The foundation and quality standards for training and development partners
The standards are underpinned by the six steps of the CIMA professional development cycle:

1. Define - policies and plans put in place to support your staff.
2. Assess - individual development needs .
3 & 4. Design and Act – allocate sufficient resources to support the development of CIMA members and students.
5. Reflect - on progress against plans and implement individual/company-wide action plans as necessary.
6. Evaluate - the success of the scheme and incorporate feedback to make it better.
policies and put plans in place to support your staff.
Scheme structure

Training Partner accreditation is available to any employer who can confirm that they meet the foundation standards for the development of CIMA students.
Training Quality Partner accreditation is available to any employer who can demonstrate that they meet the foundation standards for the development of CIMA students plus the recommended standards for student development.
Development Quality Partner accreditation is available to any employer who can demonstrate that they meet the foundation standards for the development of members plus the recommended standards for member development.
Premier Partner accreditation is automatically awarded to employers who have achieved Quality Partner for their support for both IPD and CPD. It will be presented as an award for “excellence in supporting lifelong professional development” and reflects the importance we place on career long training and development.
Download the CIMA Training & Development brochure
Help gaining your accreditation
Business ethics for SMEs
This briefing, (PDF, 649KB) based on content initially published by the Institute of Business Ethics, explores what business ethics means for small to medium-sized business enterprises. It shows how they can introduce and support high standards of business practice.
Embedding ethical values
This briefing (PDF, 685 KB) directs employers without a code to the right resources. It provides advice on embedding ethical values into business behaviour for those who already have a code in place.
Study policy
Use this example (PDF 57KB) to develop your own CIMA study policy.