The CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting (but more commonly known as simply ‘The CIMA Certificate’) is a qualification that gives you a basic grounding in types accounting and business. To gain this qualification, you have to pass 4 exams, each focusing on a different aspect of business and accounting.  The exams are:

CIMA BA1 – Fundamentals of Business Economics

CIMA BA2 – Fundamentals of Management Accounting

CIMA BA3 – Fundamentals of Financial Accounting

CIMA BA4 – Fundamentals of Ethics, Corporate Governance and Business Law

What will I be examined on? 

All the topics that you’ll need to know for your CIMA Certificate level exams can be found in CIMA’s syllabus. For a more detailed look at the CIMA syllabus, you should check out our own guide to the CIMA syllabus.

As noted above, the CIMA Certificate level is broken down into four exams:

You will gain an understanding of the areas of economic activity relevant to an organisation’s decisions and, within this context, the numerical techniques to support such decisions.

Subjects in CIMA BA1:

25% = Macroeconomic and institutional context of business

30% = Macroeconomic and organisational context of business

20% = Informational context of business

25% = Financial context of business

Subjects in CIMA BA2:

10% = The context of management accounting

25% = Costing

30% = Planning and control

35% = Decision making

These statements are prepared within a conceptual and regulatory framework requiring an understanding of the role of legislation and of accounting standards. The need to understand and apply necessary controls for accounting systems, and the nature of errors is also covered. There is an introduction to measuring financial performance with the calculation of basic ratios.

Subjects in CIMA BA3:

10% = Accounting principles, concepts and regulations

50% = Recording accounting transactions

30% = Preparation of accounts for single entities

10% = Analysis of financial statements

Subjects in CIMA BA4:

30% = Business ethics and ethical conflict

45% = Corporate governance, controls and corporate social responsibility

15% = General principles of the legal system, contracts and employment law

10% = Company administration

Before the exam, you must download the software Pearson Vue uses to facilitate and invigilate your exam. This software requires access to your webcam and microphone (so they can ensure you’re not cheating!), so they both must be in working order.

You must ensure that you can be in a room alone, without any noise distractions. If someone else is caught in the room with you, you will be DISQUALIFIED and at risk of being barred from CIMA membership. 

Therefore, if you’re worried about any of these things, you should consider taking your exams in a Pearson Vue centre where the responsibility is left to them.

So, when can you take the exams? You can book an exam for a time and date of your choosing (subject to availability at Pearson Vue). There is no set ‘sitting period’ for CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting exams, so the choice is up to you. You do not need to book all 4 exams in one go (we strongly advise you to book one exam at a time), and you can take the exams in any order you like – but more on this later!

As of March 2024, it costs £117 to sit a CIMA Certificate level exam if you are taking it from Western Europe, Australia, Singapore, the USA and Canada, but CIMA offers reduced fees for the rest of the world to improve access to their qualifications.

All CIMA Certificate exams are two hours long. In your CIMA BA1, BA2 and BA3 exams you’ll have to answer 60 questions, whilst in BA4, you’ll have to answer 85 (more because the questions are typically shorter). The exam questions will vary in style. You may encounter any of:

• Multiple-choice – You must pick 1 answer from a list of responses.
• Multiple-response – Similar to multiple-choice, but this time you have to pick 2 or more correct answers from a list. Usually (but not always!) the question will specify how many answers you need to select.
• Number entry – These typically involve you making calculations to give a numerical answer. Remember to answer to the correct number of decimal places!
• Hotspot – These questions ask you to mark the correct spot, which will typically be a point on a graph.
• Drag and drop – You’re required to drag answers into the correct order or place an answer with the correct definition.

In the exam, you’ll have access to several tools and functions to help you on your way! These are:

CIMA has no rules on what order you need to sit your exams…so you are totally free to start with CIMA BA1 and take them sequentially to CIMA BA4 or any of the other 23 combinations of CIMA Certificate Level exams!

However, at Astranti we recommend taking the exams in the order:

CIMA BA2 – CIMA BA3 – CIMA BA1 – CIMA BA4

We advise starting your CIMA Certificate level studies with BA2 as the topics it covers lay a good foundation for the rest of the course. For example, once you’ve passed BA2, when you get round to studying CIMA BA3 you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that you’ve already learned some of the content for that exam. However, CIMA BA1 and BA4  have less crossover in the content they cover, so you may want to take them towards the end of your CIMA Certificate studies.

Pass rate (as of November 2022)

CIMA BA1 – 69%

CIMA BA2 – 63%

CIMA BA3 – 72%

CIMA BA4 – 57%

CIMA BA3 is a lot easier if you’ve mastered BA2! BA3 is the natural sequel to BA2 due to the significant content overlap. Therefore, once you’ve passed BA2, we recommend taking BA3 soon afterwards whilst the knowledge is still fresh in your brain!

Don’t underestimate CIMA BA4. In BA4, you won’t be asked to perform any calculations – but don’t let that fool you into thinking that it will be an easy exam! This exam requires different skills, particularly focusing on understanding definitions and applying principles to various scenarios.

CIMA BA1 – 10

CIMA BA2 – 8

CIMA BA3 – 8

CIMA BA4 – 7

• Study texts – You’ll need a study text that covers the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting syllabus and simplifies complex topics in a way that makes them easy to follow.
• Videos – After a long day working, you may prefer to study by watching a video. It’s always nice to listen to someone else explain a topic for you rather than having to read it all yourself!
• Revision notes – In the last couple of days, hours and minutes before your exam, you don’t want to be reading through the whole syllabus study text to refresh your memory! Revision notes are a great tool because they give you all of the key topics to focus on in an easy to follow format.
• Questions and mocks – The best way to prepare for the exams is by testing your knowledge. You should definitely go with a provider who provides questions and mocks to allow you to see which areas need improvement before your exam!
• Tutor support – Sometimes, you may encounter a topic that you really do not understand. Therefore, you’ll want a provider you can contact to clear up any queries you have.

If you want a good example of these resources, look no further than Astranti – we offer all of these for free!