CIMA Case Study Exams Explained: OCS, MCS, SCS, the Pre-seen and How They Are Marked
In the CIMA qualification, the case study is the exam that decides your result. Every professional level ends with one, and it is where most candidates pass or fall short, because it tests what the objective tests cannot: whether you can apply everything you know to a real business problem, under time pressure, in writing.
CIMA has three case studies, one at the end of each professional level: the Operational (OCS), Management (MCS) and Strategic (SCS). Each is a three-hour, computer-based business simulation built around a pre-seen company released about six to seven weeks before the exam. You answer by writing reports and emails, and your script is marked by hand against the competency framework, where a pass is a scaled score of 80 out of 150 with a minimum standard required in every competency.
The case studies are the exams MSL Business School coaches, and they reward a very particular kind of preparation. This guide explains how each one works, the pre-seen and paired-window cycle, how the marking is done, and how to prepare for a first-attempt pass.
Published by MSL Business School. Exam structure follows the official AICPA & CIMA case study framework.
What the CIMA case study exams are
- The exams. Three case studies, one per professional level: Operational (OCS), Management (MCS) and Strategic (SCS).
- Format. A computer-based business simulation, three hours, answered as structured reports and emails.
- Sittings. Four windows a year: February, May, August and November.
- Pass mark. A scaled score of 80 out of 150, with a minimum standard required in every competency.
Above its Foundation level, the CIMA qualification has three professional levels: Operational, Management and Strategic. At each of these three levels you sit three objective tests, one for each of the three syllabus pillars, and then a case study that pulls the level together. You must pass the three objective tests at a level before you sit its case study, and you must pass the case study before you move up to the next level.
The case study is not a traditional written paper. It is a computer-based business simulation. You take on a finance role inside a fictional but realistic company and respond to a series of requests, the kind a manager, a colleague or a chief financial officer might send you, by writing structured reports, emails and memos. There are three, rising in seniority as you climb the qualification: the Operational Case Study (OCS), the Management Case Study (MCS) and the Strategic Case Study (SCS), the final exam before membership.
Each case is designed to test the five competency areas CIMA examines together: technical skills, business acumen, people skills, leadership and digital fluency. The objective tests confirm you have the knowledge; the case study confirms you can use it the way a finance professional actually has to, by reading a situation and giving advice someone could act on.
The pre-seen, and the paired-window cycle
Every case study is built around a pre-seen document: a detailed profile of the fictional company and the industry it operates in, released about six to seven weeks before the exam window. The pre-seen is the single most important thing to understand about the case study, because the company in your exam is the company in the pre-seen. The hours you put into analysing it before exam day are the hours that decide your result.
The exams run in four fixed windows a year, in February, May, August and November. CIMA shares a single pre-seen across two paired windows, so the same company appears in two consecutive sittings.
| Exam window | Pre-seen | Paired with |
|---|---|---|
| May | New pre-seen released | August |
| August | Uses the May pre-seen | May |
| November | New pre-seen released | The following February |
| February | Uses the previous November pre-seen | November |
That pairing matters for planning. If you sit the first window in a pair, you can treat the second as a backup attempt without having to learn a new company, because the pre-seen does not change.
The pre-seen is where the work is won. Deep, structured pre-seen analysis is the single biggest difference between a pass and a fail. Begin the moment your pre-seen is released, not the week before the exam. The full timetable, with every window, booking deadline and pre-seen release date, is on the CIMA case study exam dates page.
Inside the exam: three hours in timed sections
The case study lasts three hours and is taken on a computer. The three hours are split into timed sections, and the number depends on the level.
| Case study | Sections | Time per section |
|---|---|---|
| Operational (OCS) | Four sections | About 45 minutes |
| Management (MCS) | Four sections | About 45 minutes |
| Strategic (SCS) | Three sections | About an hour |
Each section presents new, unseen information about the company and one or more requests you must respond to, for example a memo from the finance director asking you to evaluate an investment, or an email from a colleague asking you to explain a variance. You answer in the same form: a structured report, an email, a briefing note.
