About CIMAPRA19-E02-1 Exam
Understanding the Purpose Behind the E2 Exam
The CIMA E2 Managing Performance exam sits at the midpoint of the CIMA qualification path and plays a key role in shaping how future professionals understand operational strategy execution. As business models shift quickly due to digital, environmental, and global pressures, companies are demanding finance professionals who go beyond spreadsheets. This paper targets individuals who can link strategic direction with actual team performance, structure, and project delivery.
The CIMA certification continues to carry weight in organizations that rely on strong internal financial control with a business-oriented mindset. The E2 paper focuses less on raw calculations and more on helping you think through organizational choices, structure configurations, and how projects support strategy. In short, it’s the managerial brain of the CIMA journey.
Candidates who reach this level are expected to already have a grasp of basic management accounting. E2 builds on that by placing more focus on leadership, performance, people dynamics, and the way systems interact in real workplaces. This makes the paper especially important in developing decision-making skills for mid-tier roles.
What Roles Can You Land After This Exam?
Once E2 is behind you and you’re progressing through the rest of the qualification, the professional landscape begins to shift. Even before full certification, the knowledge gained here opens doors to team leadership roles, business advisory functions, and finance-business partner jobs. These aren’t just titles they reflect growing expectations from companies hiring mid-tier professionals who can contribute to strategy execution.
Here’s a snapshot of what’s on the table in 2025:
Job Title |
Avg Salary (2025) |
Common Employers |
Management Accountant |
$68,000 |
Unilever, HSBC |
Business Analyst |
$72,000 |
Accenture, PwC |
Entry-Level Finance Manager |
$80,000 |
Deloitte, Shell |
Strategy Operations Associate |
$76,000 |
IBM, Amazon |
Internal Auditor |
$70,000 |
KPMG, GSK |
Pay bands may vary based on region, industry, and how far along you are in completing the full set of CIMA papers. Still, clearing E2 marks a real shift in the type of work you’re able to take on especially if you’re keen to lead teams or guide change initiatives.
Core Skills You Strengthen While Preparing
As you move through your study plan for E2, you’re building a set of practical, cross-functional skills that translate directly into your job. These include:
- Understanding how different business models deliver or block value
- Linking strategy, operations, and people into an aligned structure
- Evaluating financial and non-financial metrics in a performance setting
- Managing performance delivery across individuals and teams
- Identifying project risks, control weaknesses, and gaps in execution
What’s important here is that none of these skills operate in isolation. You begin to see the wider picture how changing a structure affects people, how missed KPIs indicate strategy drift, how project failure ties back to poor planning. That’s what the E2 paper wants you to grasp.
Knowing the Exam Structure Inside Out
The CIMA E2 exam follows a computer-based testing format and is typically taken in an approved test center or online under controlled conditions. Here’s how it’s structured:
- 60 objective questions
- 90-minute total exam time
- Multiple-choice and multiple-response items
- No partial credit on multi-response questions
- Immediate pass/fail result on completion
It’s important to use your time wisely. With only 90 minutes and 60 questions, you’ve got less than 1.5 minutes per question. This format rewards candidates who can read quickly, identify the key trigger in a scenario, and apply the right concept without second-guessing.
Domain Weightage
The syllabus is divided into three main areas, each contributing a specific percentage to your overall score.
Area Code |
Topic |
Weight |
A |
Business Models and Value Creation |
30% |
B |
Managing People Performance |
30% |
C |
Managing Projects to Deliver Strategy |
40% |
Each area has its own set of learning outcomes and model frameworks, so it’s important not to lean too heavily on one and neglect another. That’s a common mistake among candidates.
Understanding Each Key Area of the Syllabus
Business Models and Value Creation
In this domain, candidates must be able to understand and explain how organizations design, adapt, or abandon business models to remain competitive. It includes ideas like platform business models, cost-based models, and innovation cycles. You’ll need to interpret how value is created not just for shareholders but for a broader stakeholder base.
Managing People Performance
This area deals with how people contribute to organizational performance, and how managers can shape that contribution. It includes discussions on organizational culture, employee motivation, and performance evaluation systems. There’s a strong emphasis on managing team alignment, feedback mechanisms, and linking individual effort to strategic goals.
Managing Projects to Deliver Strategy
This is the most heavily weighted part of the exam, and it’s easy to see why. Most organizational strategy lives or dies in how it’s implemented through projects. This section covers project lifecycle, stakeholder analysis, governance, and risk control. You’ll also need to understand project failure patterns and what tools help reduce delivery risks.
Where Many Candidates Go Wrong
Plenty of candidates approach the E2 exam thinking they can scrape by with textbook summaries. Unfortunately, that’s one of the fastest ways to fail. The real challenge lies in how you apply frameworks like the value chain, McKinsey 7S, or performance measurement systems to case scenarios.
Here are some common pitfalls:
- Rushing through the syllabus and skipping weak areas
- Memorizing models without understanding how they’re applied
- Underestimating how often project-focused questions appear
- Misreading multi-response questions and missing key words
- Spending too long on tough questions without moving on
Smarter Ways to Prepare
To avoid the issues above, use a prep strategy that blends structure and flexibility:
- Break your syllabus into chunks by domain
- Use visuals and mind maps to connect concepts
- Focus on interpreting real-world examples, not definitions
- Review questions by exam topic, not random order
- Practice under timed conditions to get used to the format
It’s not about scoring 100%. It’s about understanding enough to recognize patterns and eliminate wrong choices confidently.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.