Finally : CIMA introduces new pricing

CIMA wants to give students and professionals around the world every opportunity to succeed in their career.

We’ve lowered our entry price from £150 to £60. All new students will now have their first subscription fee waived, saving £90 upon registration.

Whether you aspire to climb the management ladder, want a career that crosses international boundaries, or simply want more career options, the CIMA qualification is now more accessible to you.

Read more at CIMA Global


I remember very well back in 2003/04 [ if not mistaken] for CIMA to revisit the fees for students, as I felt it was simply too high relative to other professional qualification like ACCA. My argument, that the latter shall not be the case, as CIMA should operate more effectively and efficiently, and an increase in fees every year might send wrong signal that CIMA might not manage effectively. I did check with my other friends, who chose ACCA over CIMA, and one of the consideration was the fee and cost. 1GBP to RM 6-7 then, making CIMA qualification beyond the reach for ordinary Joe who just started his career.As such, CIMA is regarded as " exclusive qualification for selected few ".

It was then, that organizations back in Malaysia, preferred ACCA and other qualifications, over CIMA. CIMA was regarded as not really relevant in the accounting fraternity and industry in Malaysia. However, that was changed in later year as CIMA aggresively promoting it as the most relevant qualification in the business world, and its qualification transcends beyond accounting fraternity. Employer in UK prefer CIMA members, but in Malaysia, still the acceptances and perception among the Malaysians Inc like PETRONAS is/was still low, even though PETRONAS was recognized as one of the CIMA training provider.  It is kind of catch 22 situation in Malaysia. However, one thing did not quite change was the fees. Then what made CIMA change its mind in Year 2010. However, the picture is different with SHELL and other multinational organizations.

It will be bit shallow, if I say decision to have CIMA over other professional qualification is solely based on the cost factor alone. However, it does count as one of the important factor to consider. To a Malaysian, why shall I choose CIMA when it is more expensive to complete at the same time, not the qualifications preferred by Malaysia Inc. and big 4 audit firms ? I think it is a fair choice and reasonable consideration.

It will also not quite right to consider Malaysian market only, but the fact that Malaysia is consider as one of the key and focus country, may in one way or another influence the rest in the regions to follow. While CIMA is regarded as " professional qualifications accepted worldwide" still the reality is that it is not easy for CIMA members in Malaysia to work in other countries and cross border mobilization is very much case to case basis, unless you are working in a multinational organization like SHELL, TESCO and HP.

At least now, there are changes happening and interesting development in CIMA that will make it more relevant qualification of choice. The introduction of Islamic Finance course, lower cost to register as CIMA student, collaboration with local accounting bodies and local institutions in Malaysia show that CIMA is indeed moving into the right direction. More could be done, perhaps the introduction of business controls to be part of one of the strategic level papers [ risk, governance , statutory audit, self-assessment, internal audit ] may make CIMA appeals to the mass not only the commercial organization, but also specific industry like advisory and audit firms.


DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive.