A few days ago, I passed the CIMA F3-Financial Strategy exam. This is my 3rd and last exam at the Strategic level. With a success in this exam, I have attained the Associate Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) and CGMA – Chartered Global Management Accountant designations. It was a great experience which I would like to share with you.
Background
I am an accounting professional, working as a Finance Manager with a leading real-estate developer. I am having 10 years of work experience with accounts in different roles. I possess a bachelor’s level degree in accountancy. I’s been two years since I started CIMA Professional qualification. Its my 9th exam in the overall track.
Preparation
As with my previous exams, I prepared with the CIMA course outline and the training material from DumpsMate. I trust DumpsMate for the quality content according to the outline provided by CIMA for ACMA track. For the preparation of the F3 – Financial strategy exam, I took the complete PDF and Testing Engine package from DumpsMate. All the training material provided by DumpsMate is covered by a money-back guarantee for sure success. I particularly found the F3 braindumps by DumpsMate to be very useful due to the accuracy. I completed the preparation in seven weeks. After that I took the exam for CIMA F3 – Financial strategy and passed it in my first attempt.
Value
The exam F3 – Financial Strategy is the one of the 3 exams of the 3rd and top most level (Strategic Level) of the CIMA Professional Qualification (Associate). After successful completion of level 3 you earn the Associate Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) and Chartered Global Management Accountant – CGMA designation by CIMA.
Associate Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA)
Strategic level examination — An overview
The CIMA Professional Qualification
Our overriding objective in designing the CIMA Professional Qualification is to enhance the employability of learners and members by creating a learning system that enables them to acquire skills, competencies, and the mindset that are in high demand with employers.
This is more important than ever, keeping in mind the increasing pace of change and traditional roles being redefined by technology and digital advances.
The CIMA Professional Qualification is divided into three levels;
- Operational
- Management
- Strategic
Each of these levels consists of three pillars of domain knowledge;
- Enterprise
- Performance
- Financial
Passing each level of the qualification confirms a candidate’s capabilities to perform the tasks at that level in the workplace to the highest standards. When combined with the required practical experience, the CIMA Professional Qualification ensures that members are ready to support and lead their organizations, through the challenging environment of continuous change.
The syllabus, assessments, and practical experience requirements ensure members are not only competent in the essential accounting, finance, and business-related skills, but also in the skills required to lead the finance function in a digital age. The Strategic level focuses on the role of the senior finance manager and long-term strategic decision-making. Once this level is cleared, a CIMA qualified finance professional will be able to support organizational leaders to craft strategy; evaluate and manage risks that might prevent organizations from successfully implementing strategy; value organizations; and source financial resources required to implement a strategy
The CIMA Professional Qualification is made up of three levels — Operational, Management, and Strategic. Each level imparts the knowledge and business acumen that’s expected from a finance professional working at an entry-level, managerial level, or at senior leadership level.
At the end of each level, learners have to take a Case Study Examination — a business simulation of real-life job tasks that someone at that level is expected to perform. In addition, the purpose of the Case Study
examination is to assess the candidate’s proficiency in those specific skills that are less likely to be automated. The Case Study Examination blueprints articulate the business simulation through the core activities and assessment outcomes. The Objective Test blueprints state the job tasks through the representative task statements. As a result, learners are clear about the basis for each type of assessment.
The full structure and assessment approach
The syllabus is split into three pillars and three levels and comprises 12 exams: nine Objective Tests, and three Case Study exams.
Objective Tests are 90 minutes long, computer-based and available on-demand at over 5,000 Pearson VUE assessment centers worldwide.
Case Study exams are 3 hours long and available in four windows throughout the year, also computer-based and available at over 5,000 Pearson VUE assessment centers worldwide.
Find out more about assessment
This is the third level of the Professional Qualification and consists of three computer-based Objective Tests and one Case Study exam.
The Strategic level focuses on long term strategic decision making. Candidates will be able to support organizational leaders to craft strategy; evaluate and manage risks that might prevent organizations from successfully implementing strategy; value organizations; and source financial resources required to implement of strategy.
F3 – Financial Strategy
- Financial policy decisions
- Sources of long term funds
- Financial risks
- Business valuation
What do you learn in F3?
- The different strategic financial objectives and policy options that are open to organizations.
- The types of funds available to organizations to finance the implementation of their strategies, including where and how they access these funds at the right time, in the right quantities, and at the right cost.
- The sources of financial risk, how to evaluate and manage financial risk appropriately, and techniques in business valuation to assess whether a company has created and preserved value within the organization.
- The valuation techniques to calculate the value of organizations and conditions applicable for such calculations especially intangibles in the digital world and how to report intangible value and their drivers in integrated reporting.
Conclusion
Accounting is the core of any business. Businesses smaller or larger, cannot be run effectively without accounting. Management accounting is the most essential component of an enterprise. Accountants in general and management accountants, in particular, are in higher demand in the job market. CIMA (Chartered Institute Of Management Accountants) is the largest global body of management accountancy. These factors make CIMA certifications to be one of the most credible professional accountancy credentials in the world. CIMA F3- Financial Strategy Exam is a top tier exam in CIMA Associate Professional Qualification and is part of the requirement for the prestigious management accountancy credentials of the ACMA and CGMA. These credentials are among the best career-oriented competencies.