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Very important "live" exam tips

  • 1.  Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-18-2020 03:18 PM

    Dear All CMA candidates

    Greetings,,

    Yesterday I had my first try on Part-1 and would like to share my experience, to help you better understand the real CMA exam story.

    I will start with (2) big bold key words .. "Time" .. is a great nightmare during the exam .. "Practice" .. is the magic door to pass.

    A.  Exam preparation:
    • Practice MCQ as much as possible. Greater quantity = Greater speed rate (I mean > 1,000 MCQ)
    • Stick to IMA Learning Outcome Statement (LOS), that's all what we need for CMA. Nothing else.
    • Completely finish IMA support package 2020 (There is Expired "numbers" but no expired "Concepts" at all.
    • Memorize key concepts, definitions, advantages and disadvantages. (i.e. ABC, BSC, ERP .. etc.)
    • Practice lots of calculations for each financial & management concept. Sections A,B,C,D
    B.  Exam attending: (At Prometric test center)
    • Don't take anything except your calculator. They will empty your pockets, even tissues.
    • They will provide (2) pencils and (3) scratch papers .. Replicable upon request.
    • Attend to exam center (1) hour before exam for registration and security inspection process.
    • Access testing window before at least (20) minutes for exam tutorial (Very important).

    C.  Exam tactics:

    • Answer MSQ that you are 100% sure of first. (Short & easy ones)
    • Read the last line of long paragraphed questions. (Don't waste time reading > 2 lines)
    • Flag each question you are not sure about.
    • Make a guess or take one straight-line option i.e.(A) for each flagged question. Don't leave any question empty (Not answered).
    • Try your best to finish all 100 MSQ during (2) hours, leaving (1) hour for flagged MSQs.
    • Go back and answer flagged MSQ according to last line in the question. Answer only ones  you know first.
    • Try to minimize the unknown answers according to available time.

     

    Time is the whole story, the hard fact and key point of CMA live exam. If you are well prepared, smart and fast enough to manage your time efficiently during the exam, for sure you will pass very easily.

    Remark:

    Some CMA review course providers have a "guaranty" option to pay-back your exam fees if you didn't pass at your first attempt. Kindly note that you should complete 85% of their test bank (More than 2,000 MSQ) and score at least 85% in virtual practice exam in order to be illegible for that guaranty. This is a Practice + Time strategy.


    Last but not least:

    1. Everyone should complete IMA support package 2020 which has 463 MSQ + 32 essays for Part-1, and 457 MSQ + 22 essays for Part-2. Practicing these questions repeatedly will maximize your answering speed and minimize the probability to lose time in live exam.
    2. Passing score is 72% (360 ÷ 500)  so we don't need to answer 100 MSQ correctly. Running out of time & leaving 5 to 10 uncertain answers is not a disaster, but we should secure at least 70 MSQs plus (1) essay 100% correct.
    3. Straight-line guess (i.e. Option A) for 10 questions may include 1 or 2 correct answers, this is "Probability" for expected value in "CMA" Part-1 section B … right !!!

    I wrote this message only to guide any student who is still feeling stressed or "afraid" of what CMA live exam is. Wishing that my real experience will give some support and encouragement for better self-technique and final success result.

     
    Wish you all the best & success.

    Yours sincerely



    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-18-2020 08:26 PM
    Wow thanks Sameer, loved your passion and the way you detailed it. It surely added more confidence.

    Best..

    ------------------------------
    Rajneesh Khugsal B.Comm,PMP,LSS
    Finance Business Partner
    Pinnacle Renewable Energy
    Williams Lake, BC
    Canada
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-18-2020 10:03 PM
    Thanks a lot Mr. Sameer. I am taking my part 1 on 23rd Feb and you have cleared all my doubts.

    Regards, 
    Anoop

    ------------------------------
    Anoop Paliyath
    Accountant
    Mustafa Sultan Ent
    Ruwi
    Oman
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 01:26 AM

    I'm planning to take the part 1 on 25th of February. 

    where can I access the IMA support package 2020 for part 1?

    thanks for all your advice btw



    ------------------------------
    Jenish Desai
    None
    Stephenville TX
    United States
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 02:52 PM
    Hello Jenish,

    You can access IMA support package from your main profile at imaonlinestore.org. It is located under My Orders >>> Digital content access

    Unfortunately, IMA has given us a limited (6) months to download the free content from day of registration. After-then we should pay for it.
    Please check your profile to see whether you are lucky to catch up before expiry.

    Regards


    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 02:08 AM
    Can you tell me pattern of essy type questions? Will they provide excel or only ms word ? And were there some exact questions from the cma exam support which you practiced?

