tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75036853258822022802024-03-05T13:34:41.591-05:00Case MasterMy Notes, Templates and More on Case Writing Strategy for the CMA Case Exam, CMA SLP, and CMA Board Report/Presentation.Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-87483780608507839672014-08-14T21:46:00.000-04:002014-08-14T21:46:27.553-04:00August 2014 CMA Case Exam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For all of those who just wrote the August 2014 CMA case exam, please share your thoughts and comments below. Best of luck to all! </div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com110tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-22060275323042912152014-07-26T22:05:00.000-04:002014-07-28T16:59:34.190-04:00Excel File for the NPV Template - Now Available<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jqzhXcfnemf2QrYHEVVs8B15BSOtkLqABUxVRvEfSwQ2L2pw9E-y4R4ajnQlHowmTwmxApL-8RT3x-8JgQQkrbqwpvsE-Bf_6SLMMuGRhOFrdGoXCNyLJr78Csh5EL6QXMLs3X0Pw_up/s1600/NPV+Template.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jqzhXcfnemf2QrYHEVVs8B15BSOtkLqABUxVRvEfSwQ2L2pw9E-y4R4ajnQlHowmTwmxApL-8RT3x-8JgQQkrbqwpvsE-Bf_6SLMMuGRhOFrdGoXCNyLJr78Csh5EL6QXMLs3X0Pw_up/s320/NPV+Template.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The excel file for the NPV Template is available for download for $4.99. It is an Excel 2007 file (.xlsx). The file will be emailed within 24 hours of receipt of payment, to the email address identified (please remember to include your email address in the message). <br /><br />To purchase the excel file, please send an Email Money Transfer or an Amazon.ca e-gift card for $4.99 to the following email address: </span><a href="mailto:cmacasemaster@gmail.com"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">cmacasemaster@gmail.com</span></a><br />
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-55723592125643819862014-05-08T09:56:00.000-04:002014-07-12T22:51:26.679-04:002014 CMA Case Exam <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To everyone who just wrote the May CMA Case Exam, how did you find it? Please share feedback, your thoughts, what you felt was most/least challenging, what you wished you spent more time reviewing before the exam, etc. so that future candidates can get a sense of what to expect.<br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">GOOD LUCK!!</span> </div>
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com216tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-69602603723409728282014-05-05T14:17:00.001-04:002014-05-05T14:17:27.045-04:00Please provide your email<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I received an amazon.ca e-gift card for 4.99 today from someone named jimmy and the email only contained the below message, if this is you, please send me your email address as well. Also, I am not a 'man' :)<br />
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Message in the amazon gift card email:<br />
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"<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: -webkit-auto;">Hey man</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Please send me your case information package</div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Thanks!</div>
</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jimmy"</div>
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-45161323807499078582014-04-16T08:00:00.000-04:002014-04-16T08:08:06.533-04:00CMA Case Exam Pass Rate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">The CMA Case Exam is almost here and I know that some students are letting their nerves get the best of them. I want to share the cma case exam pass rate that my group experienced to help ease your mind a bit:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I wrote the CMA Case Exam in May 2009 and in our group of about 23 students, 17 passed on the first attempt. The remainder of the students passed on their second attempt (they re-wrote in August). Once we started year 2 of the SLP, our entire group was still there. So our group's pass rate after the August re-write was 100%. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Good Luck - you will be in convocation in no time! </span></div>
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-89974190453572306602014-03-30T16:35:00.005-04:002014-03-30T16:35:50.336-04:00Please send me your email... <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Someone whose name begins with 'J' sent an amazon.ca gift card today but did not iclude their email address.... Please email me so that I can send you the template.<br />
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Thanks,<br />
CM</div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-72335546057786613622014-03-19T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-19T08:05:09.140-04:00CMA Board Report Presentation - Slides<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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During the CMA Board Report Presentation there are so many variables (you cannot control what your team members will say and how they will say it, you cannot predict the type of questions that will be asked nor can you anticipate the type of board panel personalities and their likes and dislikes, and you never know just how nervous you will get). But, you CAN control one thing, and it is the power point presentation that you prepare for the CMA Board Report Presentation. You have a lot of time to work on it so it better be perfect.<br />
Unless the rules changed from when I presented, we had to give copies of our entire presentation to the whole Board Panel and this ensured that they will not forget or miss anything in it that they liked or disliked. I believe that the slides are VERY important to your final mark in the presentation and to the overall impression that you make on the panel so do not rush through it and make sure that the slides are as good as you can get them. There is no excuse for errors because you have a lot of time to prepare and perfect them. Below are the principles that we applied to putting our slides together for our CMA Board Report Presentation.<br />
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<b>Some Notes on Slides:</b><br />
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Slides are not a transcript for what you are going to say, rather they should be a visual representation/point form summary of what you are going to say during the time the slide will be up. You do not want the audience to be busy reading your slides while you are talking. You want them to glance at the slide, and get an idea of what you are about to discuss. </div>
