Management-level objective test (OT) exams contain many tricky topics and will present new challenges, regardless of your CIMA and accounting background. 

So, with this in mind, you’re probably now asking yourself: ‘What can I expect from CIMA F2?’

When starting to study for a new CIMA exam, the first place you must always go to is the CIMA syllabus. There, you can find how each of the exams are broken down into various sections; but, in summary:

Not most management accountant’s cup of tea! So probably not a set of subjects you’ll be rushing to study more, unless you happened to really love CIMA F1, which this subject flows directly on from. Think of it as F1 + + + !

Just in case you’re not familiar with the topics covered in the CIMA F2 syllabus, let’s take a quick look at what they entail:

We have plenty of experience as CIMA tuition providers, having helped thousands of students pass their F2 exams. We asked our students and our tutors what the hardest CIMA F2 topics are, so we can help prepare you for your CIMA F2 studies!

Revenue from contracts with customers

IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from contracts with customers’ is a fairly new financial reporting standard and is much more complex than the old standards it replaced. It’s not extraordinarily difficult to understand, but there are many rules and exceptions to the standard that you must remember – so you’ll just have to get your head down and learn them!

Financial instruments

Many, many students find it hard to grasp the concept of a financial instrument, e.g. futures or options. So, not only do you need to get your head around what they are, but you must go beyond this to use two accounting standards, IAS 32 and IFRS9, to learn how they are accounted for. We’ve found that students often find understanding the new terminology and jargon introduced in these standards particularly tricky.

Cost of capital and capital structure

This topic is all about how an entity is financed – whether through the issuing of shares or through borrowing money. This topic is difficult for many students because you must learn and be able to use lots of formulae and calculations. Whilst you’ll be given some of the required formulae in the exam, you’ll have to spend some time practising this beforehand since it can be a difficult concept to get your head around at first!

So, yes, it’s tough! But for anyone raising funds for businesses or working in financial accounting, these are crucial subjects, and studying them here will put you in a good position to take your career into these areas should you wish in future. Even if you don’t move into these areas, the knowledge you’ll gain for this exam will make you a much more well-rounded accountant.

You will also be told in what areas of the CIMA F2 syllabus you were ‘proficient’ or ‘not proficient’ – take note of this if you need to resit as it can help you target any future studying to your weaker areas. 

It’s with this in mind that we advise you to take CIMA F2 as your second or third Management-level exam. This is because your MCS exam is likely to contain content from either F2 or P2. So it’s best to have the content from these exams fresh in your mind when taking your MCS exam.

So, CIMA F2 is tough! A well-prepared student will pass CIMA F2 the first time, though. So, what is a well-prepared student, and how do you ensure that that student is you?

Astranti CEO, Nick Best, has used his 25 years of experience teaching CIMA exams to share what he has found makes the difference between passing and failing the CIMA F2 exam. 

First up…

The first thing you need to do is learn each area of the CIMA F2 syllabus. To do this, you’ll need some great study resources, such as a good study text or set of tuition videos, or you should find an excellent lecturer at a local college. 

We’ve written an entire page on how to find the right CIMA course for you, if you’ve not already found one.

At this stage, your goal is understanding. You should leave this stage understanding each theory and how it works, as well as the purpose of that theory to a management accountant.

As you study, make sure to plan to spend enough time on topics that are likely to cause you problems, so for instance, those we’ve identified as the hardest are likely to take longer. 

And do ask questions where you don’t understand. That’s what your tutor or course provider are there for! In our experience, people typically don’t ask enough questions and think understanding will come later in their studies. It won’t. Make sure you get a full understanding in this first stage.

Next, you must test you’ve really understood the content by doing questions. Providers like Astranti will often supply practice questions at the end of each chapter of a study text or after each tuition video. These aren’t about passing or failing – these are for you to identify what you’ve understood and remembered and what you need to spend more time learning before you move on to the next topic. 

And don’t just take questions from one provider. Buy multiple revision packs from different ones – they all have their own style and it gives you a wider range to ensure you’ve really understood the content.

Another vital step here is to mark the questions you got wrong so you can return to them in a few weeks’ time. If, a few weeks later, you get the question right, you’ve shown you’ve really learnt the content.

