cima case study techniques

Preparing for the CIMA Feb24 Case Studies: Free Resources and Guides

In the lead up to the next CIMA Case Study exam, VIVA's experts share useful free resources and guides that put you in pole position for exam day.

With the CIMA February 2024 Case Study exams just around the corner , it's a good idea for those of you intending to sit the exam to start laying the groundwork for your studies right now. The February exam can catch a lot of students out - the temptation is always to postpone study until after the holidays .

This is a mistake!

With the pre-seen already available, and a tuition provider like VIVA with full on-demand courses already available for the February window, there is no good reason why you shouldn't maximise your chances and jumpstart your studies as soon as possible. With that in mind, we thought we'd share with you what VIVA can do to help put you in pole position ahead of exam day. Below are a variety of tips, free resources and guides for the CIMA Feb24 case studies to help get you started.

1. Get the CIMA Pre-seen Materials Here

Probably the most important "free" resource of all is the pre-seen document that CIMA releases in advance of the Operational, Management and Strategic case study exams! The pre-seen document should be the focal point of your studies. You need to know this document inside-out. Too many students assume that they can casually browse the document a few days before the exam, and that if their theoretical knowledge is good enough, they'll be fine.

This is another mistake. There's a reason CIMA releases the pre-seen well in advance. It's because they want you to know it like the back of your hand. You need to be able to very quickly recall info from the pre-seen on exam day; to know where to look to find information that will help you answer the question. To know all the threats, opportunities, weaknesses, challenges, processes of the company in question.

Below you can find the links to each of the pre-seen documents for the current exam window:

OCS Feb24 Pre-seen: click here

MCS Feb24 Pre-seen: click here

SCS Feb24 Pre-seen: click here

2. VIVA's Pre-course Work

All of VIVA's Case study courses include a "Foundational Materials" component. This includes around 7 hours of video lectures and quizzes that ensure you are in the right mindset as soon as the pre-seen is released. These materials can be accessed immediately if you have purchased access to the Feb24 Case Study courses (whether as part of our CIMA All Access membership, or as an individual course ). The Foundational Materials include video reviews of your Objective Test theories and syllabi, exam technique lectures, study focus sessions, and more. This is particularly useful for any Gateway students sitting the MCS exam. VIVA's foundational materials orient you by introducing you to the key topics and concepts from the Objective Test exams. From there, if you wish you can further unlock the full suite of video lectures from E2, P2 and F2 with the All Access membership - allowing you to do a deeper dive on theories that you might not be familiar with. Unlock VIVA's full courses (with around 40 hours of learning materials, video lectures, live webinars and mock exams per course) via the links below:

3. Free articles and guides

‍ Perhaps VIVA's best kept secret (though we try our best not to keep it a secret!) is our growing library of high-value free content - the Knoweldge Centre . Much of this content is highly practical and relevant to Case Study exam sitters. Below we include a selection of the best free case study materials and videos that you can start working through immediately in order to ensure you are well oriented and motivated come pre-seen release day: ‍ ‍

Free Articles:

CIMA Exam Dates

5 CIMA Study Tips to Keep You Motivated

How to Pass CIMA Case Study Exams: A Detailed Guide to Success

Working through your CIMA Case Study Course

6 Tips to Pass CIMA Fast

Handling CIMA Exam Day Nerves: Lessons from Public Speaking ‍

Free Videos:

How to pass the CIMA OCS exam

How to pass the CIMA MCS exam

How to pass the CIMA SCS exam

Planning your Answer in the CIMA OCS Exam

What goes into a Strong CIMA MCS Exam Answer?

Analysing and Understanding CIMA SCS Exam Questions ‍

4. Add mock exam marking at any time

For so many students, VIVA's professional marking has been the difference maker, the thing that pushed them over the line to a pass (see here for example).

Our student surveys have shown that VIVA students who had their mock exams marked by our team of experts, were 48% more likely to pass than students who had not had their mock exams marked. You don't have to get all your mocks marked, we understand that sometimes it's just not practical due to time or financial constraints. But the great thing with VIVA is that you can add any amount of mock marking to your course/membership at any time. You can purchase marking for anywhere from just 1 mock exam to 5 mock exams. You can purchase at the links below:

• marking for 1 x mock exam: purchase here  
• marking for 2 x mock exams: purchase here    
• marking for 3 x mock exams: purchase here    
• marking for 5 x mock exams: purchase here

We hope you find the above helpful as you gear up for the Feb24 round of CIMA Case Study exams.