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<b>Do: </b></div>
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<li>Use <b>visual components</b> such as images, graphs, charts, colours, directional arrows, etc. to draw the viewers and keep their attention and interest. Be creative but also professional. </li>
<li>Make sure the images add impact/value and that the image message corresponds to the slide content. </li>
<li>Make sure that the font is big enough to see across the room. </li>
<li>Include the group logo/name on each slide as well as the name of the person presenting</li>
<li>Keep a consistent style theme among slides, as well as the same title fonts, sizes and colors. </li>
<li>Include a cover page - on the cover include such things as the group logo/name, the company name and date of the presentation. </li>
<li>Apply an engaging yet professional
background in line with the overall style theme. If relevant and
possible try to relate the theme and style to the case if possible (for
example, a case on lawns and gardens can have a green color theme). </li>
<li>Include a slide with the company's
mission/vision - especially when the case does not have a stated
mission/vision but rather an implied one. This should be among the first
few slides. </li>
<li>Include a slide that discusses the
current situation and what you
will be helping the company achieve. </li>
<li>Include an agenda of what you will
discuss, in what order and who on your team will discuss each of these.
One thing our moderators liked was to have the name of the speaker in
the corner of each slide that he/she was presenting so that the audience
always knew who is speaking. </li>
<li>Include the
summary /key numbers only for financials (a chart/graph or other visual representation of the financials would be good), not the entire NPV calculations or pro-forma. See note on back up slides - that is where the details will
be.</li>
<li>Remember that the key to the presentation is to convince the board that your recommendations will help the company achieve their goal </li>
<li>Keep the bullet points short - you will provide the details when you speak </li>
<li>Prepare back up slides with the details
to <i>everything</i> in your report in case it comes up in the Q&A so that you can show the details. That way when the question comes up about say
'what were your assumptiosn when calculating NPV' you can flip to one of
your back-up slides and show it to the audience. I will do a post specifically on this sometime soon because our moderators showed us a very effective way of setting up the back up slides to make them easier to navigate, especially since we had almost 100 back-up slides. </li>
<li>Have a slide at the end of your presentation with something like 'Q&A' on it so that you can keep this slide on during the Q&A portion. </li>
<li>Focus your presentation on the alternatives that you are recommending while briefly touching on those that you are not recommending and why.</li>
<li>Use a visual way to show the action plan instead of providing slide after slide with names and what they should do. A visual task and time lines chart will show the overall action plan for the company and give a sense of the time lines and resource commitments. </li>
<li>Check the spelling and grammar</li>
<li>Ensure that you are referring to the company management properly (use Mr. Green or John Green instead of 'Green' or 'John' or 'CEO').</li>
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Do <b>Not</b>: <br />
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<li>Use smiley faces and cartoon characters (yes, I have seen some groups do that!) </li>
<li>Go over board on icons, images, photos or colors.</li>
<li>Show up with a slide presentation consisting of regular black font on white background bullet points, page after page.</li>
<li>Use the slides as a transcript of your speech</li>
<li>Do not over crowd the slides </li>
<li>Spend more than 90 seconds per slide</li>
<li>Include every single detail from your report in the slides </li>
<li>Include entire financials in the slides</li>
<li>Spend a lot of slide space discussing the pros of alternatives that you are not recommending. </li>
<li>Use negative terms when talking about the company (instead of saying 'operational issues' which suggest the company has 'issues', you may prefer to say 'operational recommendations' - this is a more positive way to present the same information)</li>
<li>Spend too much time discussing the pros of alternatives that you are not recommending. </li>
<li>Use slang or Internet jargon </li>
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<b>Remember, the key is 'engaging yet professional'</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</span></a></div>
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-1242211452899853662014-02-28T14:27:00.002-05:002014-02-28T14:27:46.437-05:00Please send me your email...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
To the person who send me an amazon e-card payment yesterday (initials G.B.), you did not include your email address and I have no idea where to send the template to. Please comment or email me with your info.<br /><br />Thanks, CM</div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-11693461754683588072014-01-20T16:25:00.000-05:002014-01-20T16:25:02.578-05:00Free NPV Template for the next two people to comment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next two people to comment on the <a href="http://cmacasemaster.blogspot.ca/2013/09/excel-file-for-npv-template-now.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #993200;">'Excel File for the NPV Template'</span></a> post will get the NPV Template Excel file for free (two students have pre paid for a template).<br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CM</span></div>
