CIMA Professional Operational Level

1. Structure

The level is made up of three Objective Test subjects and one Case Study. You must pass all three Objective Tests before moving onto the Case Study, which tests what you’ve learned overall in the level. You need to pass all assessments to be able to progress to the Management level.

Entry requirements

You’ll need to have completed CIMA Certificate, AAT Professional (Level 4), or have an accountancy or finance degree.

Syllabus

The Objective Test subjects can be sat in any order. You must have passed all 3 Objective Tests before you can book your Case Study examination.

Objective Test subjects

Case Study

2. Study methods

Do you prefer face-to-face learning or studying online in your own time? Do you have family or work commitments that you need to fit your studies around? With four different study methods, we have a course that will meet your needs.

Study methods available for this qualification

Whatever study method you choose, you’ll benefit from high quality learning materials, practical learning methods, hundreds of practice questions, marked mock exams and expert support even on evenings and weekends. You can be confident with Kaplan.

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Timetables - Classroom and Live Online

date_rangeView timetables

3. Exams and sittings

Timings and working towards an assessment

Each subject is assessed by an objective test, and the level as a whole is assessed by a final Case Study. Remember, you’ll have to book your exam as well as your course.

The Objective Tests are computer-based and are 90 minutes each, taken at a Kaplan centre or Pearson VUE test centre. The exams can be sat at any time of the year, and can be taken in any order. All assessments are marked by computer. Your results will be available with 48 hours.

In the Case Study, you’ll be expected to use what you learned in the Operational Level to work through a real life scenario, where your ‘role’ will be a Finance Officer. The Case Study exam is 3 hours long, is computer-based, and available to take in four windows throughout the year (February, May, August, November), at a Kaplan centre or Pearson VUE assessment centre. The exam is based on a pre-seen that will be released approximately 7 weeks before the exam window. From May 2020 the pre-seen will be valid for two sittings, one pre-seen for May and August and another for November and February. It is marked by a human, and results are available 5 weeks after the close of the exam window. It will test your research and analysis skills, how you present information, and your persuasion and communication skills.

How long does it take to pass?

Students usually take around one year to complete the level, but this depends entirely on your preferred way of learning and study method.

What happens if I need to resit my OT exam?

Firstly, don’t worry. We know it can be frustrating to fail an exam, but you can resit, and we try to make the process as easy as possible.

You can take an online resit course, via MyKaplan, available for three months after you’ve enrolled on the course. Included in this course are helpful articles to help you prepare for your resit exam, access to a PDF containing information to help you get back on track, a chance to build your own tests, so you can practice the areas you’re less sure about, and two previously unseen mock exams for even more question practice. And of course, you still have access to our academic support team for technical support from our expert tutors.

The online resit course is only available to Classroom, Live Online, and OnDemand students who have met the terms of their Pass Guarantee. The resit is not available to buy individually.

If you need a resit course, please contact Student Services on 0161 259 7400 to enrol.

What happens if I need to resit my Case Study exam?

We all know that failing an exam is upsetting but it is important to pick yourself up and get ready to try again. At Kaplan we want to make this as easy as possible for you and so we will give you additional support.

The pre-seen material for case study exams is valid for two sittings. May and August share a pre-seen, November and February share a pre-seen. This means that if you sat your exam in May or November and need to resit you can resit your exam using the same pre-seen in the August / February exam window which follows.

If you sat your exam in May or November and wish to resit in the sitting following you can have access to an online resit course, via MyKaplan. This includes a resit guidance PDF to help you get back on track and two previously unseen mock exams which you can submit for marking. You will, of course, still have access to our academic support team if you need technical guidance or help from our expert tutors. Alternatively if you were enrolled on to a classroom course you have the option of attending the final two days of a classroom course (where available) to sit the two new mock exams, or attend sessions seven to nine* of a Live Online course. If you were enrolled on to a Live Online course with us then you have the option to attend sessions seven to nine* of a Live Online course.

*August 2020 only. From February 2021 it will be sessions seven and eight.

If you sat your exam in August or February then your resit exam will be on a different pre-seen. Therefore you will need to attend a whole course again, to learn about the company and the industry in the new pre-seen information. Included in this will be new mock exams and a new workbook based on the pre-seen.

Both the online resit course and access to a new course are only available to Classroom, Live Online, and OnDemand students who have met the terms of their Pass Guarantee. The resit product is not available to buy as a stand alone course.

If you need to resit your exam and would like to discuss your options, please contact Student Services on 0161 259 7400 for an informal conversation about the best way forward. We are here to support you every step of the way.

Dates and deadlines for Case Study exams.

All the key dates and deadlines for the 2021 Operational Case Study exams are listed below for you. Please note that Kaplan have an earlier exam entry deadline than the official CIMA deadline.

November 2020 results will be released on 5th January 2021.

4. Study materials and delivery costs

Study materials

Classroom, Live Online and OnDemand students will receive printed and online study materials, while Distance Learning students have the option of printed and online, or online only. The CIMA materials are the only official CIMA study materials that cover the full syllabus, and are reviewed and approved by CIMA faculty, so you can be confident of their quality. 

The following materials are included in each Objective Test course:

• Study text

  Textbook covering the full subject syllabus with worked examples and activities.

• Integrated workbook (not included for Distance Learning)

  The integrated workbook helps you work through the syllabus, with room to write your notes. It helps you keep everything in one place to make it easy to study and revise from.

• Application modules

  Helping deepen your knowledge of key topics areas, understand how smaller topics fit together and how you might see them in a work environment.

• Study modules (Classroom, Live Online, OnDemand only)

  Engaging, online modules including bite-sized tutor led lectures taking you step by step through the whole syllabus.