Like to explore how VIVA can help you with your CIMA studies?

Be the first to find out when we release new CIMA resources.

Related resources

Other resources that may be of interest to you.

Tips for mastering the CIMA Case Study Exams

The CIMA® Case Study exams are the final capstone exams of each level of the CIMA Professional Qualification, which students must pass to gain the CGMA® designation. We explore four tips to help you prepare for the exams.

1)     Understand the three Case Study levels.

Each Case Study exam lasts three hours, with multiple tasks of equal lengths. There is a natural progression to the levels — Operational, Management and Strategic — that simulate how work as a management accountant progresses. To reach the Case Study level, you will have already passed the Objective Tests, which focus on ensuring that you have acquired the knowledge and skills for each pillar.  Case Study exams are more about interpreting data and require practical answers to practical questions and simulate real-life business scenarios.

Operational Case Study (OCS)

• Focus — The short-term role of the finance officer and the implementation of decisions
• Skills you need to convey — How to work with others in the organisation and use appropriate data and technology to translate medium-term decisions into short-term actionable plans
• Stats — Three-hour exam containing four tasks related to the enterprise, performance, and financial pillars; allotted 45 minutes per task, each task has two to three sub-tasks

Management Case Study (MCS)

• Focus — The role of the finance manager involves translating long-term decisions into medium-term plans
• Skills you need to convey — How to use data and relevant technology to manage organisational and individual performance; allocate resources to implement decisions; monitor and report the implementation of decisions; prepare and interpret financial statements to show performance

Strategic Case Study (SCS)

• Focus — The role of the senior finance manager entails long-term strategic decision-making
• Skills you need to convey — How to support organisational leaders to craft strategy and evaluate and manage risks that might prevent the successful implementation of strategy, including sourcing financial resources; value the organisations
• Stats — Three-hour exam containing three tasks related to the enterprise, performance, and financial pillars; allotted 1-hour per task, each task has two to three sub-tasks

2)     Understand the Case Study exam cycle.

• Preseen — Released seven weeks before Exam 1
• Exam 1 — Exam cycle is May and August . The same three to four exam variants are offered both months.
• Results — Released seven weeks after the exam
• Preseen — Released seven weeks before Exam 2
• Exam 2 — Exam cycle is November and February . The same three to four exam variants are offered both months.

C opyright: BPP

3)     Understand the pre-seen materials.

Pre-seen materials — known as ‘preseens’ — are background information about the fictitious organisation featured in the Case Study exam. This information forms the basis of the tasks you can expect to see in the exam. The preseen tells the story of the company, including the industry and context in which it operates, its financial statements, management accounts, markets and competitors. Preseens are usually 26 – 30 pages long. Key tips include:

• Be ready — Familiarise yourself with the company, industry and current events.
• Analyse — Perform an analysis such as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) or political, economic, social and technological (PEST); review financial statements and reporting issues. The end of the preseen will contain live issues regarding what is happening in the industry. For instance, a new standard may have come out that will change reporting standards from the current year to the next and that the Case Study exam must address.
• Cross-reference with the blueprint — Being able to know what you can do is critical. Can you discuss finance options, dividend policy or evaluate digital strategies?

Tackling “I can” from each of the core activities in each of the sections is necessary for success. For instance:

• I can identify relevant costs and benefits.
• I can advise on the communication process.
• I can recommend a dividend policy.
• I can use appropriate technologies to gather data for costing purposes, from digital and other sources.

Have a broad syllabus knowledge and know your company intrinsically. You become the person when you role-play the exam. Avoid prefabricated answers, as the exam will have details not included in the preseens. Your answers have to be relevant to the question. 

4)     Plan your exam approach.