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-16690228016418371922013-09-13T13:08:00.000-04:002013-09-13T15:24:55.451-04:00Group Dynamics In CMA SLP Year 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was the biggest change (and challenge!) as compared to Year 1. In year two of the CMA SLP all the case reports were now group work. Depending on your personality, you may view this as a positive or a negative. For me this components was the biggest challenge. On one hand it was great to be able to bounce ideas among the team members and often if one person did not know something, another did. However sometimes two or more people thought they were right, but each person had a different answer - that is where we often spent a lot of time debating on which approach to go with and often had to resolve to a vote.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our team had 6 people and I am happy with our team as we didn't have any trouble makers or 'difficult' people, and everyone genuinely cared and put effort in towards the report, but we still had our share of issues.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The moderators broke us into groups supposedly based on a personality test that we did earlier, but also taking into account our residence to make it easier to meet up. I think they did well overall as they tried to avoid having more than one Type A personality per group. I am a major Type A personality and luckily no one else in the group was too. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We quickly settled into our roles that emerged based on our individual skills. In the beginning we tried to split everything evenly so say everyone gets an alternative to calculate, but the reality is that some people are better at quants and others may be better at research and writing or at presentations and creating visuals for power point slides so we ended up embracing this eventually and things started moving much more smoothly when we did so. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We did hit a few road blocks when a member would insist on including something that others didn't feel belonged in the report (we were limited by pages for appendixes and by number of words for the body of the report), but resorting to a vote usually made these decisions seem less personal. We voted on things often. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every weekend our team would meet and we would review what each person did and then work on putting it together in a cohesive way (we found that we had to choose a team member that will be the 'voice' of the report, otherwise if you just copy and paste the work of 6 people it did not sound cohesive and professional. We wanted the report to flow smoothly and not feel like the voice/writing style was constantly changing). To make it sound cohesive one person would be sitting with a laptop and typing the information that the group would come up with (i.e. everyone had the case in front of them and would read it together and identify the pros/cons, etc. and the person at the computer would include it in the report in their 'writing style'). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We also had a 'plan' that we came up with ahead of time, charting what we wanted to achieve each weekend and if we would fall behind, we would push harder the next weekend of meet an extra time. The plan was for several months ahead and ensured that we had adequate time to finish the project without pulling all-nighters like some teams ended up doing. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will caution you that in our team, some members spent more time working on the report then others, but I think this is inevitable. Some members are stronger than others and even though it is 'not fair' that everyone will get the same mark at the end, you still want the person who is the best at something to be the one to do it (so if someone is good at quants, even though they may not like it, I think it is best for them to be the main quants person). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think this report should not be approached from a 'how can we do it fairly' perspective, but rather from a 'how can we do it well' perspective. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During the weekend CMA sessions you will be given an anonymous sheet to mark your team mates. I really recommend that you just give everyone good feedback and a good mark. I know it sounds weird, and you may think 'but isn't this my chance to let them know that they are not pulling in their weight and need to step it up'. If you choose to do this, it is up to you. But speaking from experience, in our team for the first evaluation someone did give out 'honest' feedback and it ended up costing the team as a whole because I guess it conveyed that our team wasn't really 'working though our issues/ working effectively' so our team mark was less than impressive for that weekend session. For all next evaluations we decided to just give everyone AEs and write positive feedback and since then our team mark was great. I recommend that you deal with any issues internally in your team. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think the most challenging aspect of the group dynamic is during presentations because your performance depends on others and you don’t have a chance to 'proof read', review, adjust or vote on what others will say before it gets assessed (like you do with the written report). People get nervous and make mistakes. Teammates will fumble their slides and presentation, they will mess up Q&As, they will say the wrong thing and they will project the wrong body language at times during the presentation. This will happen and your mark will be affected by it and you better make peace with it sooner than later, it hurts but it is true. You will make mistakes too at some point and they will have to come to terms with it as well.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One thing to remember is that the group passes or fails together, so if you are having a problem with a team member I highly recommend you resolving it internally. You may have a team member that is not pulling in their weight as much as others and from what I have heard it is best to just deal with it because making a big deal and having the moderators deal with this may result in a negative impact on the whole group (if you have a member that’s MIA that may be a different issue, but if its a member that’s slacking off here and there, I would just have the rest of the group deal with it rather than bring CMA into the mix).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You will get to know the people in your team very well so make the best of it, try to laugh through it all because you will see them more than your family some weeks so try to make it pleasant (we would often bring snacks, joke around, and made sure to get to know each other). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: </span><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</span></a></div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-73378045028874072902013-07-16T21:55:00.002-04:002013-07-16T21:55:25.610-04:00Case Master is now on Facebook!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have created a page on Facebook where you can post, comment and discuss anything relating to CMA -- Case Exams, SLP, Board Report, etc. The more CMA candidates we have on there the better the discussions and support will be.