CMA Study Group

Hello all,

I sat for part 2 today and the exam was purposefully and exceptionally difficult, and I can guarantee the people who made the exam questions that they themselves will find it difficult to finish the 100 MCQs in under 3 hours.
I mean a lot of the questions were truly long and time consuming although that was not the case for part 1 that, despite having difficult questions too, it didn't have disproportional hard questions that cause finishing the exam in under 3 hours is impossible like what I experienced today with part 2.

Does IMA want to increase its revenues by making us 1-part left CMA candidates pay more to retake the second part? is that even possible? is it ethical? Because that would be ridiculous. 

It's really disappointing that IMA tries to trick us in these exams, it's really enough that we have to go through the tricks of our jobs and our lives to be tricked again for a test we studied really hard and paid a lot of money for, it's truly frustrating guys.

Please share your experience, did you also find it exceptionally difficult and beyond the scope of the Learning Outcome statement?

Bader 

Bader,
I took Part 2 today and I would definitely agree with you that it seemed very difficult to complete in 3 hours and there were problems that took a lot of time to solve.  There was also content I was very surprised by, even though I studied very hard. 

Best of luck!  Hopefully we both passed and the difficulty will be a non-issue.

Sincerely,

Amanda
-------------------------------------------
Amanda Mathis
Director/Manager
Coppell TX
United States
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2012 11:19 AM
From: Bader Faqeeh
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?

Hello all,

I sat for part 2 today and the exam was purposefully and exceptionally difficult, and I can guarantee the people who made the exam questions that they themselves will find it difficult to finish the 100 MCQs in under 3 hours.
I mean a lot of the questions were truly long and time consuming although that was not the case for part 1 that, despite having difficult questions too, it didn't have disproportional hard questions that cause finishing the exam in under 3 hours is impossible like what I experienced today with part 2.

Does IMA want to increase its revenues by making us 1-part left CMA candidates pay more to retake the second part? is that even possible? is it ethical? Because that would be ridiculous. 

It's really disappointing that IMA tries to trick us in these exams, it's really enough that we have to go through the tricks of our jobs and our lives to be tricked again for a test we studied really hard and paid a lot of money for, it's truly frustrating guys.

Please share your experience, did you also find it exceptionally difficult and beyond the scope of the Learning Outcome statement?

Bader 

Thank you Amanda for sharing your experience, I knew I wasn't the only one who's experienced this during Part-2 exam. Anyone else had a similar experience? If so, please do share it with us. Best ------------------------------------------- Bader Faqeeh Finance manager Riyadh

Dear All

if we pass 50% of MCQ we will be able to log to the essay screen, but my question is could we pass the exam if we passed in MCQ but failed in answering the essay section, if the total score in both of them equal 360 or more ??

many thanks

-------------------------------------------
Hanadi Nimer
Qatar Islamic Bank
Doha
Qatar
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 10-07-2012 05:27 AM
From: Bader Faqeeh
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?

Thank you Amanda for sharing your experience, I knew I wasn't the only one who's experienced this during Part-2 exam.

Anyone else had a similar experience? If so, please do share it with us.

