5 Ways to handle CMA Exams in Covid Era-MCQ Pattern

New Way to prepare  for CMA exams    

2020 would be a year of  firsts.There was paradigm  shift in doing things which would not be considered normal pre Covid era.This became the new normal for people around the world.Students aspiring to join the corporate ranks in finance divisions have been  preparing for various exams like CFA,CA,CMA.The CMA degree has gained a lot of popularity recently.The  certification is   a challenging one and  gives you an ocean of knowledge.It has become financially rewarding too with fresh CMA's getting good  salaries.But, come COVID and the  large  student community is left in the lurch.With exams being  postponed repititively , the  question to prepare or not has been frustrating them a lot.With the institute moving  towards computer based assessments this had been  quite a relief.But since this would be first  time students would be moving to a new format of examintion.The change is daunting for many aspiring students who have been preparing so hard to pass this exams.I offer some useful tips  on getting things better.

1.Practice on your personal computer-Reading  paper  text and computer screen is a completely different experience,The strain on your eyes is much greater and your vision might get  fatigued very  easily if you are not used to reading  on screen.I know  that  we use a lot of social media but reading exam questions on the  exam day on computer screen its not easy.So, download the PDF  study materials available on https://icmai.in/studentswebsite/Workbook-Syl-2016-Foundation.php.Take  a word doc and type your  answers on the  document.This would  definitely  help  getting into the online  exam mode.

2.Using physical paper-Most CMA papers are  numerical in nature.The calculation part  still needs to be  practiced on paper.This can be done in shorthand  way which would save you time.But using paper helps  you retain the steps and would highlight any  steps if gone wrong.So, its not  good idea  to ditch the paper completely  and working with paper and computer screen simultaneously.

3.Options can be confusing-few Few people think MCQ pattern  exams are easier.I beg to differ in MCQ questions either you know or not.But for subjective questions you can at least write something.Option elimination can  save you a ton of  time.Remember you dont need to actually solve the questions.

4.Question Comprehension-MCQ questions can be very  tricky to answer.Dont be in a hurry  to select the answer if  you know the answer at the back of your hand.Let me cite an example,Which of the statements is least likely to be  correct about cost of goods sold? Notice the word least so you need to select the statement which is wrong.The anchoring behviour  of  your brain will make you select the answer which would seem correct logically.

5.Sticking to the fundamentals-Last but not  the least understanding of the study material in detail is always advisable since MCQ questions  gives many the impression that they have to study less and get away with it.Believe me it will be a tricky proposition and knowing  your concepts  logically of why something is correct and why not the other way round is a must now .

Best of luck to all the aspirants and prepare well.This too shall pass.