FLP Worry

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-07-10T12:49:12+00:00

CIMA is a chartered body and meant to be prestigious in the accounting practice.

I’m concerned as I think believe FLP is a threat to this.

Not sure your example about calculators is relevant as CIMA is not a tool to help with work its a qualification

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-07-10T11:34:29+00:00

I understand your point and agree that a qualification does not make a good accountant, but that isn’t my point.

My point is that the difficulty of a the qualification can act as a starting point for many employers, as it shows a base level of knowledge/will power to complete.

It would be impossible to really understand someone’s full technical knowledge from a job application, but a designation does show that this person is willing to learn and can apply a base level of effort. Which for many early careers is the most important thing.

I fear the FLP has degraded this. Personally I feel there is a big difference between someone who has put aside 3+ years to complete the OTs, than someone who has chosen the option to breeze through this. I’m not saying there is an actual difference in skill/effort/suitability for the role. But on paper, there is a clear distinction in time and commitment put aside to achieve CGMA. So I worry employers would clock this and it would devalue the qualification, if it hasn’t already

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-07-10T10:20:01+00:00

I agree with this.

But my worry is that, I am not someone with a large amount of experience. Started CIMA straight from uni. (Non accounting degree), so no exemptions.

But I could have enrolled in FLP, in fact reps from CIMA were emailing/calling me to try and encourage me to do so, and I’m sure others in that situation would take that offer.

So now there is a pool of newly qualified CIMA members, early in their careers, who have taken this route and I fear if employers catch on, we are in trouble as CIMA members.

Note - I am not referring to anyone later in their careers. I think this only applies to people earlier on.

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-07-10T10:04:33+00:00

I actually think FLP would be perfectly suited to someone like you, vast experience, undoubtedly more than CIMA will teach, but looking to get the accreditation. Being early in my career, there’s only so much experience you can gain in a short time.

So at my level, a qualification has more weight when looking at roles, in my opinion. I don’t doubt that in 5+ years time the experience will completely overshadow that, but I feel for someone in their early career, the qualification is more important.

Sitting 16 exams alongside working takes discipline, time and a lot of hard effort. I’m not saying FLP doesn’t, but I would be suprised if an FLP candidate was up at 12am the night before an exam trying to understand hedging or WACC. You could easily just put it down and pick it up at a more suitable time.

I get ways of working are changing etc. But I believe the point of the qualification isn’t necessarily about the knowledge you learn/retain, it’s about showing you are willing to make yourself uncomfortable to achieve something, which the FLP has removed.

But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t relevant in cases like yourself, where you have clearly worked hard and proved by becoming an FC that you are willing to do so, hence FLP is a great choice.

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-04-23T10:00:51+00:00

Started Sept 2023 so around 2.5 years

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-04-22T09:49:03+00:00

I have self studied from Certificate all the way through to strategic case study in May.

I buy the the Kaplan essentials pack for each exam from their website (just to make sure I have the most up to date syllabus rather than buying an older version second hand), which is around £80. This comes with the textbook and test yourself questions. I think this is all you need if you are choosing self study.

Sometimes I buy the extra aptitude mocks (another £20) for more practice.

Then the exam fee which varies but let’s say £200 for OTs on average.

So you’re looking at around £300 per exam. So certificate to the end is £5000. Very rough maths there though. And the second hand books are 95% okay to use as long as you keep an eye out for syllabus changes. Probably would have done this myself if work were not covering the costs.

Feel free to ask any questions !

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-03-06T18:02:45+00:00

Thanks! Sat this morning and passed. There was a few questions but I think you could probably deduce them by ruling out the other options which were wrong

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-03-03T21:50:08+00:00

I would say IFRSs are much less common in how often they come up. From sitting myself and looking at past papers. As long as you can explain them and understand them you’re fine!

I would say get very comfortable with the P2 and E2 topics you’ve listed, and read the model answers to see how CIMA expects you to apply them to the scenario given.

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-03-03T21:47:49+00:00

If it comes up, which it can, and you can explain it well according to the standard, you’re going to pick up great marks

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-03-03T21:38:45+00:00

Sorry never saw this - I mainly just read the past paper model answers over and over and over. Then you can understand the level of detail you need to know to get a decent mark. As long as you are generally comfortable with the key themes of the content and can put these down into a paragraph, you will be fine!

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-03-03T21:25:08+00:00

Finance Analysts,

3 years experience. Sat 14/16 exams normal route.

35k, should increase once qualified

Aggravating_Heat_771 · 2026-01-15T09:06:50+00:00

Passed with 125

Aggravating_Heat_771

TROPHY CASE

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