IBTC Pass Assured Promise: Athi Biko's story
CIMA student, Athenkosi Biko, failed Strat ICS in February. Luckily, he is an IBTC student and could make use of our Pass Assured Promise. Athi returned to the exam room in May and left a champion!
Here, in his own words, is his CIMA story and road to success.
“I have always dreamt of being a qualified finance professional and originally started studying towards a CA(SA). Sadly, life got in the way and I had to abandon my studies and start working. First, I was a call centre agent. I then moved into accounting and product control within financial services and banks. It was here that I learnt about CIMA. After some research, I realised CIMA was the route I had to go. I had finally found a global qualification that combined both finance and business.
While studying I enrolled at IBTC Professional Business Education and attended their Strategic Case Study classes. The classes followed a different format to your traditional ‘knowledge dump’ lecturing. Studying for the Case Study exam requires a reasoning and application approach. The candidate needs to know the material and how to apply it. My lecturer, Kuda, understood this.
I thought I was ready, so I booked and wrote. I failed. Let’s face it, failing is never fun, but giving up just wasn’t an option. That’s the thing with CIMA, you need to keep your head down, keep going and not lose momentum. It’s hard to get back into the race if you stop running. I didn’t fail by much. I was literally a few marks short of a pass. I realised that I knew my subject, but my delivery required work. Luckily, I could make use of IBTC’s Pass Assured Promise. So, I booked again for the May sitting, wrote and passed.
My CIMA journey is almost over but I have grown in my career and as a person. I have learnt to balance technical, business and people skills in each task I complete. I can now look at a problem from every angle and solve it holistically. This helps daily in my job as a Finance Business Partner, to me this is priceless.
My advice to anyone thinking of studying CIMA? Do your research. Only then will you realise the real value of a CIMA qualification and how it will change your life. With CIMA the sky really is the limit.”
Study CIMA with IBTC
All our CIMA courses are Pass Assured. To study CIMA with IBTC go to www.ibtc.co.za and click on the book now button. Alternatively, you can call Robert on 0861 111 411 and he will gladly help you get started.
ACCA students, we know how to help you pass first time
Key takeaways
We stand and fall by our ability to get you to pass first time. We're so confident that you will pass the ACCA Exam first time that you can come back for free if you don't. Our secret lies in our student support, study guides and question practice. By following a few simple guidelines, you can make our promise work for you. With over 10 years' experience in preparing students for their exams we have learnt a lot about study techniques. We've seen what works and what doesn't.Using our expertise we have developed a formula - a so called secret sauce if you will - that gives you the best chance of a first time pass. If followed correctly we really believe you will pass first time. In fact, we're so confident in this belief that you can come back for free if you don't pass. This is our Pass Assured Promise (PAP) and it's available to all our students. We are so obsessed with passing that our pass rate is the key measure of our business. Our CEO, Nikki Maritz, illustrates this when saying,"Our pass rate is the number we are all chasing. It's even more important than our revenue figure.
We believe that you buy a pass from us, not a product."
So ,with that said, what's in the secret sauce?
The secret lies in the fact that no other college offers more question practice and student support than IBTC. Question Practice We strongly believe in the power of question practice and we find any excuse to talk about it. According to a study published in The Guardian, "Researchers found that students who did a practice test after a period of revision did better on the final exam than those students who spent their time only on revision."The beauty of question practice is that it reinforces what you've learnt while helping you to identify your weak spots. It shows you where you need to focus.
Taking this a step further at IBTC we believe that the number of times you test yourself and the variety in your question practice is the real key to exam success. For best results you need various levels of question practice during your study process and the more you do, the better your chances of passing first time. We encourage our students to spend 60% of their time studying and the remaining 40% practicing. Study Plan The IBTC Study Plan lays it all out for you. It indicates when to go through your theory and when to do question practice.
It is designed to get you exam ready as quickly as possible.
Your Study Plan will provide you with what to study and for how long so you don't waste your time studying the wrong thing. Think of it as the road map for your ACCA journey. It will get you to your destination as quickly and successfully as possible. Hand holding We understand that you are human and sometimes all you need is a listening ear or a little motivation and a push in the right direction. This is why we walk your study journey with you.
We checkup on you regularity to make sure that you're staying on track. We notice when you a miss a deadline and we find out how we can help you make sure that doesn't happen again. Your success is our priority.
CREATING LEADERS, TRADING ON SUCCESS
It is once again the leaders in our country that will make the difference – those with the drive and determination to succeed. CM Trading is facilitating this South African entrepreneurial spirit by introducing the Business Referrers programme which enables individuals with vision, spirit and resolve to either make a successful part-time business or a booming full time enterprise.