• Manage your time — If you can complete a section early, that time does not get applied to the next section. We suggest spending all of your allotted time within the section.
• Keep your answers real and relevant — Remember this is a role-based exam; identify one or more factors that might be relevant, then explain why that approach would be relevant. The more tangible details you provide, the higher you are likely to score. Do not offer irrelevant arguments for the sake of padding your answers. Aim for neat, discreet paragraphs.
• Understand the scoring — People mark the exams, and the pass rate is 60%. Even though a scale is scored 80 out of 150, 60% is the pass rate. The sub-tasks will be weighted differently. Each case will contain tasks from all five of the core activities:

Evaluate opportunities to add value.

-  Implement senior management decisions.

-  Manage performance and costs to aid value creation.

-  Measure performance.

-  Manage internal and external stakeholder.

• Scoring example

 “For a 12-mark answer, it might be possible to identify, say, four issues. A candidate who aims to write about four topics only has to score three marks for each to obtain full marks.” – MCS Examiner

You have all the tools you need to do well on the CIMA Case Study exams. From all of us at the Association, we wish you the very best for your next Case Study exam.

The content of this article is based on a Case Study Masterclass webinar delivered by CIMA and BPP in November 2020.

Unfortunately, your browser does not meet our new security requirements. Before March 17, 2018, upgrade your browser to the newest version to avoid any interruption in accessing PearsonVUE.com.

To purchase an exam:

• Create account
• Forgot my username
• Forgot my password
• COVID-19 FAQs
• Need help? Contact customer service

Related links

• FAQs: About the test
• FAQs: Troubleshooting
• AICPA & CIMA website

CIMA's Question Tutorials

Get hands-on experience of our computer-based assessments. CIMA ® offers two types of question tutorials to cover the objective tests and case study exams.

The question tutorials provide you with examples of the types of questions encountered in the exam. They can be used to experience the test driver and how items are presented. They give you the opportunity to explore this technology and become familiar with how the online system works.

• are tailored for each qualification/subject and provide examples of question types you are likely to encounter in the live exam*. Please note: these tutorials should not be viewed as a full test.
• provide answers to the questions throughout the exam, by clicking on the ‘answer’ button at the top left of the screen.
• provide candidates with an opportunity to practice a full-length case study exam.
• should be taken using the supporting material – pre-seen, model answers, and marking guidance, see additional resources below.

*Please note there are some slight differences between the functionality of the question tutorials and the live exams; in the live exams there is no ‘navigator’ button – candidates can move to the next question by pressing ‘next’. Questions can be flagged for review and reviewed at the end of the exam via the review screen.

How to register for a free question tutorial

• click ‘create account’ and complete the details
• select an exam
• checkout and submit your request
• take the exam immediately or completed it within 1 month
• get an email with details of the exam

Additional Resources

• Operational case study question tutorial supporting material
• Management case study question tutorial supporting material
• Strategic case study question tutorial supporting material
• Level 4 EPA 1 role simulation question tutorial supporting material

Exam tutorials

These are designed to familiarise you with the exam software and functionality you will encounter at the test centre. They are not tailored towards any one qualification.

Take the exam tutorial here »

NB: The above system requirements may only apply to running the tutorials. CIMA’s online exams details »

Sitting your first CIMA case study exam

The May 2024 CIMA exam sitting is about to begin, and with it, hundreds of students are about to sit their very first CIMA case study exam.

The first case study exam is tough. Depending on your education and career paths, it may have been a while since you last sat an essay-style exam – let alone one under serious time pressure.

So, here are a few quick tips for anyone sitting their first CIMA case study. If you’re a first-timer, you’re probably sitting the OCS, but the following tips are for anyone sitting via the Gateway or CFO routes too.

#1: Get comfortable with the testing environment

Regardless of whether you’re on the PQ or FLP routes, the case study is the first essay-format exam. That means a new testing interface. The case study exam is extremely time-pressured. You don’t want to waste precious minutes trying to understand how the interface works – or lose time because you’ve made an avoidable mistake.

Save time and stress by getting familiar with the testing portal before your exam. Pearson VUE have a free online tutorial you can use to get comfortable with the system. So make sure to give it a try: https://home.pearsonvue.com/cima/questiontutorials #2 Make the leap from showing knowledge to applying knowledge

Whether you’re on the PQ or FLP route, you’ve already proved you understand what the theory is. Now, you need to show you can actually use it in a practical setting.

A common mistake that students make during their first case study exam is to name a theory or model, then explain what that model is. This costs precious time and by itself, doesn’t answer the question.