    ------------------------------
    Jayant Khanna
    Executive Officer
    Chandigarh
    India
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 03:13 PM
      |   view attached
    Dear Jayant,

    No one can tell what essay questions you may have at CMA exam. The common & repeated sections are budgeting & cost management which contain both mathematical and analytical (text type).

    I completely recommend you to review IMA support package which has 32 answered assays for part 1 and 22 for part 2.
    You can download the file from your main profile at imaonlinestore.org. It is located under My Orders >>> Digital content access

    Kind regards

    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------

    Attachment(s)



  • 8.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 10:15 PM

    Dear sameer 

    i was asking for the exact same questions in the mcq's were there which you did practiced in your wiley or cma support exam package? I have completed hock kit  and cma exam support package and i have studied from wiley. 

    actually 25th feb is the day of exam. That's why i am little worried. Just wanted to know if exact mcq's could come or not which i have practiced in the test bank and exam package 2020.



    ------------------------------
    Jayant Khanna
    Executive Officer
    Chandigarh
    India
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-20-2020 03:17 AM
    Hello Jayant,

    Relax my friend, you should be confident of what you have learned and practiced.
    Be careful: Confusion >>> more thinking >>> time losing during live exam

    No one can assure that same questions will be repeated, but same concepts "Yes". I'll give you one real example of what I had in my exam:

    Which one of the following best describes Data Mining ? (IMA support package)
    A. Searching through large amounts of computerized data to find useful patterns and trends.
    B. Examining raw data in order to draw conclusions from that data.
    C. Integrating data, technology, and analytics to optimize business decisions.
    D. Inspecting, cleansing, revising, and modeling raw data in order to find valuable data.

    Which of the following can uncover hidden patterns, trends, correlations, outliers, anomalies, and subtle relationships in data and help to infer rules that allow for the prediction of future results and outcomes?? (Wiley)
    A. Web scraping
    B. Data mining
    C. Web mining
    D. Social mining

    Two different structures, but the concept is one: The Definition of Data Mining. Once you understand & memorize this definition you can answer any question about Data Mining. By the way, I don't remember the exact exam paragraph but I am sure that I had answered one question about this concept.
    This is why I have mentioned in my first letter (Important live exam tips" that we should stick to IMA Learning Outcome Statements. Because it has a clear definition of every concept can be tested in CMA exam. "Data mining refers to the use of statistical methods, computer learning, artificial intelligence, and large-scale computing power to analyze large amounts of data in order to extract useful information about relationships, trends, patterns, and anomalies".

    Please try to relax and take some rest of study before exam, because you need to be cool, confident, focused & very fast on Tuesday.

    Wish you all the best & fatal victory "Great Success"

    Regards

    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 10:44 PM
    How and where do I buy CMA support package?
    mine was expired few years ago and I can't even access it.

    ------------------------------
    Jenish Desai
    None
    Stephenville TX
    United States
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 02:15 AM
    Hi Samer

    Thanks for the insights. Very much appreciate you taking time to share such useful information

    ------------------------------
    Tafadzwa Madzivire
    Accountant
    Harare
    Zimbabwe
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 03:04 AM
    hi my exam is on monday 24 where can i get ima support package 2020
    part 1

    ------------------------------
    Malvika Vinod Rawtani
    Unemployed
    Dubai
    United Arab Emirates
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 05:09 PM
    Hello Malvika,

    You can download the file from your main profile at imaonlinestore.org. It is located under My Orders >>> Digital content access
    Please try your best to utilize every minute of your remaining time to review this package, especially mathematical and essay questions. 

    Wish you all the best and great success

    Kind regards


    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 03:22 AM
    Dear Ahmed,

    Really, appreciate it , what a useful piece of advice?  it's very kind of you.

    --
    Kind Regards,
    Mahmoud





  • 15.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 07:41 AM
    Hi Samer!
    GREAT tips.
    What study material did you use besides de CMA support package?
    Thanks,

    ------------------------------
    Brian Ruskolekier
    Controller
    Buenos Aires
    Argentina
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 02:06 PM
    Hello Brian,

    Am using Wiley, but any review course will be enough if it has a good test bank updated package. I recommend Gleim other than Wiley.
    Believe me dear, IMA questions are very similar to those we have practiced using different sources of MSQs. The concept is one but the numbers change.

    The only tricky issue we should be aware of is: the additional misleading information included in the question structure, and the Key words. This issue will create a confusion, additional thinking and consume time therefore.

    Big Fat Fact: During exam, we don't have time to think, we should read and answer straightaway. 

    Regards

    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-22-2020 06:34 AM
    hi samer,

    thank you so  much for advise.

