Strategic Results Overview 2015

A number of interesting facts and statistics were presented at the 2015 CIMA conference last week.

The conference was attended by key people from CIMA and tuition providers including members of the Astranti team.

We would like to share with you some of the key points raised at the conference.

In this blog I am going to summarise the conference content that focused on the Strategic l level. This included a review on the E3, P3, F3 and Strategic Case Study exams. It also covered what went well for students on the previous sittings and key areas that need to be improved for the future.

The information was presented at the conference by Samuel Li, Learning Support Manager and a leading case study writer and marker.

I hope you find this summary useful as it includes some important information that could help you as you progress through your studies.

Lets start with E3…

E3 Pass Rates

The overall pass rate for E3 between January – September 2015 was 75%. More than 60% of students passed of their first attempt.

 

E3 Sectional performance

The CIMA presenter commented that all students that passed performed well across all syllabus areas with the exception of 'The role of information systems in organisational strategy'. However those that failed also performed poorly in 'Evaluating strategic position and strategic options' and 'Leading change'.

E3 Regional performance

Overall the performance of students across geographic regions was very similar. However students in MESANA and Africa performed less well in 'Evaluating strategic position and strategic options' and 'leading change'.

P3 Pass Rates

There is an upward trend in the pass rate for the P3 exam with 64% passing during the January – September 2015 period. Around half of students passed on the first attempt.

P3 Sectional Performance

Students that passed P3 tended to perform well across all areas of the syllabus. Conversely, those that failed performed poorly across all areas. 'Internal controls to manage risk' was the most challenging area for most students.

P3 Regional Performance

On a regional basis Europe performed strongest whilst students from Africa performed relatively poorly. Students from MESANA found 'Identification, classification and evaluation of risk' and 'Responses to strategic risk' the most challenging syllabus areas.

F3 Pass Rates

The pass rates for the F3 exam was identical to P3. 64% of students passed overall in the period January – September 2015 with almost half passing on their first attempt. 

F3 Sectional Performance

The performance across the syllabus areas was uniform. However there were extreme difference between those that passed and those that failed. The weakest area tended to be 'Corporate finance' which is the largest area of the syllabus at 40%.

F3 Regional Performance

Students from Europe performed strongest in comparison to other regions. African students performed least well. The presenter commented there are huge opportunities for improvement in regions outside of Europe.

Strategic Case Study

There is a positive trend in pass rates for the Strategic Case Study with students in August achieving good pass rates. It appears that students now better understand the requirements of the case study. Answers are longer with less key points missed and models used applied to the scenario.

The presenter gave some key tips for future students:

• Read the pre-seen and know it well (there is no time to do this in the exam)
• Read the question!
• Answer the question!
• Answer all parts of the question
• Management of time is key
• Apply answers to the scenario
• Answers must be specific and not generic