Best

-------------------------------------------
Bader Faqeeh
Finance manager
Riyadh

Hello Bader, I took the part 2 exam in February but to my opinion it was not "exceptionally" difficult. The difficulty is the time pressure to complete the 100 questions in 3 hours. I knew about that, so what I did was the following: First I completed the the short and/or easy questions. I skipped all questions with a long text. Then I completed the questions with the long texts. At the end there was time enough left. And remember, do don't need all 100 questions to be correct. Maybe an idea for the next exam, if neccessary? Kind regards, Evert ------------------------------------------- Evert Gerardus Brugman Chief Financial Officer E2 Interim Finance Ijsselstein Netherlands -------------------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 10-06-2012 02:11 PM From: Amanda Mathis Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope? Bader, I took Part 2 today and I would definitely agree with you that it seemed very difficult to complete in 3 hours and there were problems that took a lot of time to solve. There was also content I was very surprised by, even though I studied very hard. Best of luck! Hopefully we both passed and the difficulty will be a non-issue. Sincerely, Amanda ------------------------------------------- Amanda Mathis Director/Manager Coppell TX United States -------------------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 09-15-2012 11:19 AM From: Bader Faqeeh Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope? Hello all, I sat for part 2 today and the exam was purposefully and exceptionally difficult, and I can guarantee the people who made the exam questions that they themselves will find it difficult to finish the 100 MCQs in under 3 hours. I mean a lot of the questions were truly long and time consuming although that was not the case for part 1 that, despite having difficult questions too, it didn't have disproportional hard questions that cause finishing the exam in under 3 hours is impossible like what I experienced today with part 2. Does IMA want to increase its revenues by making us 1-part left CMA candidates pay more to retake the second part? is that even possible? is it ethical? Because that would be ridiculous. It's really disappointing that IMA tries to trick us in these exams, it's really enough that we have to go through the tricks of our jobs and our lives to be tricked again for a test we studied really hard and paid a lot of money for, it's truly frustrating guys. Please share your experience, did you also find it exceptionally difficult and beyond the scope of the Learning Outcome statement? Bader

So are you saying you were able to finish all 100 within 3H? ------------------------------------------- Bader Faqeeh Finance Manager Riyadh Saudi Arabia -------------------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 10-07-2012 06:09 AM From: Evert Gerardus Brugman Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope? Hello Bader, I took the part 2 exam in February but to my opinion it was not "exceptionally" difficult. The difficulty is the time pressure to complete the 100 questions in 3 hours. I knew about that, so what I did was the following: First I completed the the short and/or easy questions. I skipped all questions with a long text. Then I completed the questions with the long texts. At the end there was time enough left. And remember, do don't need all 100 questions to be correct. Maybe an idea for the next exam, if neccessary? Kind regards, Evert ------------------------------------------- Evert Gerardus Brugman Chief Financial Officer E2 Interim Finance Ijsselstein Netherlands -------------------------------------------

Also, Is it true to assume that if part 2 exam was the first part a candidate took then he/she would happen to experience a less difficult version of the exam than if he/she sits for part 2 after passing the first part. Which begs the quesion, was part 2 your first part? Was it your first attempt? Let's compare it this way, cause I believe i've read in Strategic Finance SEPT 2012 edition that there are versions of each part with varying levels of difficulties. Amanda, i hope that you also can share this info with us. Thanks, Bader

It was a great exam! I had no problem with the first part of the exams(the first 3 hours of the exam). I found it easy!. I was more concerned about the written part of the exam. I didn't finish on time in part 1. I knew the answers but i didn't take note of the time and was timed out. My preparation for the second payed off( a few days later) and a strange happened. I passed part 2(400) and failed part 1(330). I sat for part 1 on Friday and this time i was able to answer the questions on time and finish. I am sure this time. My formula was to practice and practice the first part of the exams. I would recommend HOCK's material 'exam Success'.
Regards,
-------------------------------------------
Toby Nnaji
Student
New York NY
United States
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2012 11:19 AM
From: Bader Faqeeh
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?

Hello all,

I sat for part 2 today and the exam was purposefully and exceptionally difficult, and I can guarantee the people who made the exam questions that they themselves will find it difficult to finish the 100 MCQs in under 3 hours.
I mean a lot of the questions were truly long and time consuming although that was not the case for part 1 that, despite having difficult questions too, it didn't have disproportional hard questions that cause finishing the exam in under 3 hours is impossible like what I experienced today with part 2.

Does IMA want to increase its revenues by making us 1-part left CMA candidates pay more to retake the second part? is that even possible? is it ethical? Because that would be ridiculous. 

It's really disappointing that IMA tries to trick us in these exams, it's really enough that we have to go through the tricks of our jobs and our lives to be tricked again for a test we studied really hard and paid a lot of money for, it's truly frustrating guys.

Please share your experience, did you also find it exceptionally difficult and beyond the scope of the Learning Outcome statement?

Bader 

Hi,

I just want to share my experience regarding part 2- exams. Based on what I've experience, i like to agree with Bader, i found part 2 to much more difficult than part 1 due to the length and the technicality of the questions both for theory and problem solving. Though i managed to finished the exams, i labored a lot i remember guessing around 10 or more questions due to time constraints.

