In this article, we’ll show you, step-by-step, on how to apply for CIMA – as student and as exam candidate.

(CIMA in this website refers to Chartered Institute of Management Accountant. For Certified Investment Management Analyst, please click here.)

How to Apply for CIMA in 3 Steps

Step 1: Register as a CIMA Student

This is a simple process but must be done in order to move on to the next step. Once you register, you will be given a Contact ID in order to log in the MyCIMA account. This is a system that holds your profile and progress in your CIMA journey.

If you have any technical questions regarding the registration, the MyCIMA system and Contact ID, please contact cima.contact@cimaglobal.com directly.

Step 2: Obtain Certificate in Business Accounting or Equivalent

The default CIMA entry requirements is to have the Certificate in Business Accounting (Cert BA) offered by the CIMA. This is a program dedicated to those without an accounting or finance background, but would like to switch or start a business and finance related career.

There are no prerequisites to take the course and you can see this as an alternative to university. There are 4 exams at the end of the course:

• BA1: Fundamentals of business economics
• BA2: Fundamentals of management accounting
• BA3: Fundamentals of financial accounting
• BA4: Fundamentals of ethics, corporate governance and business law

Cert BA is a standalone certification, but most take it as a CIMA qualification requirement for Step 3: the Professional Qualification.

Exemptions

Many candidates apply for an exemption to Cert BA. You should if you have a university degree in accounting, business, economics, management and finance.

CIMA provides a handy exemption lookup database for your reference, but here is the general guideline:

Note: E1 stands for the organisational management exam, which is one of the 3 Objective Tests in the first level of the CIMA exam.

Step 3: Enter the Professional Qualification Program

Once you pass the Cert BA exams or get all the necessary exemptions, you are qualified to take the CIMA exam. Most candidates require 3-4 years in the CIMA journey starting from this step, plus time to accumulate the relevant experience. You can take the exam and accumulate experience at the same time.