<br /><br />My goal is to create a unified place for CMA candidates to be able to reach one another to ask questions and discuss various topics. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please like the Case Master facebook page and pass along to your friends and classmates: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Case-Master/208693852498141">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Case-Master/208693852498141</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>It will be fairly quiet for a bit on there as we slowly build it up and get more and more students so bare with me! </i></span></div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-15260216098498416132013-07-14T23:40:00.000-04:002013-07-14T23:57:14.693-04:00CMA Approved Calculators - now on discount<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">FYI - Amazon.ca has some great discounts now on various Financial Calculators:</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=cmcama0a-20&o=15&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B00000JZKB" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=cmcama0a-20&o=15&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B0001EMLZW" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=cmcama0a-20&o=15&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B00005ATSO" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=cmcama0a-20&o=15&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B000IHTEES" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Personally I have always preferred and used the Texas Instruments BA-II Plus. I still use it to this day and have used it at work as well.<br /><br />You can check out all of amazon.ca's financial calculators by clicking <a href="http://astore.amazon.ca/cmcama0a-20" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;">cmacasemaster.blogspot.ca is a participant in the Amazon.com.ca, Inc. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.ca.</span></div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-27700108663152718782013-06-23T15:14:00.001-04:002013-08-12T22:06:27.013-04:00May 2013 CMA Case Exam Results <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>July 9th Note: </b>Now that marks are out and people are curious about pass rates, I added a poll on the right hand side to see how many have passed the exam (sort of my own informal pass rate for case master visitors). Please take a second to check off whether you have passed or not. Thank you! </i><br /><br /><br /><br />To those that are awaiting the May 2013 CMA Case Exam results, I heard that this time results will likely be released about 8 weeks post exam rather than after 6 weeks as some may be expecting. <br /><br />It is now the 8th week so results should be in any day now - good luck and let me know how you did!! </span></div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com165tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-44498793167521392732013-04-16T15:44:00.000-04:002013-06-30T14:43:30.193-04:00Post By a Guest Blogger - Experience In The CMA SLP Program (Year 1, Module 2 - Toronto Group)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In February I posted on this blog looking for current CMA students to share their current and recent experiences in the CMA program. Below is a post that was written by a Guest Blogger who is currently in Year 1 of the SLP, in a Toronto Group. I hope everyone finds this helpful! </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana;"><em>Many thanks to the writer of this post who took the time to write an honest and personal take on their experience so far in the program!</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I wanted to share my experience being in the SLP program. I
am in the middle of Year 1,Module 2 in a Toronto group. The ride so far has
been a constant mix of highs and lows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beware - every concept you ignore or gloss over comes back
to (bite you in the butt) HAUNT you! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would enjoy this experience so much more if I weren’t
weighed down by responsibilities (other than a busy job) – but hey, that’s
life! Time management is critical and a personal commitment is essential. I put
in a lot of time in each of my assignments in Module 1, but didn’t keep up the
effort in Module 2. The results are evidence of my effort in most cases. I have
run the gamut of assessment feedback – from receiving an AE to a BE. What can I
say – I don’t think the program is hard, it is a lot of work though, and you
need to keep up. It challenges you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My struggles are uninspiring – in a nutshell, they are time
management, motivation, and assignments!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Motivation – its up one moment, down the next. Sometimes all
I can do is put one foot in front of the other; just keeping up with
assignments and readings seems to be a monumental effort. I do envy all those
who seem to have it all together – assignments done well ahead of time (with an
excellent mark to boot!). I don’t know if I am the average Joe here, or
exceptionally behind the class curve!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time Management – I still have to find my groove in terms of
finding a pattern that works to constantly keep up with all the studying. Some
assignments take longer than others. I found required assignment readings very
valuable, and applying them to my organization challenged me to think hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Assignments - every assignment I went through seemed to
follow a typical pattern – it seems a breeze at first read. I then start going
through the readings, and now my head is filled with all this added information
- I see assignment questions in a new light. The clock is ticking away, and I
better start the actual task of writing the assignment. This stage is the
biggest stumbling block, and takes me the most amount of time. I proceed with
what seems to be the most logical answer, but inevitably have to rethink my
position as I work through supporting arguments. Most times, another position
seems better, and I repeat the cycle of re-presenting my answer. By the time
this has happened 3-4 times I am thoroughly confused. In some cases, there is
no more time and I submit what I think is the best answer – but really, I am
far from convinced. At other times, I persist for many more hours, and low and
behold, I begin to see light at the end of the tunnel – the confusion starts melting
away, and now there is renewed energy in re-doing my work, one more time. Arguments
flow seamlessly, everything just comes together. How can I explain the high?