“As well as providing the largest retail online trading platform for individuals and companies, we have also seen the need to provide opportunities for individuals to grow their wealth in other ways – hence the development of the Business Referrers programme,” says Daniel Kibel, CM Trading. “Since we started trading in 2012 we have become one of the most trusted trading sites in the world, boasting our presence all over the world and winning many awards including the Best Performing Broker in Africa by Africa investor (Ai) at a function at NASDAQ in New York. People are beginning to learn that trading can be as simple or as complicated as you make it, and we pride ourselves on making it simple, transparent and profitable.”
“Being prepared for various market scenarios is often a key part of a business’ success – the better prepared you are, the better your performance will be,” Kibel continues. “However, a trader should always be responsible and we pride ourselves on good business practice and on ensuring that we educate both the experienced online trader as well as the new online practitioner – we are here to assist. Our Business Referrers programme teaches our business partners to be disciplined, to think of the long term and most importantly to be patient. This is just one of the reasons we started the Programme.”
“The point of entry is low – in fact all an individual needs to become a Business Referrer is someone who can introduce a minimum of five clients looking to invest with a company that provides full back up support and continued maintenance through an established trading company. There is no capital outlay, just a determined spirit and a basic knowledge of the CM Trading platform – all of which is provided by CM Trading through webinars, through seminars and also through our call-in and walk-in centres. This programme is really taking off – beyond what we ever imagined – after all, who doesn’t want to make an extra income with the backing of an international company!”, says Kibel.
At a recent Business Referrers workshop held, some of the comments received included:“I am a new Business Referrer and this seminar has shown me exactly what I can expect and I just can’t wait to get started. I have been told exactly what I can expect from my online trading and marketing experience with CM Trading. I am excited and they actually understand the exact direction that I want to take my company - this is all very exciting for me!”
Another delegate said:
“This is the first Business Referrers workshop that I have been to, but I understand from other delegates and Entrepreneurs here that they are really good at helping to generate more business and that their level of engagement is always top notch. The team at CM Trading are very hands on and very involved and they always follow up – it really feels like they want us to succeed, they want to create a new breed of entrepreneurs, this is something I am so privileged to be involved in.”
Kibel concludes: “The World Wide Web has made it a new world, a small world but a beautiful world and we can’t wait to build up our entrepreneur base here in South Africa and invest in an entirely new breed of successful independent business people.”
Anyone interested in signing up to the Business Referrers Programme can contact CM Trading on www.cmtrading.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
WHERE ARE SOUTH AFRICA’S POTENTIAL WOMEN DIRECTORS?
They are in South African companies and industries right now, although they may not be part of traditional networks and are unlikely to be present at the higher levels of management in the same numbers as men. It is for this reason that BPW SA and the Department of Trade & Industry (the dti) have partnered in an unrivalled “Women on Boards” director development programme to create a pool of female leaders in SA who are excellently trained and are therefore highly sought after by Boards.
Most people today have no knowledge about the makeup of corporate boards, even in the companies they work for. These people would be surprised to learn how little diversity of thought and experience exists in the corporate boardrooms and executive suites of South African businesses. Why should you care about board composition? Boards of directors make decisions that can impact you, your community, and the country. That’s why it’s important that membership on corporate boards be representative of a company's constituents.
Boards of directors choose CEOs. They make decisions about executive compensation, whether to buy, sell, or merge with other companies, where corporate offices close and relocate, and how much priority a company gives to issues other than profits, such as social responsibility.
Our Women on Boards programme will give you the expertise and exposure needed to be part of the right networks. It is an eight-part program — strategically placed over the course of 8 months, due to the complexity of the material — equips women with the knowledge and tools needed to elevate themselves to the C-suite and beyond. In a supportive and highly interactive atmosphere, an impressive roster of top government and corporate experts will guide skilled female executives through a rigorous program of intensive classroom instruction, case studies and simulations. Every element of the program is focused on strengthening and broadening the leadership talents of the participants and delivering positive results for their companies and organizations. They will improve their understanding of the responsibilities of board membership and develop the skills and strategic insight needed to become a more effective director. They will improve their understanding of board governance while heightening their financial literacy and increasing their understanding of relevant legislation. Amongst others, specialist training is also provided by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) with regard to corporate governance and understanding of JSE terminology and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) (London) who will impart their expertise on personal and reputational risk. The dti will convey their expectations of board members and corporate experts will present, and execute simulations, on media and presentation skills to enhance leadership effectiveness. The programme is certified by the dti.
For more information, please visit our website at www.bpw-jhbsa.co.za .or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 011 794-4991.
