cima operational case study november

Operational Level

Operational Case Study

Comprehensive online CIMA OCS courses covering every exam window. Now enrolling for May 2024.

• 29 hours of course content
• 3 Mock Exams with Solutions
• Applied theory sessions
• ACCA exam debrief lectures
• 100s of Practice Questions
• 250 exam-grade questions
• Specimen exam debriefs
• 130 exam-grade questions
• Award-winning training
• Exam debrief lectures
• Theory review lessons of key topics
• Buy and start studying immediately
• Mock exam debriefs

Start learning from only £199.

• Elite Course

Course Features & Benefits

HD video lectures covering the entire syllabus delivered by expert tutors. Crisp audio and vivid examples, accessible from anywhere.

Prepare with realistic exams designed by CIMA gurus for each window. Our online simulator offers real test conditions to practice with precision. Model answers included.

Download detailed course notes on the complete syllabus. Crafted with clarity, these concise and clear guides are filled with real-world examples.

When you buy an individual standard course, you get access to that course forever . With any future syllabus updates automatically added.

Contact our student support team any time if you have technical issues with your course or doubts about your access.

VIVA's courses are structured in manageable unit by unit blocks. Your progress is saved automatically so you can resume where you stopped.

All our courses are updated to reflect the latest syllabi. Any updates to courses you have access to are incorporated free of charge.

VIVA only works with elite tutors from across the UK and Ireland - from university lectures to former Big 4 managers and company directors.

Your tutor walks you through every question from two ACCA SBR specimen exams and one mock exam, explaining how you should answer on exam day.

Your tutor walks you through every question from the ACCA LW specimen exam, explaining how you should answer on exam day.

Your tutor walks you through every question from two ACCA TX mock exams, explaining how you should answer on exam day.

Handy on-demand review lessons covering the key topics from the E, F and P pillars.

Our famous E/F/P Applied sessions identify the key theories from your OT studies, and model how to apply them in your answers on exam day.

Your tutor walks you through every question from the ACCA AA specimen exam, explaining how you should answer on exam day.

• Multi-award winning accountancy tuition - VIVA has won and been nominated for several prestigious awards since its founding, including the CIMA Global Pass Rate Excellence Award and the PQ Magazine Awards.
• Accredited provider - VIVA is officially recoginsed by both ACCA and CIMA as an accredited tuition provider, meaning you're getting content and coverage that you can trust.
• Groundbreaking value - born online, VIVA's unique scaled delivery model ensures you get direct access to the world's best tutors without being charged to cover bloated overheads as with traditional providers.
• Student satisfaction - we prefer to let our students do the talking. Check out what they're saying about VIVA and why they rate us 4.9 out of 5 here .
• Flexible payment and study plans - VIVA offers several study options, including individual courses, instalment plans and our famous All Access yearly subscriptions .

Andrew is a Chartered Accountant and award-winning tutor. He previously worked as a forensic accountant at a Big Four firm, and spent several years tutoring at Kaplan UK. He was voted PQ Magazine's Lecturer of the Year - Private Sector in 2018. His average student feedback score in 2022 was 9.6/10, having taught over 1,000 learners. He has guided '1st in the World' students on 4 separate occasions.

Andrew is VIVA's CIMA OCS guru and is ready to bring his considerable practical and educational experience to bear and help you unlock the latest pre-seen.

Elite Course Extra Benefits

Our Elite Courses include everything from the Standard Course offerings, plus a range of personalised and exclusive features that will guarantee you pass your exams.

Our Elite courses include live, interactive sessions with your tutor and a small cohort of Elite students. Personalised guidance on exam technique and marking criteria.

Elite students get round-the-clock support from their tutor, via office hours, forum access and live interactive sessions.

Mock marking comes as standard for all mock exams on the Elite courses. Our experienced markers give personalised feedback, not just generic advice.

Your tutor will guide you through full mock exam questions, explaining how to approach answering each component, things to avoid, etc.

Your Elite tutor will host sessions focusing on exam writing technique, giving demonstrations and inviting collaboration on constructing answers that are sure to pass.

VIVA's partnership with Circle offers access to a modern private community platform to connect with Elite colleagues, share ideas, and receive guidance and discussion ideas from your tutor.

*We're so confident in the power of our Elite Courses, that we guarantee your pass. If you meet the conditions and still somehow don't pass, we will grant you free access to the next Elite Course.

Course Syllabus

Operational Case Study covers real-world problem-solving: applying operational theories to practical business challenges. Now enrolling for CIMA OCS May24 courses.

Pre-course work

Choose your exam window.

Select the tab corresponding to your preferred exam window, and then choose between the Standard or Elite Course (features explained in detail above).

The course runs for 6 weeks, starting on Mar 23, 2024.

We offer two payment options.

The course runs for 5 weeks, starting on Jul 06, 2024.

The course runs for 6 weeks, starting on Sep 20, 2024.

The course runs for 5 weeks, starting on Jan 03, 2025.

Trusted by over 10,000 students

Despite very difficult personal circumstances, with VIVA's help I managed to not only pass the SCS but to achieve my highest case study score from the 3 levels. Please keep doing what you do as it's so good!

I passed my OCS with a scaled score of 137 and got a letter from CIMA saying that I obtained the joint third position for the February 2019 case study and I believe that VIVA's materials really helped to make this possible.

VIVA were absolutely key in my CIMA Case Study exam - where I received first position in the world! I felt extremely supported with VIVA throughout the course, and would recommend them to anybody. I just wish I had found them much earlier in my studies!

