Anjana Emanjali Jayasundara makes her mark by completing CIMA before 20

The CIMA Professional Qua lification is the world’s leading and largest, professional qualification centred on management accountancy. Its unique blend of management accounting, financial accounting and business-focused subjects produces competent and confident CGMAs capable of leading their organisations towards sustainable success. The qualification has rightfully earned its place as the most relevant global finance qualification for a career in business. It gives its students and members the kickstart they need to soar to greater heights, on both a career and personal front. Passing CIMA exams is largely thought to be an indication to employers of a candidate possessing the necessary knowledge, competencies and skills of a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Anjana Emanjali Jayasundara is amongst a handful of high achievers who have managed to complete CIMA before the age of 20. After completing her O/Levels in the Commerce stream, she had to choose between completing her A/Levels or pursuing a professional qualification. Anjana chose CIMA as she believed in its ability to instill management skills and finance knowledge in her.

Elaborating on her secret to success, Anjana credits creating a study plan and sticking to it, for both the Objective Test Question subjects and the case study. She ensured she was comfortable with the syllabus content and sought to practice as many questions as possible. Elaborating on the key steps to passing CIMA successfully, Anjana shared, “Put in the hard work. There are no shortcuts. Before you start each section in the exam, plan the structure of the answer; introduction, content and conclusion. This is the method I used and it really helped me to keep track of time and complete all the questions.”

A common pitfall of particularly young students pursuing any professional qualification is time management. A notable characteristic of students who have passed successfully and with flying colours is the effort they have put into working on their efficiency, with particular attention given to improving their speed.

In spite of how daunting the many deadlines and exams may have initially seemed, successful students are those who work hard to understand and analyse every aspect of the syllabus content. Awareness of the basics combined with ambition to excel lead to them becoming CIMA Passed Finalists. Anjana’s story is a testament to a cando attitude, unwavering focus and meticulous attention to detail being the essential traits necessary for any student to reach the upper echelons of achievement.