If you’re preparing for your CIMA BA1 exam, don’t worry. In this article, we explore several questions and concerns to help you get the most out of your revision. This includes:

• The core areas and topics of the exam
• How the exam is structured
• The benefits of studying CIMA BA1
• Challenges
• Example question
• Additional resources

What are the exam topics?

• Macroeconomic and institutional context of business (25%) - provides insight into concepts such as inflation, unemployment, international trade, macroeconomic policy of the government, and the role of major institutions in promoting global trade.
• Macroeconomic and organisational context of business (30%) - explains the difference in goals between commercial and non-profit organisations, expectations of various l stakeholder groups from the organisation, as well as expands further on macroeconomics topics such as price elasticity of demand and supply, and sources of market failure.
• Informational context of business (20%) - introduces the concept of big data analytics, and related numerical techniques such as correlation coefficient. It also lays foundations of how forecasting models are created, such as by using trends in time series.
• Financial context of business (25%) - explains the role of financial intermediaries, and introduces the basic concepts needed to calculate future values of an investment using techniques such as NPV and IRR. It also touches on the effect of exchange rates and ways to manage the impact of these changes.

How is the exam structured?

The assessment for the CIMA BA1 subject requires a two-hour computer-based exam with 60 compulsory questions.

Within the assessment, a variety of objective test question styles and types will be used. This will include multiple choice questions, number entries, drag and drop, drop-down, and hot spot.

How the CIMA BA1 exam benefits your career

Studying towards the CIMA BA1 exam will help you in later CIMA subjects. For example:

• The overall module creates foundations for other topics, particularly in the ‘E’ pillars (E1, E2, E3). For example, many of the theories regarding competitive environments (such as Porter’s five forces) are based on economic principles.
• Numerical topics, such as investment appraisal, are relevant in the BA2 and P2 exams.
• Understanding the impact of inflation is important later in the CIMA qualification during the ‘P’ and ‘F’ pillars (P1, P2, P3, F1, F2, F3).

Aside from other CIMA exams, the BA1 subject can help with your career and personal life. For example:

• If you decide to pursue a career in the financial sector, the exam will have introduced you to different types of financial instruments that would normally be used by banks as part of their investment initiatives.
• Having a solid grasp of how financial systems operate helps you to make informed decisions relating to your personal finances, such as whether it is financially more worthwhile to allocate excess income towards investment or to pay off debts. It will also help to understand what the APR % stated in the terms and conditions of a credit card agreement actually means.

Key challenges and tips

Some learners may have studied economics in the past as part of their A Levels or as a university degree, so will already be familiar with the terminology. However, others may find the volume and complexity of material challenging.

Common challenges include:

• A significant number of numerical questions in the exam makes it challenging for some to manage their time, and could create additional stress
• Learners often misinterpret or misread a question’s requirements due to time pressures or poor exam techniques and, consequently, select an incorrect answer.
• If BA1 is your first exam within the CIMA qualification, it can be difficult to understand the layout and functionality of the exam software. The screen space can be quite limited, which makes it tricky to use the online calculator function - especially if you’re unfamiliar with it.
• It can be difficult to learn the formulae, and some of the essential formulae (such as those for the ‘quantity indices’) are not given in the formulae list provided on the day of the exam.

How to overcome these challenges

• Allocate sufficient time to learn - it’s unlikely that this volume of information can be digested the night before the exam.
• Frequent recaps - using revision cards, for example, will help to make big topics manageable, and they are more likely to be retained in the long-term memory.
• Practicing questions from your exam kit and MyKaplan resources to spot knowledge gaps early - with a 72% average pass rate, CIMA BA1 is a good subject to start your CIMA journey.
• Practice makes perfect - wishful thinking such as, “it won’t come up in my exam,” is not a constructive way to approach a problem. Remember that every learner will be presented with a different selection of questions in the exam.
• Learn the appropriate formulae - this will help to speed up calculations and reduce the time pressure during the exam. Prepare formulae flashcards (or use already available ones, such as the ones on Quizlet) to aid recall. The formulae made available in the exam are: The formulae and tables provided in the exam are: present value, cumulative present value, internal rate of return, Pearson correlation coefficient formula, Spearman’s rank correlation formula and least squares regression A and B.
• Read the requirements carefully - for example, remember that rounding needs to be done to a specified number of decimal places. Make sure your answer contains the decimals specified, otherwise it will be marked as incorrect.
• Purchase a calculator from the approved calculator list and remember to bring it with you - it’s a worthwhile investment as having such a calculator will be handy for many of your future CIMA exams. Use your calculator to practice questions beforehand, this will save the stress of not being able to find the appropriate function when you are feeling flustered during the exam.
• Familiarise yourself with the exam software - it might be worthwhile to work through a CIMA question tutorial, for example, flagging the question for review will allow you to move on from a difficult topic to another question that might be easier, so you can come back to it later if time permits. However, always ensure you select an answer as there is no negative marking in the exam and you might just be lucky and tick the right one.

Example question and answer

The shift to the right in the supply curve on the diagram below can be best explained by:

A. an increase in the price of the product

B. an increase in the price of raw materials

C. a rise in the amount of wages paid to labour

D. the result of technological progress

Answer: D

Answer explanation:

• When reading the question requirements, make sure you focus on the supply (rather than the demand) curve.
• Remember that ‘P’ stands for ‘price,’ and ‘Q’ stands for ‘quantity.’
• The change of price (option A) would cause expansion along the curve, which is a movement along the line, rather than a shift.
• Options B and C have the effect of increasing costs and causing a shift to the left.
• Option D is the correct answer because technological progress increases the efficiency of production and lowers costs, meaning that suppliers would be willing to produce more for the same price.

Additional support and resources

When studying on a course with Kaplan, you will have access to the Academic Support team via the ‘contact a tutor’ option on your MyKaplan. They are available seven days a week and can support you with any tricky topics via live chat, email, or by requesting a call back.

If you have any additional learning needs, get in touch with our inclusion team who can support you.

Read our blog for additional tutor tips for other exam subjects. Additionally, our Kaplan Publishing website offers the CIMA BA1 exam kit and revision cards, which can help you during your revision.

Feeling ready?

Working towards a specific date can significantly boost your productivity when it comes to revising for the exam. Find your local Kaplan centre and book your exam today. Good luck!