    I want to ask you something..my exam is on 24th of feb 2020 and I used wiley to prepare for the exam and I have the support package for cma 2020 but I felt that the questions in the support package is very close to test bank in wiley so I didn't go through the questions in the support package...so what do you recommend me to do in these 2 days before the exam is to go through the material and review it again or to solve support package questions ?
    noting that I've already solved all the test bank in wiley package ​

    ------------------------------
    Hebah Masoud
    Supervisor
    Amman
    Jordan
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-22-2020 12:30 PM
    Hey Hebah,
    Don't do anything.  Relax as best you can.  ;ast minute cramming is just going to increase your anxiety and make you less effective.  At this point, let your subconscious rest and assimilate all the information you have taken in.  The better your rest now the more you will be able to focus for the four test hours.
    Good luck.  





  • 19.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-22-2020 02:57 PM
    thank you so much joseph I will try to relax​

    ------------------------------
    Hebah Masoud
    Supervisor
    Amman
    Jordan
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-22-2020 12:35 PM
    How much score on average do you think you'd get if you take a 100 question test?

    ------------------------------
    Jenish Desai
    None
    Stephenville TX
    United States
    ------------------------------



  • 21.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-22-2020 03:06 PM
    Hello Hebah

    Hope you are doing well

    I completely agree with Mr. Joseph and recommend to get some rest these two days, because you need to be 100% relaxed in order to be 100% efficient during the exam.
    If you insist to utilize the last remaining time, it would be more helpful if you go through IMA support package by picking-up the difficult calculation based MSQs, then have some review over essay questions to be familiar with answering technique (Showing calculations & Text typing). 

    Please don't repeat this common mistake and over stress yourself before exam, you may lose concentration and efficiency to manage exam time.

    Wish you good luck & great success

    Best regards

    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------



  • 22.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 07:48 AM
    Thanks. My exam is on 24 feb part 1 I need good wishes




  • 23.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 01:05 PM
    Hello Samer,
    Thanks for the insights.  I passed Part II in October 2019 and completely echo your comments regarding time and practice. I'll take your advice and continue practicing in the hope that i will pass Part I when I sit for it in the May/June window.
    Here's hoping you aced Part I!
    Best,
    Joseph





  • 24.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 02:26 PM

    Another great advice I heard from someone was that when you sit for the exam, before you start exam, it gives you 5-10 mins to show how to navigate through the exam.
    if you learn the navigation ahead of time, then you can take that time to write down some quick notes on paper that they give you.
    Formulas, and some other important things, so it'll help ahead and you won't have to think about it when the question comes.
    so don't skip the navigation thing.



    ------------------------------
    Jenish Desai
    None
    Stephenville TX
    United States
    ------------------------------



  • 25.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 04:42 PM
    Hi Samer,

    Thanks for sharing these tips.

    How long did you study for the exam? I'm wondering if i have the chance to take the exam in June but, I'm about to start studying. With family and busy work I have not had enough time.

    Regards,

    ------------------------------
    Vanessa Cueva
    Accountant
    Palm Beach Gardens FL
    United States
    ------------------------------



  • 26.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 02-19-2020 06:01 PM
    Hi Vanessa,

    I feel so excited to share my knowledge and experience with other professional colleagues.

    Oh my dear, very hard situation you have. Family + Busy work + No time ??? wow, this is more difficult than CMA itself, but don't worry, nothing impossible.
    I recommend you to get any review course Wiley, Surgent or Gleim (Depends on your study style) which can help you plan your daily study schedule, from day one until your exam day. Commitment is all what it matters in your case, if you stick to your study schedule then you can pass it. 

    According to my experience with part 1 using Wiley review course, you need at least (2) hours per day if you plan for June window, add few extra hours during holidays.
    Average study session time for sections A, B,C & D is more than (1) hour x 50 sessions, and (30) minutes x 20 sessions for sections E & F. Each diagnostic, assessment or 20 MCQs need (1) hour. So you need at least (60) hours for study materials and the same for practicing MCQs. I mean here only the basic content for review the part 1. You have to add any extra hours you have for test bank and IMA support package.

    It looks very hard, but still achievable. If you don't have this enough time I think you should consider taking Sep / Oct exam window.

    For any support & help please feel free to contact me anytime 

    Kind regards

    ------------------------------
    Samer Ahmad, FMVA, SCA
    Kuwait
    ------------------------------



  • 27.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 03-26-2020 03:27 PM
    Hi Sir, 


    Thanks a lot for your kind information with complete guidelines.



    Regards, 
    Shreshth

    ------------------------------
    Shreshth Upadhyay
    Accountant
    DELHI
    IndiaAccountant
    ------------------------------



  • 28.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 03-27-2020 04:36 AM
    Hi, anyone can help me how to get IMA Exam support Package 2020?
    Thanks

    Sent from my iPhone




  • 29.  RE: Very important "live" exam tips

    Posted 03-27-2020 07:42 AM
    Samer,
    You should each a course in CMA prep!
    Best,
    Joseph