AAT Accelerated Route

Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) students or members may be eligible for CIMA exemptions.

We have an arrangement with the AAT and offer direct entry to the professional qualification to all AAT members and students who have completed the technician stage. One in nine students comes to CIMA via the AAT route in the UK.

AAT technician stage

When you complete the AAT technician stage, and submit copies of your technician stage certificate and/or statement of achievement (including skills tests and exams), you will be granted exemptions from all five of CIMA's Certificate level subjects.

Special arrangement for AAT students

We understand that you may not receive your documents from the AAT until after our 31 July registration and certificate deadline for the November exam sitting. We have therefore agreed with the AAT to provide a special service to AAT students who have completed Technician/Diploma level in the AAT June 2008 exams and would like to register with CIMA and enter for the November exams.

In order to be eligible for this special arrangement you must first register with CIMA and submit copies of your AAT Intermediate/Advanced Certificate Level Statement of Achievement and/or certificate. You must have registered and submitted these documents by the 31 July in order to enter November exams.

Please then e-mail the AAT from Monday 23 June 2008 using the email address below, stating that you give permission for your exam results to be released to CIMA. You will need to give your AAT student membership number together with your Contact ID so that you can be easily identified.

The AAT will then e-mail CIMA with your exam results early on Tuesday 19 August 2008. This will then enable us apply your exemptions in time for you to enter for the November exams.

Please note: your exemptions will be awarded within 7 days of this date, please only contact CIMA if you have not received your exemptions after this time.

In order to be eligible for this special arrangement, please ensure that you have sent an e-mail to the AAT by 5pm on Friday 15 August 2008.

The e-mail address to give permission for the AAT to release your result(s) is: cimaexemptions@aat.org.uk. You should receive an automated reply once you have sent the relevant information to the above address

Once your exemptions have been awarded, you will receive official confirmation in writing. You can also view your exemptions using your MY CIMA account online. In order to be eligible for this special arrangement you must have sat the AAT exams in the June 2008 exam sitting. This service cannot be used to report completion of the Technician/Diploma level prior to the June sitting. If you completed the Technician/Diploma Level before the June sitting, please register and submit certified copies of your Technician Level documents.

We also advise you to check with your centre or the AAT to make sure all your skills test results have been updated before the exam results are sent. The AAT will not report any part-completed levels to CIMA and you will not be able to enter for exams if the AAT are unable to confirm full completion of the Technician level unless you can provide your Technician level statement of achievement/certificate by the required deadlines.

Registering with CIMA and applying for exemptions

To be considered for exemptions, you will need to send us copies of your AAT technician stage certificate and/or your statement of achievement - details of the subjects you studied and your marks. Please see our registering as a CIMA student and exemptions process page for more.

Further information

The CIMA qualification structure - what you need to do for each stage
The full CIMA syllabus
Accepting or waiving exemptions