For those who will be sitting, i do suggest that you need to manage your time wisely, try to go through all the question first, answer those that are easy, then marked those that are difficult or lengthy, then go over again the questions that you missed. Time is of an essence so don't dwell on items that are too difficult because it can it up most of your time and the risk of not answering problems that are doable are very high.

Again Goodluck!

-------------------------------------------
Leo Yatco CMA, CPA
Accountant
Sta Rosa
Philippines
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 10-07-2012 08:27 PM
From: Toby Nnaji
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?


It was a great exam! I had no problem with the first part of the exams(the first 3 hours of the exam). I found it easy!. I was more concerned about the written part of the exam. I didn't finish on time in part 1. I knew the answers but i didn't take note of the time and was timed out. My preparation for the second payed off( a few days later) and a strange happened. I passed part 2(400) and failed part 1(330). I sat for part 1 on Friday and this time i was able to answer the questions on time and finish. I am sure this time. My formula was to practice and practice the first part of the exams. I would recommend HOCK's material 'exam Success'.
Regards,
-------------------------------------------
Toby Nnaji
Student
New York NY
United States
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2012 11:19 AM
From: Bader Faqeeh
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?

Hello all,

I sat for part 2 today and the exam was purposefully and exceptionally difficult, and I can guarantee the people who made the exam questions that they themselves will find it difficult to finish the 100 MCQs in under 3 hours.
I mean a lot of the questions were truly long and time consuming although that was not the case for part 1 that, despite having difficult questions too, it didn't have disproportional hard questions that cause finishing the exam in under 3 hours is impossible like what I experienced today with part 2.

Does IMA want to increase its revenues by making us 1-part left CMA candidates pay more to retake the second part? is that even possible? is it ethical? Because that would be ridiculous. 

It's really disappointing that IMA tries to trick us in these exams, it's really enough that we have to go through the tricks of our jobs and our lives to be tricked again for a test we studied really hard and paid a lot of money for, it's truly frustrating guys.

Please share your experience, did you also find it exceptionally difficult and beyond the scope of the Learning Outcome statement?

Bader 

Hi Bader,

From what i ve been reading everywhere,it is been obvious that part 2 is more time consuming than part 1 but not harder maybe...
my exam part 2 is next week ,i already passed part 1 a few months ago but i really doubt IMA would trick us or make us fail on purpose because we passed part 1 or so that they generate additional money upon sitting again for the exam...i think,ehtically and to their benefit to have more competent CMAs working around,paying their memembership,taking CPE courses and marketing cma and ima...

All i want to say is that sometimes when you feel well prepared ,you dont do well in the exam as you were supposed to do but in fact your grade might still be a passing one..dont lose hope ,hopefully you
will pass....
how much you got on part 1,did you finish on time?

-------------------------------------------
Hani Dannawi
Director/Manager
BlcbBank
Beirut
Lebanon
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2012 11:19 AM
From: Bader Faqeeh
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?

Hello all,

I sat for part 2 today and the exam was purposefully and exceptionally difficult, and I can guarantee the people who made the exam questions that they themselves will find it difficult to finish the 100 MCQs in under 3 hours.
I mean a lot of the questions were truly long and time consuming although that was not the case for part 1 that, despite having difficult questions too, it didn't have disproportional hard questions that cause finishing the exam in under 3 hours is impossible like what I experienced today with part 2.

Does IMA want to increase its revenues by making us 1-part left CMA candidates pay more to retake the second part? is that even possible? is it ethical? Because that would be ridiculous. 

It's really disappointing that IMA tries to trick us in these exams, it's really enough that we have to go through the tricks of our jobs and our lives to be tricked again for a test we studied really hard and paid a lot of money for, it's truly frustrating guys.

Please share your experience, did you also find it exceptionally difficult and beyond the scope of the Learning Outcome statement?