And one final tip here… Not all providers’ solutions to questions are the same. Make sure you find questions that have detailed and clearly explained solutions that don’t just give you brief one-line answers. It’s not about getting the solution ‘right’, it’s about making sure you fully understand the theory, and getting the right question bank is key to this.

Memorising means being able to write out or recite everything in your notes without looking at them. And yes, I really mean that! That’s what the best students can do, and if you’re not doing that, you’ll be behind them and will be unlikely to pass first time! 

By the time the exam rolls around, you should be able to rattle off the process for consolidating companies in a range of situations without breaking a sweat, along with pretty much anything else in the syllabus!

This really can’t be said enough. CIMA F2 is not an academic subject to be admired from afar, it’s a practical syllabus that you will need to not only understand but also be able to apply under exam conditions. 

As such, take all the mock exams your provider can give you, and (if you can afford it) get a couple more from other providers. And do them in as close to exam conditions as you can: alone, in a single sitting and without any notes to help.

It is the best way to prepare just before the exam, bar none! Not only are you checking your memorisation and understanding, you’re honing your exam technique. How will you manage the time pressure? How will you approach challenging questions? How will you schedule your time between easier and more difficult topics?

As with the practice questions before, you should be reviewing your mock results to see what you got wrong (even if you achieved a passing mark in that mock). It may seem negative, but it’s essential that you identify and address all of your weaknesses before you sit the real exam. 

Don’t forget there are free practice questions up for grabs on the Pearson Vue website. This is especially useful for anyone new to these exams because it is based on the actual exam software, so you can get a taste of the real thing ahead of the exam. Astranti also have a free mock for you too so make sure you sign up for that. 

Watch out for a ‘Pass Guarantee’ when you’re choosing your course provider. With that, if you fail the exam and meet the guarantee conditions, you will be entitled to continue studying until you pass your exam. 

Solidify your knowledge of group accounts

It’s a nasty topic, we know, but group accounts are likely to make up a large part of your CIMA F2 exam! So, it’s vital that you are confident in your ability to measure and account for group and intergroup transactions. 

Do as many CIMA F2 mocks as you can

Mock exams are the closest you’ll come to replicating ‘the real thing’, so it’s vital that you utilise the mocks at your disposal. Being able to recall a theory or equation is meaningless unless you can apply it to an exam question. 

You can also analyse your mock results to highlight where you need to concentrate your revision in the build-up to your exam. If you register with Astranti, you’ll have access to a FREE F2 mock!

Start revising early 

You’ll need to cover the entire CIMA F2 syllabus during your studies, and as we’ve seen, there are some pretty tough topic areas! So, it is essential that you start your studies for your CIMA F2 exam early. Don’t put off starting your revision until the week before your F2 exam. 

At Astranti, we advise that you allocate roughly 10 weeks for your CIMA F2 studies, but this can vary depending on the free time that you have available. If you have booked time off work to study for example, you should be able to complete your studies in less time. However, you must be realistic about how long it will take you to learn and understand the content and become comfortable answering exam-style questions. 

Learn your formulae 

You’ll be glad to know that some of the formulae in the CIMA F2 syllabus are given to you on a formula sheet in your exam. However, this does not mean that you won’t have to memorise some formulae and group accounting methods! And regardless of whether they are given to you or you need to memorise them, you will also need to learn how to apply them to questions. 

As you study CIMA F2, keep the CIMA formula sheet handy so that you can check if each one is provided or needs to be memorised. 

Our CIMA F2 Masterclass webinar

One of Astranti’s F2 experts ran a live webinar all about hints, tips and exam technique specifically for F2. And, luckily for you, we recorded it! 

You can watch as our tutor doesn’t just tell you about the theory, but actually shows you through the process of how to answer the sorts of questions you will face in your exam. 

(Note: We’re sorry to say the discount code offered in the video at the time has since expired. But if you sign up for our free membership and newsletter, you can be informed whenever we run any future discounts.)

So, that concludes our guide to CIMA F2 – now you’re in a great position to get down and start studying for your CIMA F2 exam!