Even as I submit my work, I know I have done excellent work. The satisfaction
is tremendous, and I feel I am on the right track with my CMA program. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I struggled the most (and still do) with case writing. I
feel inundated with so much information - where do I begin, how do I make sense
of it all, which calculations should I use (doesn’t seem intuitive to me at
all), how do I tie it all together, and most importantly, how do I stop second
guessing myself? In this case, there seems to be no end to the self inflicted
torture of trying to make sense of all my jumbled thoughts and calculations. Further,
time spent on case assignments is not proportional to the assessment received.
I got an ME- in case work assignments, but I don’t know that I really
understand what it would take to improve my work. I wish I could see someone
else’s work that merited an AE. At the interactive session, when moderators
debriefed cases in a class discussion, analysis seemed so easy and the logic flowed
so well. I kept wondering why it had all seemed so difficult and overwhelming
when I attempted cases on my own. I also felt like a first class idiot to have
allowed the case assignments to literally take over my life, and stress me out
so much!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I guess the struggle will continue for the foreseeable
future. Friends assure me that my confusion is all too common, and it will
pass, that the moderators are supportive and through interactive sessions and
future assignments, eventually, I would be able to do a case in 4 hours. I am
quite skeptical at this point. It just seems clear to me that I need to put in
so much more time, effort and practice until I can master<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the skills to attempt case analysis
successfully!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Overall, the first few months of my SLP program feel like a
roller coaster. I have alternated between thoughts of giving up this ambition
of earning my designation and a recognition, that slowly, but surely, I am
evolving - developing the critical thinking and case analysis skill sets I need
to be successful in this profession, and with each passing day, assignment by
assignment, I am getting that much closer to getting my designation and making
this journey worthwhile!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-31658588277257341732013-02-22T08:04:00.000-05:002013-06-30T14:45:59.765-04:00Want To Share Your CMA Experience?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since it has been a few years since I have been through the CMA program myself, I am looking for current or recent CMA students (at any stage of the process) who may be interested in writing a post about their experience in the program. Students often wonder about what is it like to go through the various stages of the CMA program and I would love to post first hand experiences from current or recent students so that others can read and get an idea of what to expect or to compare their own experiences!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you are interested, please let me know by contacting me at cmacasemaster (@) gmail.com</span></div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-91558484215709923332013-01-31T14:44:00.000-05:002013-01-31T14:46:21.935-05:00Two Job Opportunities - Assistant Controller and SFA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are two job opportunities (Assistant Controller and SFA) that I have been made aware of through one of my executive recruiter contacts. If you are interested in applying and think you will be a good fit, please email me (cmacasemaster (at) gmail (dot) com) and I will refer you (in the email please include a short summary of your qualifications because I don't want to refer anyone who is unqualified). </span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is the job info that my contact has provided: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My client, a very well known, tier one, Foodservice company, is in need of an ASSISTANT CONTROLLER (also am in need of a sharp SFA, 75-85k).<br /><br />This is a KEY position within the finance department, responsible for meeting the monthly, quarterly and annual reporting requirements. You will also be managing the accounting functions of the Finance Team, monitoring cash flow, treasury transactions, monthly analysis and reporting of variances between actual and budgeted revenues, G&A and capital expenditures, overseeing day to day operations, account reconciliations, etc.<br /><br />You will also be coaching a highly motivated group. <br /><br />The Controller is a CA but has a strong FP&A background. So she is looking for someone who also has a strategic outlook, not just a number cruncher, and someone who will be able to business partner effectively with different teams and coach and mentor their staff.<br /><br />We ideally are in need of a CA or CMA, who has 5-8 years of related accounting and finance experience. A minimum of 3 years supervisory/managerial experience would be ideal as well.<br /><br />It is paying up to 95k, plus a 10% bonus.<br /><br />This is an urgent need and the company is a fast growing, extremely profitable and fast paced organization that offers room for advancement and great benefits!</span><br />
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-43966375820473411342012-11-10T13:45:00.000-05:002012-11-10T13:48:04.579-05:00Where To Hold SLP Year 2 Group Meetings?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2vRFRzHVRrjwSMXRC2juMwS1gw1XFN-3nc4udioDE7q7E1qNuPCGGIVSjvBtiiQ7ilSSSLdBmIiU5ajyIyCk8yPEg08ljuCSGT4COGLUpZw2hzVY978dDhjWD2YIhTkalipklmCtWX57/s1600/ID-10060207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2vRFRzHVRrjwSMXRC2juMwS1gw1XFN-3nc4udioDE7q7E1qNuPCGGIVSjvBtiiQ7ilSSSLdBmIiU5ajyIyCk8yPEg08ljuCSGT4COGLUpZw2hzVY978dDhjWD2YIhTkalipklmCtWX57/s320/ID-10060207.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">One issue our group in year 2 of the CMA SLP had was where to hold our group meetings. We met every single weekend, sometimes both Saturday and Sunday. We tried various locations and here are some of the pros and cons that we found on the various locations and what we eventually settled on:<br />