If you’re asked how to approach a problem and you think a model fits, don’t just explain what the model is. Show HOW IT FITS. Use the information from the pre-seen and scenario to show how the model can produce an answer. Then, use that answer in your recommendations.

Remember – the case study is about practical application. Always ask yourself how what you’re about to write helps the company with that scenario! #3 Allocate time before you get started

The single most common problem students have during the case study is managing time effectively.

Unlike the previous tips, this isn’t something that only applies to first-time students. Time management is a challenge in every case study exam, from first to last. Even SCS candidates struggle to write everything they want. The most basic part of time management is to understand what you’re tracking. It’s more than just knowing how long you have; identify how many points you want to make, and note how long to spend on each point.

Track your progress against the clock. If you’re writing faster than your plan, it might mean your points are underdeveloped. If you’re writing slower than your plan, it might mean you’re wandering off-topic, repeating yourself, or just not getting straight to the point.

There are video guides which give more specific details on allocating time, and I’ve linked one of my favourites below. Don’t worry if your plan looks more basic and less detailed than this – focus on getting something down!

Share this:

astrantiadmin

Leave a comment Cancel reply

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

0800 048 7804   |   [email protected]

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

CIMA Strategic Case Study

‘How to pass the case study’ mini-course

“The main reason people fail their CIMA case study exams is not lack of theoretical knowledge, not lack of pre-seen preparation – it’s poor exam technique. People just don’t know how to write answers in a way that scores marks, how to plan to focus what they say and how to manage their time across the exam to maximise marks in each section.” – Nick Best, Astranti CEO

The case studies are difficult to pass, with around 40-50% of people typically failing each sitting , and for most, it’s because they don’t fully understand what it takes to score highly in the exam.

They don’t know how to:

• Produce answers that meet the examiner’s needs
• Play the role assigned in the exam
• Plan effectively
• Manage their time to create balanced answers
• Write answers that score high marks

Having helped thousands of students pass the case study, Peter Stiff, Astranti’s case study expert, has pooled his years of experience teaching CIMA case studies and produced over 10 hours of video content to show you exactly what you need to pass your CIMA case study exam .

We’ve also written a comprehensive study guide for you to work through alongside the video series , so that you can cement your understanding and begin to apply it to your exam.

“Everything I needed was included and it helped me untangle what my priorities should be in revising, as well as teaching me the best exam techniques. Passed first time which I put down to the excellent course structure, materials, and very communicative and helpful staff.”

CIMA Case Study Student , January 2022

“I purchased the full course and it was brilliant; the preseen analysis was very useful, the exam technique was absolutely vital, and I was really grateful for the marked mocks and support from tutors (and other students on Yammer).”

CIMA Qualified , July 2022

Learn what it takes to pass

Understand what the examiner says you need to do to pass

Learn why people fail and how to avoid the same mistakes

Learn how to play your role in the exam to score highly

Perfect your exam technique

Learn the skills to master your time management

Develop your writing style to make clear focused points

Learn how to create effective answer plans

Maximise your marks

Review past students’ scripts and see how to improve yours

Learn what it really takes to pass from the examiner’s reports

See how to review your mocks to improve your answers

Take a look for yourself…

Part 1 – What does it take to pass the exam?

Part 1 - What's covered?

Chapter 1 – the keys to passing the SCS

What are the most important factors in passing the CIMA Strategic Case Study exam and what do you need to do to achieve that? Our first video answers these key questions as well as providing a general introduction to the exam.

Chapter 2 – the exam

In order to pass the exam you need to understand what it looks like! We review the nature of the exam and run you through what you will be faced with on exam day.

Chapter 3 – your role

CIMA provide you with a ‘role to play’ for your exam. What is that role and what does this mean for the way you answer the questions in the exam? The examiner has commented that people playing the role well score more marks, so this is critical to you passing.

Chapter 4 – how to analyse the pre-seen

The CIMA examiners regularly comment that people do not use the pre-seen information enough in their exam. We provide a step by step approach to analysing the pre-seen to get the most from it which is useful to those people who don’t use the Astranti Case Study analysis.

Chapter 5 – answering the question

The examiner’s most common criticism of student scripts is ‘not answering the question asked’. The problem is people not properly identifying the requirements – it’s harder than it sounds! This video shows you how to avoid this most common of errors.

