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Case Study Exams

Pre-seen material and most popular resources for the Professional level Case Study exams.

CIMA's CGMA exam blueprints 

In an industry first, we have provided you with examination blueprints which will take the mystery out of our examinations process and clearly articulate what will be assessed  in your exams.

Access the CGMA exam blueprints here.

Personas and roles & responsibilities in the Case Study exams 

The case study examination is a simulated business role play. Therefore, understanding your persona and role in the case study exam can really help you produce a good answer at the right level for your audience.

The simulation is made up of three broad parts:

  • The role of finance 
  • The role simulated 
  • The job tasks simulated

Further detail can be found in the CGMA exam blueprint.

Operational blueprint Management / Gateway blueprint Strategic blueprint

Performance descriptors (previously grade descriptors)

For each level of the case study exam we have developed performance descriptors to help you understand your case study exam results feedback.

The presentation of results and feedback for the 2019 professional qualification case study exams has changed. This is to align with the exam blueprints that have been developed and, most importantly, provide candidates with more meaningful feedback to better support future study and exam preparation.

Operational performance descriptors Management/Gateway performance descriptors Strategic performance descriptors

Exam scripts/walkthrough

View actual student exam answers from the August 2020 Case Study Exam. Compare a low scoring script with a high scoring script. Read these walkthrough answers with annotated practical hints and tips.

OCS exam script MCS / Gateway exam script SCS exam script


Case Study articles

Read these three articles written for students who are preparing for 2019 Professional Qualification case study exams. They are based on the authors’ experience in setting and marking CIMA's CGMA case studies. These articles will be valuable to candidates who are preparing for each of the three levels of the CGMA Professional Qualification.

Preparing for the case study exam Planning a good answer
Developing your answer further