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<b>Coffee Shops</b></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We tried meeting at coffee shops but that was a fail. Even though there are many locations to choose from which was great, we had issues with no available plugs, small tables where we were not able to fit all of our laptops and notes, and sometimes not enough free tables at all. We gave up on this fast.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Reserving Public Library Rooms</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For a while we would meet at public libraries, where a member would book a room. It was a great set up. Large conference style table, a board where we could write things out, a lot of space for notes and laptops and many plugs. But the amount of time that we were able to reserve the rooms for was limited and we were not allowed to book a room back to back and often we would run out of time and have to leave even though we still had things to address so we had to look for another option. Another con was that since the room was in the Library (and it had poor sound insulation), we were often reminded to keep it down, which was hard when we were having (sometimes heated) debates about topics. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Meeting at a University</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Our CMA SLP used to take place at a University for a while, before moving to the downtown location. So one day we just went for a walk throughout the university building to look for some available free space and we found one. Universities sometimes have areas with some tables and chairs and plugs so students can study/spend time there between classes. This was working well but the con was that we had to pay for parking each time we were there and since we met a lot this added up quickly. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Meeting at Someone's Home</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We tried meeting in someone's home. This was a great option in that we had plenty of space, we were not limited in time, free parking, snacks available, etc. The con was that someone's family home would get taken over for hours and other family members may not be too happy about this. If you have a large home with a separate area where you can accommodate this without disrupting your spouse/kids/family then I think this is the best option. Group members would bring snacks to share and I think this helped foster a more friendly group environment - the last thing you want is to argue with a bunch of hungry and tired people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>Sura Nualpradid <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></span></span></div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-68021610595264207872012-08-19T14:46:00.000-04:002013-08-11T13:57:55.750-04:00How To Prepare For CMA SLP Year 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have received several emails as well as a forum question on how to prepare for Year 2 of the CMA Strategic Leadership Program (SLP). Looks like this is something that quite a few people are wondering about so I put together this post to share my view on how to prepare for Year 2 of the CMA SLP program: </span></div>
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I would be one of those to tell you 'enjoy your summer and when Year 2 of the CMA SLP program starts, you will review and refresh yourself on anything that you feel you may have forgotten and catch up on things you may not know'.</div>
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But if I were really set on reviewing things during the summer this is what I would do:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would review all the various case components (situational analysis, NPV, recommendations, action plan, situational analysis, SWOT, etc.) as well as quantitative methods like payback period, IRR, variances and general concepts like the value chain and balanced scorecard. I wouldn't study these in depth, rather I would just review these before the start of year 2 to make sure that I remember and understand what these are and how to approach them properly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would get myself comfortable with powerpoint (creating slides, visuals, graphs, links, etc.) for all the presentations that you will be doing in year </span></div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would also get comfortable with excel for all the quants you will be doing. The quants in year 2 are more detailed and lengthy and being comfortable with excel could help you streamline these quants. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would practice presenting and speaking in front of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a crowd as you will be doing a lot of that. </span></div>
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-59696389230897799642012-08-01T17:18:00.000-04:002013-06-30T15:03:56.736-04:00My Approach to Handling The Backgrounder<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When you receive your backgrounder you will have 48 hours to do whatever you want with it. 48 hours seems like a lot but it is not so I think it is important to have a strategy for how to approach the backgrounder and what to do with it so that you do not get overwhelmed and forget to do something important in preparation for the case exam.