CIMA Case Study Exam: What’s the examiner looking for?

You’ve studied hard, completed all three Objective Test exams, and are ready to wrap up with the CIMA Case Study Exam. But what exactly is the case study?

Join us as we look at what the Case Study exam is and what the examiner is looking for, so you can best prepare yourself for these key assessments.

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  • 18 September 2025

CIMA Case Study Exam: What’s the examiner looking for?

You’ve studied hard, completed all three Objective Test exams, and are ready to wrap up with the CIMA Case Study Exam. But what exactly is the case study?

Join us as we look at what the Case Study exam is and what the examiner is looking for, so you can best prepare yourself for these key assessments.

About the exam

Essentially, the CIMA Case Study exam is there to synopsise everything you’ve learned so far and prove you can apply this to a real-life business scenario. Therefore, the Case Study exam is in a written format and is based around a pre-seen scenario. Your job is to take on a ‘persona’ in a simulated business role-play and provide solutions to the business scenario published by CIMA at the start of the exam sitting.

What’s the examiner looking for?

The examiner is looking to see that candidates can go on to apply everything they have learned in previous CIMA modules to their work. Crucially, there will be ‘core activities’ that the examiner would like to see demonstrated. These vary depending on the level. They can include skills such as the ability to measure performance or the ability to apply relevant financial reporting standards.

What areas does the examiner wants you to demonstrate?*

*information taken from the CIMA Exam Blueprints

Operational Level

A. Prepare costing information for different purposes to meet the needs of management.

B. Prepare budget information and assess its use for planning and control purposes.

C. Analyse performance using financial and nonfinancial information.

D. Apply relevant financial reporting standards and corporate governance, ethical and tax principles.

E. Prepare information to support short-term decision-making.

F. Prepare information to manage working capital.

Management Level

A. Evaluate opportunities to add value.

B. Implement senior management decisions.

C. Manage performance and costs to aid value creation.

D. Measure performance.

E. Manage internal and external stakeholders.

Strategic Level

A. Develop business strategy.

B. Evaluate business ecosystem and business environment.

C. Recommend financing strategies.

D. Evaluate and mitigate risk.

E. Recommend and maintain a sound control environment.

A summary of the key areas:

The Case study is practical in nature. It requires excellent writing skills and the ability to work within a set amount of time. Naturally, question practice is one of the most important parts of any Case Study course.

More information on how each level is assessed can be found in CIMA’s useful exam blueprints below:

Operational Management
 Strategic

What does a good answer look like?

Sometimes, the best way to understand what makes a good answer is by comparing it to a low-scoring one. Find an Exam Script Walk-through on the CIMA Study Planner. CIMA have annotated this with helpful hints and tips, so you can see exactly why the good answer is good.

CIMA Study Planner

How can I excel in my CIMA Case Study exam?

Hear from one of our highest achievers and prizewinners, Daniel about their approach to Case Study and their recommendations for current students. Also, find out exactly what happens on an FI CIMA Case Study course and how our expert tutors will fully prepare you for the exam.

Daniel’s story What happens on a CIMA Case Study course?

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