Dears,
Warm Greetings..!!
It
was very very tough journey since Feb 2013. In fact, I had been
struggling to pass my Part 1 exam after two consecutive fails with 320
marks each in Feb'2013 and Jun'2013.
Then, I had an opportunity to meet my mentor from IMA forum Mr. Angel Secerio, CMA, CPA, CGMA, CFE in Muscat, Oman.
I explained my current results and frustrated mind. Then, he took my
completion as his responsibility and asking me to follow his guidance on
every day.
His tips are very simple and they are below:
1.
On completion of full study, Take full set of mock exam from software
with 100MCQs every three days once. On every mock, Read your incorrect
answers and discuss why they were wrong. Refer your books then continue
your full set practice.
2.
Repeating this, keep a goal that you need to beat your own records
every time untill achieving 95-98% continuously 8-10 times (I did with
35+ times)
3.
Sometimes, you might have tired or boring to repeat the same
questions/answers. In that case, discuss yourself why the other answers
are incorrect. Because, this will give you the more in-depth analysis of
the concepts.
4. By doing above, you will be having more confident even before going to exam hall.
5. To remove fear/anxiety, consider that the CMA FINAL Exam is going to be your another session of full mock with 95% target.
For essay questions,
6. There was a Webinar in August 2013, 'How to answer CMA Essay questions and its grading system' by IMA. Please refer IMA library to download .pdf file.
7. Keep your target as 450-480 marks.
Indeed, I respect ICMA grading system which shows almost clear picture of our knowledge/skills in the CMA-LOS.
During
my exam in Oct 2013 (P1) & Oct 2014 (P2), I completed MCQs in 2
hours 20 mins and carried balance to Essay portions. I answered all
essay questions having 6-7 mins balance. This did not mean I was rush to
complete. This is because of my heavy practice with software.
In conclusion, I am CMA & ICWAI now. I owe lot to Mr. Angel Secerio who were my back bone on CMA achievement.
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Ganesan Sivalingam
Muscat, Oman
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