Total video running time: over 3 hours

Part 2 – Exam planning and writing

Part 2 - What's covered?

Chapter 6 – why you must plan your answers

Planning is one of the keys to passing the CIMA Strategic Case Study, yet most people don’t plan. In this video, we outline why planning is so important and why it is key to passing.

Chapter 7 – the 9 stages of exam planning

Our 9 step planning approach ensures you create answers that meet all the key requirements the examiner requires from a script. Follow these steps as the first stage in producing an excellent answer.

Chapter 8 – planning practice

You will only excel at planning through practice. Having been shown how to plan, it’s now your turn!  We provide a question for you to plan, run through the solution and show you what an excellent plan for that question would look like.

Chapter 9 – writing approach

Using the right writing style makes a significant difference to the mark you score. So what is the style you should use that will enable you to score the most marks from the ideas you generate? This video demonstrates the style that markers say helps them give you the most marks.

Chapter 10 – writing practice

Can you produce a script like the good scripts you’ve just been shown? You will be given a question and will be shown how to evaluate that script to ensure you are writing your answer in a way that is scoring the most marks from the points made.

Additional content – lessons from student scripts

We examine a range of student Case Study scripts. You will see the good scripts, so you’ve got a clear idea what to produce in the exam, and the bad scripts, so you can learn what not to do!

Total video running time: over 4 hours

Part 3 – Scoring high marks on the pre-seen

Part 3 - What's covered?

Chapter 11 – how is the SCS marked?

By understanding how the Strategic Case Study exam is marked, you can tailor your answer to ensure you pick up all the key marks and miss out things that aren’t scoring well.

Chapter 12 – time management

The most important skill to master to pass this exam is time management. That’s not just us saying that it’s the top answer to the regular post exam poll we conduct of our students. Why is this so important and how do you master your own time management in the exam? This video will show you.

Chapter 13 – the optimum approach to preparing for the SCS exam

As you approach the exam what do you need to do to prepare in the best way? We will guide you through the steps you need to take to ensure you pass.

Chapter 14 – application to the SCS

Having the ability to apply your knowledge of the theory to the pre-seen scenario is crucial when preparing for the SCS exam. This section provides a series of templates and guides for you to do just this, linking in with some of the key theory and models from operational level.

Additional content – the examiner’s analysis of a real student script  

There’s nothing better than hearing what the CIMA examiner wants from your Case Study exam. Luckily the examiner has provided us with an analysis of a real exam script with her commentary on what’s good and how it can be improved. We analyse this script and her comments and pick out the key learning points so you can produce a script which meets her needs.

Additional content – the marking grid

Our marking grid is tailored to give you feedback on the key areas of exam technique required to pass the SCS exam. In this video, we review each of these key areas and show you how to use the feedback given from your marked mocks to improve.

Additional content – review of examiner post exam reports

At the end of each exam, the examiner provides guidance on the key strengths and weaknesses in that set of exams. By examining a range of reports over a number of years we learn what she is looking for from your script, what you need to do to score well and what traps you need to avoid. We also examine how her feedback has changed over the years so you understand her current thinking.

Total video running time: over 3 hours

What our students have to say…

Please see our  testimonials page  for our latest student reviews. Here are a couple of examples:

“I’ve just passed my SCS and couldn’t have done it without Astranti.

I purchased the full course and it was brilliant; the preseen analysis was very useful, the exam technique was absolutely vital, and I was really grateful for the marked mocks and support from tutors (and other students).

This was my first case study having completed the other levels many moons ago before they introduced case studies at every level. I’d self studied the Strategic OTs and scraped through but there’s no way I could have passed the case study on my own.”

“Fantastic course for the Operational Case Study CIMA exam. I normally study for my exams with textbooks, but as I didn’t know where to start with the first case study exam, I purchased the full Astranti OCS course, which was well worth it.

Everything I needed was included and it helped me untangle what my priorities should be in revising, as well as teaching me the best exam techniques.

Passed first time which I put down to the excellent course structure, materials, and very communicative and helpful staff.”

Passed CIMA OCS , January 2022

Purchase the ‘how to pass the case study’ mini-course

The ‘How To Pass The Case Study’ Mini-Course is also part of our SCS Premium and Essentials Courses. Head to the course page to find out more.