Bader 

Dear Mr. Bader Fageeh,

First I wish to you a good luck .. but in my opinion I want to till you that of course part 2 is more difficult than part 1 .. Part 1 is relatively easy to pass .. & the size of part 1 equal about 40% of part 2 in the old system .. the new system is very short & not hard compared to the old system .. so it is normal to find some difficulties in the exam because if IMA didn't make the exam rigorous the CMA will lose it's value .. short material & easy exams ?!!!! .. so CMA will be like ICDL & any one can take it !!!! ..but CMA is a gold standard so it's normal to find difficulties in the exam & also it's normal to take the exam more than 1 time ..  just what you should do is studying & practicing  then studying & practicing then studying & practicing .. & If you do this I'm sure that you will pass.




-------------------------------------------
Shereif Mohammed Saud Al Sayyad CMA
Accountant
Giza
Egypt
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2012 11:19 AM
From: Bader Faqeeh
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?

Hello all,

I sat for part 2 today and the exam was purposefully and exceptionally difficult, and I can guarantee the people who made the exam questions that they themselves will find it difficult to finish the 100 MCQs in under 3 hours.
I mean a lot of the questions were truly long and time consuming although that was not the case for part 1 that, despite having difficult questions too, it didn't have disproportional hard questions that cause finishing the exam in under 3 hours is impossible like what I experienced today with part 2.

Does IMA want to increase its revenues by making us 1-part left CMA candidates pay more to retake the second part? is that even possible? is it ethical? Because that would be ridiculous. 

It's really disappointing that IMA tries to trick us in these exams, it's really enough that we have to go through the tricks of our jobs and our lives to be tricked again for a test we studied really hard and paid a lot of money for, it's truly frustrating guys.

Please share your experience, did you also find it exceptionally difficult and beyond the scope of the Learning Outcome statement?

Bader 

Hi all, i sat my exam on October 31. I agree with you in some points that the exam is difficult as usual, but it isn't exceptional. Part two has limited material, unlike part one so you can easily digest the material but part two exam is more difficult than part one. This is my experience.
-------------------------------------------
Ahmed Hassanein
Accountant
ElDakhlia
Egypt
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 10-19-2012 10:52 AM
From: Shereif Mohammed Saud Al Sayyad
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?

Dear Mr. Bader Fageeh,

First I wish to you a good luck .. but in my opinion I want to till you that of course part 2 is more difficult than part 1 .. Part 1 is relatively easy to pass .. & the size of part 1 equal about 40% of part 2 in the old system .. the new system is very short & not hard compared to the old system .. so it is normal to find some difficulties in the exam because if IMA didn't make the exam rigorous the CMA will lose it's value .. short material & easy exams ?!!!! .. so CMA will be like ICDL & any one can take it !!!! ..but CMA is a gold standard so it's normal to find difficulties in the exam & also it's normal to take the exam more than 1 time ..  just what you should do is studying & practicing  then studying & practicing then studying & practicing .. & If you do this I'm sure that you will pass.




-------------------------------------------
Shereif Mohammed Saud Al Sayyad CMA
Accountant
Giza
Egypt
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2012 11:19 AM
From: Bader Faqeeh
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?

Hello all,

I sat for part 2 today and the exam was purposefully and exceptionally difficult, and I can guarantee the people who made the exam questions that they themselves will find it difficult to finish the 100 MCQs in under 3 hours.
I mean a lot of the questions were truly long and time consuming although that was not the case for part 1 that, despite having difficult questions too, it didn't have disproportional hard questions that cause finishing the exam in under 3 hours is impossible like what I experienced today with part 2.

Does IMA want to increase its revenues by making us 1-part left CMA candidates pay more to retake the second part? is that even possible? is it ethical? Because that would be ridiculous. 

It's really disappointing that IMA tries to trick us in these exams, it's really enough that we have to go through the tricks of our jobs and our lives to be tricked again for a test we studied really hard and paid a lot of money for, it's truly frustrating guys.

Please share your experience, did you also find it exceptionally difficult and beyond the scope of the Learning Outcome statement?

