Welcome aboard.  I presume you mean you have exemptions from the Certificate level?

 You can take the Managerial and Operational levels in any order you wish, with any amount in one sitting you wish.  However, just because you can doesn't mean you should.  I have some suggestions, based on my own experience:

1. Take them two at a time.  Unless you've got some great rush, this will get you through at a reasonable pace without burning you out.  There's no shame in taking one at a time though if that's all you can afford the time for.  I'm even skipping a sitting to concentrate on strengthening my work experience.

2. Do not attempt to do a Management level paper before doing it's Operational counterpart.  You can do both in the same sitting if you like- I did E1 and E2 in November.  The advantage is there's a lot of overlap (especially with the two Es), the disadvantage is that you need a secure grasp on the Operational material before doing Management.

If I were to start again (and didn't have my exemptions from my degree), I'd be tempted to do this:

Sitting 1 (eg May 2011): P1 and F1
Sitting 2 (Nov 2011): P2 and F2
Sitting 3 (May 2012): E1 and E2

Remember that's just my opinion, but it's a perfectly valid way of approaching it.

 good luck!

There is no perfect order but I suggest finishing with P2 and E2.

I've been told that alot of P2 is relevent in strategic level, so it's good to have it fresh in your mind. Also I don't recommend doing P2 with F2 as I just did, as they are both very tough and F2 is a massive syllabus to learn.

Hi Mike,

Welcome!

I was also exempt from Certificate level from my degree, I did F1 and P1 together, then E1 and F2 and I am now awaiting results for E2 and P2.  I found doing the two E's with the bigger P and F modules quite useful especially as the tuition for E is shorter (and therefore there is less material content) which went well with F2 and P2 because these pillars have more material content than E.

This is just a suggestion, but I like that combination and there was some material overlap between the modules which helped!

As for study - my company sponsor me through college, I study with Kaplan and have found the tuition very helpful!  Kaplan even have online courses so you can have the benefits of a classroom session but without having to go into college - it really does depend on what works best for you.

Best of luck!

Mel

Mike,

I attend classes at college, I did tuition classes and revision classes with Kaplan.  Kaplan is an external training provider so you have specialist tutors and they teach a range of qualifications, including Financial ones such as CIMA, ACCA etc.  Another provider is BPP (Kaplan an BPP are the biggest) but there's others out there if you are looking to get tuition.  I know a few people who have done self study and it's worked for them.  It really does depends how you find it best to study and of course financial considerations as tuition is very expensive if you plan to pay it yourself.  That's why a lot of people who aren't sponsored tend to do self study or distance learning.

You can get all the materials Kaplan give you minus the actual lessons through their distance learning option but it's more expensive that say buying off amazon or ebay for example.  CIMA also sells all the books you'd need.

 Mel

My, so far successful order, has been:

Sitting 1 - E2 + P1

Sitting 2 - P2 + F1

Sitting 3 - F2 + E1

My reasoning was that P2 and F2 run directly from mathematical treatments used in P1 and F1. However E1 and E2 are just rote theoretical learning so can be done independantly. So I concentrated on the managerial paper while linking it with an operational paper

Hi guys

Thanks again for the extra advise.

Lu, I don't quite follow your orders. Could you please explain it a bit better for me?

Thanks 

How about the combination of P1 ,F2 with the help of part time Kaplan classes.

I have cleared E1, F1. I am contemplating whether to take P1 and E2 or P1 and F2. 

Please advise ..

hie everyone,

i just registered too and was exempted most of  certificate material, like the F1, now i wish to write at least one in operational level in may since um self studying.

what do you think and how do i pay for my exemptions coz its not reflected in my statement.

thnx

Hi

I have enrolled for CIMA this January , and was planning to sit for May 2011. However due to professional commitments time is a huge constraint.

Is 2 months enough to prepare for E1 or F1 or Both

Guys who have already passed can help me as they know the difficulty level

Neel

Hi Gaad,

E1 used to be P4 and P1 was P1. You can find out more about transition arrangements on the website, just click on the link:

http://www.cimaglobal.com/Students/2010-professional-qualification/Transition-to-2010-syllabus/ 

Pass exam papers and examiners' answers are available to download from your My CIMA account within 'Student Information'.

I hope this helps!

Elisabeth
CIMASphere moderator