51³Ô¹Ïapp

De 51³Ô¹Ïapp University Leicester’s (51³Ô¹Ïapp) Accounting with Business Management course has become one of six programmes in the UK to receive the maximum number of exam exemptions from the Chartered Institute of Management (CIMA).

In many areas across the world, accountants will work through a series of assessments and exams to become accredited accountants and progress in their careers. CIMA is one of the UK’s largest professional accountant bodies and has a worldwide reputation with more than 203,000 members in 173 countries.

Dr Bola Babajide

There are four levels of exams and modules before a trainee accountant can obtain membership to CIMA; Certificate, Operational, Management and Strategic.

Accounting with Business Management students at 51³Ô¹Ïapp will now benefit from the full 11 exemptions, bypassing the Certificate and Operational level of study entirely and enabling students to claim their CIMA Diploma in Management Accounting (CIMA Dip MA) after they graduate.  

According to Dr Bola Babajide, Accounting with Business Management Programme Leader at 51³Ô¹Ïapp, the new exemptions will greatly improve students’ chances of gaining a job.  

She said: “CIMA is one of the top professional accounting bodies in the world. For those wanting to become an accountant, most organisations want someone fully qualified with these accreditations. 

"By having the maximum number of exemptions from CIMA, 51³Ô¹Ïapp students will be able to qualify as certified accountants much faster. Upon graduation, our students will only need to pass the Management Level Case Study to progress to CIMA's Strategic level, the final step before full membership.”

“Our curriculum is designed to provide our students with excellent platform to develop their careers, ensuring that our students feel fully prepared for this exam and to becoming accredited accountants in a shorter timeframe.”

“Students in years one and three will now participate in the new CIMA Business Games - a case study challenge that tasks our students to tackle a real-world business problem devised by the institution.”

"We aim for our students to gain practical experience starting from year one, as this will best prepare them to think critically, secure internships, and find employment upon graduation," Dr. Babajide explained.

“We have already run one successful CIMA Business Games Day with our first-year students, who got into teams and tackled a series of tasks including creating budget plans to control spending and identifying growth opportunities in new markets.

“Just knowing that we have given our students everything we can to achieve a strong career really gives me joy. We know that from year one, every single input into their studies is teaching them something useful for their future careers.”