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">This was my approach to the backgrounder:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">Read the backgrounder</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Re-read the backgrounder</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Make note on the key individuals and get familiar with their names and roles</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Re-read backgrounder again and make notes/highlight key information</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Make sure I understand what the company does </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Read and re-read the SWOT to get familiar with all the points</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Tackle financials - crunch every single possible ratio that I can think of and make sure I know what each of the ratios mean as well as memorize the ratio formulas</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Review the resulting ratios and note anything that stands out </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Do a situational analysis for the backgrounder (SWOT - try to find additional points, stakeholder preferences, constraints, etc.)</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>Day 2</u></b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">Read the backgrounder and SWOT twice (the goal is to have all the backgrounder info so solidified and clear in your head so that you will reduce the number of times you may need to refer to the backgrounder copy during the case exam)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Review the situational analysis created on Day 1 and note if anything needs to be added or modified</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Review financials I crunched on Day 1 to make sure you did not make any errors</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Study the ratios and what they are indicating about the company - choose a handful of ratios that are the most relevant and/or are showing something that needs to be noted and perhaps addressed (ie. debt to equity ratio is trending up)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Review everything that I have done so far and study it as much as possible - by the end of this day the goal is for me to be VERY comfortable with everything in the backgrounder. </span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Share what your strategy on handling the backgrounder is so that other students can benefit and get good ideas. </i></span><br />
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-67014350651447517972012-07-04T13:00:00.005-04:002012-08-01T11:12:32.663-04:00May 2012 CMA Case Exam Marks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The May 2012 CMA Case Exam Marks are up! How did you do? </strong></span></div>
</div>Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-40218637528150063112012-06-20T11:10:00.001-04:002013-01-30T21:32:02.498-05:00Calculating Present Value, Future Value and Payment In Excel - Formulas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOctC1-MAWq9YEMYui8hyphenhyphen1-8pAl99U1epa01Pn7R1uaBWKMC_spJ4l3p7rtIOXxp4JeN1idJ9D-d2VAKD-7VQ4jVUqze5E-7DC9IfywW6rh1hCfIZMYQhZYoceHSfjfQ42rci-0alKlCJt/s1600/pv+fv+pmt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOctC1-MAWq9YEMYui8hyphenhyphen1-8pAl99U1epa01Pn7R1uaBWKMC_spJ4l3p7rtIOXxp4JeN1idJ9D-d2VAKD-7VQ4jVUqze5E-7DC9IfywW6rh1hCfIZMYQhZYoceHSfjfQ42rci-0alKlCJt/s1600/pv+fv+pmt.png" /></a></div>
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When writing the CMA Case Exam or the CMA Board Report you can (and should) use formulas to help you compute Present, Future and Payment values. After posting my NPV Template where I utilize these formulas, I have received some email questions about setting up these Time Value of Money formulas (present value, future value and payment) in excel. I put the above together so that you can see how I calculate these values in excel, using formulas. Let me know if you have any questions on the above. </div>
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<b>Notes:</b> </div>
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<li><b>rate</b> is the discount rate per period </li>
<li><b>nper</b> is the number of periods </li>
<li><b>PMT</b> is the payment per period </li>
<li><b>PV </b>is the present value </li>
<li><b>type</b> indicates whether it is a regular annuity or an annuity due (whether payment is due at the end of a period or at the beginning) </li>
<li><b>FV</b> is future value </li>
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If you have other questions on excel (pivot tables, formulas, formating, etc. post them in the comments and I will do a post on these).<br />
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CM</div>
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-29113862221472653932012-06-06T22:50:00.000-04:002013-08-11T14:36:14.015-04:00Switching Jobs Before You Become a CMA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In one of my previous job positions part of my responsibilities were to interview and hire staff for my finance team (in a large Canadian Organization). Through that experience I have learned a lot about the hiring process, what having a designation can mean, and how to leverage it. I wanted to share a few tips/notes that I have picked up through my experience so that it may help you in your job search<i> (I will be adding more job related posts from time to time if there is interest in them</i>):</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Applying for a new job while still a CMA student:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Some people do not apply to jobs requiring a CMA/CA/CGA designation because they are still students of these associations and have not yet attained the designation itself. In reality, I found that even though an employer may state that a designation is required, they may consider a strong candidate if they are not yet designated but are instead in the process of obtaining the designation. Do do not shy away from a role that you feel is a good fit for you, just because it asks for a designation. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">What to write in you resume:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Even if you have not yet obtained a designation, make sure to include in your resume (as a focal point!) that you are in the process of obtaining the designation. Include the estimated date of when you expect to become a CMA. I found this to be a strong statement about a candidate and even as a student, it may help you stand out and will speak a lot about your character and ambitions.