Bader 

Thanks for your replies gents. I think questioning the integrity of IMA was out of line and for that I apologize. I was more frustrated with the MCQ-to-total time slot I experienced in Part 2. All I am saying is that I passed P1 from the first try and studied the same way for P2 & my experience with P2 was completely different not cuz the exam itself was harder than P1 ( which i knew already coming for the exam) but because the exam had too many lengthy MCQs , causing finishing on time to be an issue. Anyhow, the results are coming out next month i believe so I wish good look to everyone. Best ------------------------------------------- Bader Jeddah Saudi Arabia -------------------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 09-15-2012 11:19 AM From: Bader Faqeeh Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope? Hello all, I sat for part 2 today and the exam was purposefully and exceptionally difficult, and I can guarantee the people who made the exam questions that they themselves will find it difficult to finish the 100 MCQs in under 3 hours. I mean a lot of the questions were truly long and time consuming although that was not the case for part 1 that, despite having difficult questions too, it didn't have disproportional hard questions that cause finishing the exam in under 3 hours is impossible like what I experienced today with part 2. Does IMA want to increase its revenues by making us 1-part left CMA candidates pay more to retake the second part? is that even possible? is it ethical? Because that would be ridiculous. It's really disappointing that IMA tries to trick us in these exams, it's really enough that we have to go through the tricks of our jobs and our lives to be tricked again for a test we studied really hard and paid a lot of money for, it's truly frustrating guys. Please share your experience, did you also find it exceptionally difficult and beyond the scope of the Learning Outcome statement? Bader

It is very important to create a strategy for taking the exam. The first thing you should do is to use the 30 or min for the tutorial to write down the formulas that dont come up to you easily. When you are finished proceed further to the exam. When taking the MCQ do not answer the long questions - answer only the short ones first. Then answer the longer ones. Keep in mind that you need only 50% which is quite generous to be honest. On the esay questions it is clear that people need some luck to get topics that they are more familiar with. With respect to the difficulty - I would rather have a certificate that is earned through hard work rather than having a three letter abbreviation at the end of my name. I understand your frustration and tend to agree that some of the questions (around 10%) were too long to be taken in 1 min and 48 seconds unless you really know the material well. So that being said I am also waiting for my results on part 2 :)

Good luck!

-------------------------------------------
Dimitar Zurlev
Other
Constellation Energy
Sofia
Bulgaria
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 10-19-2012 12:10 PM
From: Bader Faqeeh
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?


Thanks for your replies gents. I think questioning the integrity of IMA was out of line and for that I apologize. I was more frustrated with the MCQ-to-total time slot I experienced in Part 2. All I am saying is that I passed P1 from the first try and studied the same way for P2 & my experience with P2 was completely different not cuz the exam itself was harder than P1 ( which i knew already coming for the exam) but because the exam had too many lengthy MCQs , causing finishing on time to be an issue. Anyhow, the results are coming out next month i believe so I wish good look to everyone.

Best


-------------------------------------------
Bader
Jeddah
Saudi Arabia
-------------------------------------------

Thanks for your replies guys. Having passed part 1 from first attempt, we will be quite frustrated & disheartened to know we've not passed part 2 although we've studied just as well as we had for part 1. Anyhow, If I fail, i will retake the exam in January. However if i fail that too again then i will probably just drop the whole CMA pursuit all together and focus my efforts on obtaining my CPA. Good luck to all of us. Bader

I agree with Dimitar. You would find questions with varied difficulties and its crucial that you prioritize them. At first glance, I thought my 1st essay question to be quiet difficult but after marking it and completing rest of the questions, I did it last and it was easier then. Long questions have distracting info. most of the time, you need very little of it for the answer response.

By the way Bader or anyone, do you know if there is any CPA paper exemption for a CMA and how many papers can be taken in Dubai or elsewhere in the middle east.

Thanks
Syed Asher Ali
United Energy Pakistan
Karachi
Pakistan
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 10-26-2012 07:19 PM
From: Bader Faqeeh
Subject: Did you find your part 2 exam exceptionally difficult and out of IMA's LOS scope?

Thanks for your replies guys. Having passed part 1 from first attempt, we will be quite frustrated & disheartened to know we've not passed part 2 although we've studied just as well as we had for part 1. Anyhow, If I fail, i will retake the exam in January. However if i fail that too again then i will probably just drop the whole CMA pursuit all together and focus my efforts on obtaining my CPA.

Good luck to all of us.

Bader