SCS ‘How To Pass The Case Study’ Mini-Course £165

To qualify for the pass guarantee you need to ensure you complete ALL of the following steps. Failure to complete all of these steps will mean you will not qualify.

View & Print:

1. Click the “View + Print” link to view the study text.

2.  Wait  for all of the pages to load , this can sometimes take a couple of minutes depending on the size of the document (scroll to the last page to ensure that every page loads).

3.  Click  on the print icon within the document viewer (NOT the print icon in the browser menu).

4.  Follow  the steps to print.

Other things to try:

Please try an alternative browser.   Google Chrome and Firefox are recommended, but other  browsers may also work.  Updating your browser to the latest version can help your document load more quickly.

If you are using Windows XP and a version of Internet Explorer older than 9, we cannot guarantee  that printing will be possible. We recommend obtaining access to a computer with at least Windows 7.

Updating to the latest  version of flash can help to resolve some people’s printing issues ( download the latest version of flash .)

If your document fails to load, try clearing your cache and browser history. If your documents still do not load it may be due to the network you are on. We suggest trying to print on a different network.

If you still cannot print your document we suggest using a different computer and/or printer in case you are experiencing a hardware issue.

This Content is Locked

To access this resource you will need to purchase it, or join our complete course. Visit our quick purchase page to get the resources you need.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Free ACCA & CIMA online courses from OpenTuition

Free Notes, Lectures, Tests and Forums for ACCA and CIMA exams

20% off ACCA & CIMA Books

OpenTuition recommends the new interactive BPP books for June 2024 exams, Get your discount code >>

Top tips for Operational Case Study examination

• Application is so important. Generic textbook answers do not score well. The secret here is assimilation of the technical knowledge with the context and details of the pre-seen scenario.
• Use the company name/ staff members/ key themes of the pre-seen -eg environmental or innovative plans to underpin your suggestions & make them relevant & applied.
• Make sure you know your pre-seen inside out… eg if the company does not offer credit sales at the moment, be careful not to suggest debt factoring as a way to ease cashflow!!
• CIMA examiner has asked that students assume life as normal for their case-study answers (Eg a life before COVID pandemic began)… Although, all relevant comments will be awarded if correct and in context, but you should avoid excessive references to COVID/ lockdown/ impact of health social distancing etc on the company.
• Students should be familiar with the CIMA Blueprint… particularly the I – CAN statements. 

https://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Future%20of%20Finance/1901-9263%20Operational%20Exam%20Blueprints%20FINAL%20ONLINE%20v4.pdf

The ‘I CAN pages from this link are pasted below..

These tell student the weightings and mix of the topics they can expect in EVERY OCS exam…

For example -from the ICAN table..– Section F ( working capital) will be between 7 and 13% of every op case study exam paper – so this table shows the importance of those topic areas – eg we know from this that working capital will be examined in EVERY OCS exam paper going forward (at least 7% of the marks) – so this topic is guaranteed…

Use your objective test knowledge ( 2019 syllabus) notes & Open Tuition lectures to revise – bearing in mind P1 is the LEAD paper for OCS, but F1 and E1 both important too,

When working through your P1/ F1/ E1 notes –try to keep a high level overview – rather than drilling down to the detailed calculations – instead be able to explain/ define/ know the pros and cons of techniques and whether they would be ‘useful’ for the pre-seen company in your scenario.

Graphs are common in the OCS – so be sure you can explain and interpret graphs ( linear programming for example).

Always write enough – ensure you expand/ explain & apply. Leave lots of white space – use subheadings to present your answers & help markers award marks that you deserve.

Avoid bullet points – unless you are out of time

Use the percentage weightings of each exam SUBTASK to guide how much time to spend on each part of your answer

Visit CIMA website & find detailed examiner reports & past exam questions to see errors and weaknesses made by students in recent sittings. Also a good way to see the types of questions to expect and level of detail CIMA are requiring in their answers.

Objective test resource

Operational exam blueprint 2021.

What is it? A comprehensive guide to the Operational Case Study for May, August, November 2021 and February 2022 exam windows. Why do I need it? To help you prepare for the OCS exam by understanding examinable topics, the assessment approach and exam weightings.