I would highly recommend VIVA Financial Tuition to any CIMA student looking to achieve a high grade in their exams. Their courses offer remarkable value for money when compared to some of the traditional tuition providers. (World Prizewinner 2017)

I want to thank VIVA for bringing to a successful end my study journey. I only wish I knew about VIVA earlier! Since using VIVA, I have passed my final exams.

I have used VIVA for all three Case Studies, passing first time on all three. I could not have done it without VIVA's help! Hands down, the best resource out there for CIMA Case Studies.

Before I signed up with VIVA's Elite course I was already enrolled with another tuition provider, and the way VIVA runs this course is 100x better! I will highly recommend you to my coworkers who are early in their CIMA journey.

I have passed my SCS using VIVA. I had failed 3 times with other tuition providers. The difference for me was expert feedback on the mock exams.

Management Accounting Mastery

Master the skills needed to pass the cima exams and become a chartered global management accountant, a breakdown of the cima operational case study exam (ocs).

T he aim of the CIMA Operational Level Case Study Exam (OCS) is to teach you how to APPLY your knowledge from the three objective test papers in the workplace.

Here you’ll play the part of a Finance Officer (at a fictitious organisation) who is responsible for implementing strategy and focuses on the short-term elements of the business.

Some of the competencies you’ll be expected to demonstrate are:

• An understanding of costs and cost accounting, in order for you to start preparing budgets, and advise on short-term changes to products, volume and prices.
• An understanding of how the business is structured and how to communicate aspects of the budget, during both preparation and delivery, to non-finance staff.
• To prepare financial reports to show how the business is performing.
• To produce Management Information such as raw data, performance information, cost reports and present reality through numbers.
• Know about the regulatory environment, financial reporting, and business taxation.
• Making decisions on working capital, cash and short-term finance.
• Influencing your colleagues and peers in the finance department (e.g. product managers).

Exam Window

The OCS will be held during the fourth week (generally five days) in every exam-month –February, May, August and November.

Brought Forward Knowledge Required

You’ll be expected to remember all the key theories, models, frameworks, and calculations etc you learnt in the three objective test papers so that you can apply them to the business setting of the fictitious organisation in the OCS

Learning Outcomes and Syllabus Content

There is no additional syllabus content for you to learn as you should have all the knowledge you need from your studies of the three objective test papers.

However, in the OCS, you must be able to demonstrate that you can apply the following skills from the learning outcomes tested in the three OT exams to the particular business context of the case:

• Technical skills – 64% of your score
• Business skills – 16% of your score
• People Skills – 14% of your score
• Leadership Skills – 6% of your score

Let’s look more closely at these skills below..

1. Technical skills – 64% of your score

Rather than performing specific calculations or simply demonstrating technical knowledge as you would in the objective tests, the OCS goes beyond this and you’ll be expected to:

• Explain the benefits of applying certain techniques to the scenario
• Interpret the findings of a previously prepared analysis/report

The technical skills required in the case study will be drawn from across the CIMA E1, P1 and F1 papers

The OCS will examine you more on higher level skills such as analysis, synthesis, interpretation and justification of recommendation

2. Business skills – 16% of your score

What the OCS is really testing here, is whether you can appreciate that any given syllabus topic from E1, P1 or F1, can have different benefits or drawbacks given different business situations

To develop this awareness ahead of your exam, it’s important that you take an interest in the business news and practice analysing business based case studies.

You will NOT earn credit for business skills if you produce a list of benefits and drawbacks of a management accounting technique without saying WHY they are a benefit or a drawback given the context of the case.

There’s no set list of business skills that you should be aiming to develop and tick off before the exam but you should make sure you are familiar with the fictitious organisation in the case.

3. People Skills – 14% of your score

To be a ‘business ready’ trainee management accountant you are expected to develop people skills including communication, persuasion and understanding others’ needs

4. Leadership Skills – 6% of your score

The tasks you will have to perform in this exam will require an analysis of the situation to consider how to drive performance or to manage organisations and teams through change.

Although the E1 presents some theories on this area for testing in the objective test exams, the OCS will assess application of those theories by asking you to respond to different issues presented in the exam.

0800 048 7804   |   [email protected]

About Us Testimonials Exam Dates About CIMA Quick Purchase Basket Help Contact Us studyHUB Home

CIMA Operational Case Study

No matter how well you know the theory and the pre-seen, unless you can use your knowledge in an exam situation, all of your revision is worthless!

To make sure you pass first time , you need to prepare yourself for even the most challenging of questions under exam conditions. That’s why we create 5 brand new mock exams for each case study, each tailored to the latest pre-seen and based on topics we think you are most likely to see in your exam.

Our CIMA operational case study mock exams will:

• Test your overall knowledge of the syllabus and the latest pre-seen
• Highlight your weaknesses to focus on in your remaining revision
• Improve your time management skills in an exam environment

FREE CASE STUDY MOCK EXAM

Start your free CIMA operational level membership to access our free OCS mini mock, which is just half the length of our full mocks and the final exam, and includes detailed solutions, plus the accompanying debrief video.

We know how important your privacy is. That’s why we do not share any details that you give us.

Get exam ready

Questions designed to challenge you, just like the real thing

Interactive timed experience to test you under exam conditions

7 new mocks for every pre-seen – all the practice you need

Learn from your mistakes

Comprehensive solutions for every question

See how high-scoring answers are structured and written

Expert marking available for even more learning

Our expert marking and feedback