• Revision cards

  Pocket-sized, brief revision notes that highlight and prioritise the essential topics you need to understand to pass your CIMA exams.

• Study programme

  Outlines the course structure, providing guidance on what to do, and when.

  If you choose Classroom, Live Online or Distance learning, you can access the study programme through MyKaplan, and it will guide you through your course.

  If you choose OnDemand, we’ll provide you with a printable study programme. You can choose one of three study durations,, as not everyone learns at the same pace.

• Exam kit

  The kit gives you plenty of exam style questions and answers to test your knowledge and practice.

The following materials are included in each Case Study course:

• Study text

  The official CIMA textbook covering Integrated Case Study Exam preparation with worked examples and activities.

• Familiarisation and Practice Workbook

  An examination preparation tool, based on the case study, including ethical considerations, key issues, how to prioritise, and plan your answer. The workbook includes 10-12 case specific tasks including a familiarisation quiz and exercises. For those doing the classroom study method, this will be a printed copy. It will be online only for LiveOnline, OnDemand and Distance learning students. You can download it and print it out.

• Case analysis videos

  Watch a tutor walk you through the pre-seen, highlighting key facts, information and potentially examinable topics.

• Technical Recap videos and notes (except Distance Learning)

  Technical recap recordings that will help you revise key syllabus areas from the underpinning subjects, and introduce you to how those topics could be examined in a case study examination.

To buy the materials separately...

You can buy CIMA approved books for each subject on this level from Kaplan Publishing.

Buy CIMA bookslaunch

Delivery costs

5. MyKaplan: Online Learning Portal

MyKaplan is your online learning portal where you can access all of your online learning and testing resources, including online versions of your study materials. Accessible from your computer, tablet or via the dedicated mobile app, it’s the one stop shop for everything you need with practical resources to help you prepare for your exams.

Online Features

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  View your detailed study programme and online materials in one place and access your content in a few clicks
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  Contact a tutor directly using LiveChat. You can also email or request a call back
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  Complete practice tests and get instant feedback (Objective Tests)
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  Track your performance by topic and easily identify where you need to improve; you can even compare yourself with others in your class
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  Take part in forum discussions with students and tutors and find answers to common questions
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  See instantly when your assessments have been marked (Case Study)
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  Use the mobile app to study on the move and access your study materials offline
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  Access to VideoBank - hundreds of tutor-led videos to help you get the most out of your course. 

Access duration

Your chosen study method determines how long you can access your online content for. For Objective Tests:

Classroom
Three months from last course date.

Live Online
Three months from last course date.

OnDemand
Six months from selected start month.

Distance Learning
12 months from selected start month.

There is also one free extension for 3 months, and a further 3-month extension for £50.

For the Case Study, access durations are all six months after the selected exam sitting.

computerMinimum system requirements for MyKaplan

6. Tutor support

We’ll support you every step of the way throughout your CIMA learning experience with us. You can contact a tutor and get the help you need quickly and easily.

Provided by our Academic Support team (our dedicated team of expert tutors):

• LiveChat (instant response via online messenger system)
• Email (we'll get back to you within 4 hrs)
• Discussion forum (we’ll get back to you within 4 hrs)
• Request a callback so you can speak to a tutor (we'll arrange a call with you within 24 hrs). Please note request a callback is not available to overseas students

Ways to get support

If you think you'd benefit from additional tutor support while studying, we recommend the structured study methods such as Classroom and Live Online.

7. Testing and mocks

We have a wealth of materials to help you revise for and pass your exams.

Objective Test

For the Objective Test, all study options come with the following:

Knowledge checks
As you go along knowledge checks help assess your understanding of a topic before you move onto the next one.

Consolidation test
Each course has a consolidation test approximately two thirds of the way through the knowledge/application phase. It has the same look and feel as the real exam but is a little shorter, with 40 questions. It'll test how you are doing and allow you to identify and address problem areas early on in the course so they don't become 'big problems'.

Progress test (not available with Distance Learning)
Check your understanding with this exam standard test. It as the same look at feel as the real exam so is a great start to your revision. It will help diagnose your weaker areas to help you focus your exam preparation on the topics that need most attention.

Test yourself
This online question bank is made of  hundreds of questions so you can build your own tests to  target weak areas, or check your overall knowledge.

Two mock exams
Practice your exam technique with two mock exams so you can check your progress. The mock exams have the same look and feel as the actual exam.

Case Study

The Case Study is a difficult exam, testing your overall knowledge across the level, and is tested by a written exam, based on a business scenario. We support you with resources that match the feel of the real Case Study:

3 mock exams based on the live case (2 for Distance Learning)
All marked with personalised feedback.

Recorded debrief of all 3 mocks (Distance Learning will get one debrief on the first mock)
To help you understand the approach you should have taken and some common mistakes that were made.

8. Pricing structure

Subject prices can differ depending on your study method, location and the time you choose to study (if you’re choosing Classroom). Go to our study methods page to learn more about each option.

Subjects are all priced individually, so you can purchase them altogether (for a discount), or separately as you need them.

Funding options

Apprenticeships ›

You may be eligible for an Apprenticeship through your employer, depending on your circumstances. Speak to your employer to find out more.

Employer sponsored ›

Your employer may fund the costs of your studies if you’re already working in a related field and want to develop your learning. You’ll need to speak to them to see if if they’re willing to provide this support.

Payment plans ›

CIMA Operational is covered in our interest-free payment plan. The plan lets you spread the cost of your studies over 12 months, with no extra costs. You’ll need to buy all subjects in the level to take out a payment plan.