- Computer-based, sat at a Pearson VUE centre or online from home where remote proctoring is available
- Built on advance pre-seen material plus unseen information provided on the day
- Several variants are written for each sitting, so candidates do not all face the same tasks
- First and foremost a writing and judgement exam, not a calculation exam
Because there are several variants, marks are scaled, which the next section explains.
How the CIMA case study is marked
Case studies are marked by people, not by computer, against CIMA’s competency framework. Your script is scored out of 100 and then scaled to a mark out of 150, a process that levels out small differences in difficulty between the variants. The pass is a scaled score of 80 out of 150. Because the marks are scaled, there is no fixed raw percentage that guarantees a pass, so the safe target is to aim comfortably above the line on every section.
Because the marking is done by hand, results are released several weeks after the exam, not on the day.
Balance beats brilliance. Reaching 80 overall is not enough on its own; you must also clear a minimum standard in every competency area. A single weak competency can fail an otherwise strong script, so spread your quality across every section and every skill rather than excelling in one area and neglecting another.
How to prepare for a case study
Preparation for a case study looks different from revising for an objective test. The knowledge is assumed; the exam tests how you use it. Three habits separate a pass from a resit.
Master the pre-seen
Read it until you know the company, its numbers, its industry and its risks without looking. Build your own summary of the likely issues, so that on exam day you spend your time analysing the new information rather than catching up on the old.
Practise to the clock
Each section has its own slice of the three hours, so rehearse writing full answers inside that time. Most marks are lost not to weak knowledge but to unfinished sections and thin answers written in a rush.
Write the way the exam expects
Practise the report, email and memo formats until structure becomes automatic, with clear headings and a recommendation the reader can act on. A well-organised answer earns marks a disorganised one leaves behind.
Prepare for the CIMA case studies with MSL
Pass your case study with Ghana’s most awarded professional education provider
MSL Business School students have won 46 national awards across ICAG, CITG and CIMA. We coach CIMA candidates for the OCS, MCS and SCS with live online classes led by experienced lecturers, structured pre-seen analysis and marked mock examinations under real exam conditions, so that nothing on exam day is unfamiliar. We map your study plan to the exact window you are targeting and build your pre-seen work from the day it is released.
As Ghana’s clear technology leader in professional education, and the first and only provider with multimodal AI for professional exam students, MSL pairs that coaching with the MSL Business School App: instant explanations, pre-seen and question walk-throughs, automated quizzes, flashcards and lesson summaries, with text, voice and image input. The app is free to download on Android, iOS and Windows. When you are ready, you can see the current cohorts, fees and registration on our CIMA page. On a specific route, see the Finance Leadership Programme guide for degree and master’s holders, or the CA Accelerated Route for qualified ICAG members, who sit only the Strategic Case Study.
CIMA case study exams: frequently asked questions
What is the CIMA case study exam?
It is the capstone exam at the end of each level of the CIMA professional qualification. Instead of answering questions, you take on a finance role inside a fictional company and respond to workplace requests by writing structured reports, emails and memos. There are three: the Operational, Management and Strategic Case Studies.
How many CIMA case studies are there?
Three, one for each professional level: the Operational Case Study (OCS), the Management Case Study (MCS) and the Strategic Case Study (SCS). You must pass the three objective tests at a level before you sit its case study.
How long is the exam and how is it structured?
The case study lasts three hours and is computer-based. The time is split into timed sections: the Operational and Management Case Studies have four sections of about 45 minutes, and the Strategic Case Study has three sections of about an hour. Each section gives you new information about the company and a request to respond to in writing.
What is the pre-seen and when is it released?
The pre-seen is a detailed profile of the fictional company and its industry, released about six to seven weeks before the exam window. The company in your exam is the company in the pre-seen, so analysing it thoroughly beforehand is the most important part of preparation. One pre-seen is shared across two paired windows.
What is the pass mark for a CIMA case study?
Scripts are marked out of 100 and then scaled to a mark out of 150, where a scaled score of 80 is a pass. You must also reach a minimum standard in each competency area, so a single weak competency can fail an otherwise strong script.
When can I sit a CIMA case study?
Case studies run in four fixed windows a year, in February, May, August and November, unlike the objective tests, which can be taken on demand. The exact dates, booking deadlines and pre-seen release dates are on the MSL CIMA case study exam dates page.
