting and tax principles
* Valuation, depreciation and impairment of non-current assets – sections A, B and C
* Calculation of the temporary difference and associated deferred tax liability and the income statement tax charge – sections A, B and C
* Preparation of cash-flow figures involving cash flows from operating, investing and financing cash flows under IAS 7 or the calculation of cash received from receivables/paid to payables during the year – sections A and B
* Yield to maturity calculations – sections A and B
* Preparation of published financial statements (I/S, SOCIE and B/S) – section C
* Construction contracts
* Post balance sheet events
* Development expenditure
* Income statement

Financial analysis
Section B
* Written question, eg US GAAP versus IFRS, on human resource or environmental accounting
* Short consolidated income statement, balance sheet or statement of changes in equity
* Recognition, measurement and/or classification of financial instruments
* Revenue recognition and/or substance over form scenarios
* Pensions
Section C
* One question on group financial statements, eg complex group or foreign subsidiary balance sheet and/or income statement
* Two questions with an interpretation angle, one including ratio calculations, perhaps with EPS calculation or analysis, segment analysis or the effect on ratios of changes in accounting treatment
* Consolidated cash flow with analysis of results

Financial strategy
* Overseas investment appraisal (possibly acquisition)
* Real options
* Post merger valuations and value enhancement strategies (company valuations)
* Forecasting, and analysis of the inter-relationships between dividend, financing and investment policy
* Modified internal rate of return
* Post auditing
* Sources of finance and capital structure decisions

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