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">However, do not just simply write CMA if you have not yet obtained the designation. This is misleading and if I would have invited someone for an interview and they would then 'clarify' that they are still a student, it would be a deal breaker for me. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Interview</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In the interview they will likely ask you to describe examples for various scenarios/situations or to give example of when and how you have used certain concepts or tools. If they ask you to talk about your experience with a tool/concept that you have not used at work but came across in the CMA process, it can be helpful to draw on that and use that as your example (i.e. if you are asked about your experience analyzing large projects, you can discuss the NPV, cost benefit analysis, etc. that you do regularly for complex business cases as part of your CMA SLP) Real work experience and examples would be better but don't forget that the experience you gain through completing the designation is also valuable. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">How Much Money To Ask For</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This is the million dollar question. You will be a CMA soon and want to earn a salary as one, but you have to keep in mind that you are still a CMA student, not yet a CMA. In my experience it is important to research the appropriate range of salaries to avoid low balling or over shooting, both of which I found to be huge turn offs from candidates. If I saw a candidate low balling a salary, it made me wonder what was wrong with them. If they were asking for too much, I would think that they are either over qualified or just full of themselves. Either way, there would be no interview. Know your worth, and ask for an appropriate amount. Do not be scared to ask for what you are as long as you are realistic. Just because you obtained or are in the process of obtaining a CMA designation, it does not mean that you can now start applying for Management roles at top salaries - it is generally a combination of your experience with your education. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I hope you find this helpful. Let me know what questions you have and I will reply in the comments or write another post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">CM</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</span></a></div>
Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-75955669632244976732012-05-17T15:11:00.001-04:002012-06-18T17:59:29.356-04:00Notes on Non For Profits (NFP)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I was in the SLP program we were thrown a Non For Profit (NFP) practice case and it threw everyone off. We all thought 'Non for profit - I guess that means that its not about financial performance but rather about the qualitative aspects instead' - we thought wrong. We had a discussion with out moderators about doing a case on NFP vs a regular for profit (FP) company and it turns out that we should be approaching both in the same way essentially.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Should you calculate NPV, pro-forma, ratios, etc.? Yes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why? -- Because any company, whether for profit or not, needs money in order to continue operations. A non for profit will not be much use to the community if it has no funds to operate and has to close its doors. Also, a NFP needs money not only to maintain operations but also to expand and do more projects. That is why financials for a NFP are very important. Hence, you will still need to do a financial analysis and calculate NPV, pro-forma, etc. for a NFP company.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just like with FP companies, you will look at both quantitative as well as qualitative aspect to decide on which alternative should be pursued. One thing to remember is that part of a FP company's mandate is to maximize/increase profitability, however a NFP company would not likely have this as the mandate, however they still need to be profitable to keep operating and to expand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-25091490161649160072012-05-08T11:24:00.000-04:002014-07-12T22:36:50.718-04:00Good Luck and a Note on SLP Year 2 & The Board Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">With the exam coming up tomorrow I wanted to wish everyone Good Luck! I hope that sharing what I learned through my experience will help you pass the exam. Don't stress, just take a deep breath and do your best (and get plenty of sleep tonight!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Good Luck</b> to all the readers of this Blog!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>A quick note on <b>SLP Year 2</b> and the <b>Board Report</b>:</u></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I will be expanding this blog to include posts relating to year 2 of the SLP, the Board Report and the Presentation. I will share my personal experience and will include posts on what I learned throug</span><span style="font-size: small;">h this experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There will also be a section in the forum (already created) for discussing approaches/format/strategy/etc. for writing and presenting the board report as well as the group cases. (you should not discuss actual case details).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Bookmark or follow this blog so that you remember to check out the information for year 2 of the SLP once it is up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Thank you and Good Luck!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">CM</span></span></div>
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Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503685325882202280.post-68773459168896653582012-04-27T11:31:00.000-04:002012-06-18T18:04:36.467-04:00Horizontal vs Vertical Financial Analysis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">I was asked by a student to explain and give examples of the difference between horizontal and vertical financial analysis:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Horizontal Financial Analysis </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Looks at year over year trends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Examples:</u></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">Year over year sales growth</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Year over year trends (ie. debt to equity ratio, liquidity ratios, etc.)</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Vertical Financial Analysis </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Profitability analysis is an example of a vertical financial analysis - Contribution margin, profit margin and gross profit rates. Here we look at how a financial statement item relates to another within the same year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Examples:</u></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">Net income as a % of sales</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Gross Profit as a % of sales</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Expenses as a % of Net Income</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The two types of analysis go hand in hand as we often look at how a company's various components are performing in relation to key financial figures like sales or net income, but we also look at how this has been trending throughout the years to get a complete picture. </span></div>
</div>Case Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16267027529858385350noreply@blogger.com0