Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy

Past Events

21 APRIL 2011
CMSS Exam Hints and Tips Workshop
NOTTINGHAM

Another day, another city and yet another free event brought to CIPFA Students courtesy of CMSS.

We were lucky to have not one but two current CIPFA Examiners, Martin Jones and Nicola Lambert who gave a presentation covering Exam Strategy, Revision Tools and tips for the Exam itself.

Nicola is the current Examiner for Leadership and Management. It proved to be a valuable question and answer session for students about to tackle the paper this coming June who took the opportunity of talking directly with the question setter, and gaining an insight into what will be required.

A special guest presenter, Chris Perfitt, gave an account of how he managed to pass Diploma in two exam sittings, emphasising the distinction between the different types of paper and recommending useful tips. If your neighbouring exam-takers are suddenly using calculators in an LM exam you know who to blame!

To round the day off nicely, a quick networking trip across the road to a local watering hole proved a success with several NHS employees.

Feel free to download the slides from here

 

18 APRIL 2011
CMSS Study skills workshop
BIRMINGHAM

The Birmingham study skills session was presented by the charismatic Graham Ball, who presented at a similar event for the last exam sitting, to great success.

The day was divided into three sessions. The first session covered the subject of "memory" and incorporated memory skills exercises that demonstrated the difference between remembering and recalling.

The second session covered specific exam tips, with suggestions on how to prepare effectively for CIPFA exams. This referred back to the previous session, with tips on the role of memory and how to utilise the knowledge gained in the morning to make the most effective use of time spent on revision.

The concluding session tackled the two Final Level papers, with Graham emphasising the importance of tackling these exams using a strategic, "top down" outlook. His vast experience as a Case Study examiner and manager provided significant insight into the requirements of the exam and how to sit it successfully.

Download the slides for the study skills and memory presentations by following the links, as well as the digit span exercise.

25 MARCH 2011
Student Development Day
COVENTRY

Students attending CMSS's recent development afternoon were rewarded with a strong and varied programme of events.

The more technical side was ably covered with a session on work-life balance from June Mulavu and Lisa Ritchie of Birmingham City Council followed by a session on the new IPDS guidelines from Helen Edmonds of the Audit Commission, one of the first batch of newly-qualified CIPFA accountants to go through this revised process.

The more discursive talks had a distinctly forward-looking agenda with James Dair giving students a taste for the kind of project work they might find themselves grappling with when they qualify - a far cry from copy-paste-copy-paste-pivot table. An insight into the efficiency savings gained by promoting agile working and through the rationalisation of their capital portfolio was followed by the news that Birmingham New Street Station is being redeveloped and will soon look like the spaceship from Flight of the Navigator.

To wrap up, Coventry City Council Chief Executive Martin Reeves not only gave a whistlestop tour of how he sees the current public sector landscape, but outlined his view of the vital position the finance function could play as things toughen up in future years. He also issued a challenge to all students as they qualify, asking if they were ready to step up and lead finance into this key role, shaping and transforming our public services, rather than being subsumed into the back-office, and acting as a mere support function.

With all that, it's no wonder we all needed a drink, so we beat a hasty retreat to a local hostel and engaged in some networking.

Networking