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CIMA F3 · Financial Strategy

Everything you need to pass CIMA F3.

Covers capital structure, cost of capital, M&A and business valuations, treasury management, and advanced financial risk management. £149 on its own, or all four Strategic subjects for £399, with lifetime access. F3 is on demand, so you book it when you are ready.

Buy F3 · £149See the Strategic Level Pass Pack
Modern tuition Real mock exams Feedback on every mock
  • 60 questions
  • 90 minutes
  • On demand book it when you are ready
  • £149 on its own, lifetime access

A word from your tutor

Ben Wilson, VIVA’s Financial Strategy specialist

Ben Wilson, VIVA tutor
Financial Strategy

F3 is financial strategy and the most technical of the three Strategic papers - valuation, funding and the decisions that hang off them. It is also the one the Strategic Case Study reaches for most often.

That is why we suggest taking it last of the three Objective Tests. The valuation and funding material stays fresh, and you walk into SCS with the hardest technical content still close to hand.

The practice here is unapologetically heavy. It needs to be.

Ben Wilson Financial Strategy tutor

The syllabus

What F3 covers.

F3 Financial Strategy covers how businesses raise finance, manage capital structure, value companies, and make strategic investment decisions. You'll learn to evaluate M&A, understand treasury management, and apply real options and advanced valuation techniques. It's the "CFO toolkit" subject.

  • Cost of capital: WACC, CAPM, APT
  • Capital structure: Modigliani-Miller and trade-off theory
  • Business valuations: DCF, P/E, EVA approaches
  • Mergers and acquisitions: rationale, process, due diligence
  • Treasury management and foreign exchange risk
  • Dividend policy and financial strategy decisions

The course, section by section

7 sections · 134 lessons · 18h 30m of video

  1. 01 Preparing for Objective Test exams 1 module5 lessons44m of video
    1. Objective Test Success 5 lessons 44m
      1. Introduction 2m
      2. Background of Objective Tests 10m
      3. Format of Objective Test exams 9m
      4. Exam preparation 9m
      5. Exam day approach 14m
  2. 02 F3 Subject overview 1 module5 lessons51m of video
    1. F3 Overview Videos 5 lessons 51m
      1. F3 overview - introduction 9m
      2. F3 overview - financial policy 7m
      3. F3 overview - long-term funds 11m
      4. F3 overview - financial risk 8m
      5. F3 overview - business valuations 16m
  3. 03 A. Financial policy decisions 2 modules15 lessons1h 56m of video
    1. Strategic objectives 9 lessons 57m
      1. Strategic objectives - introduction 4m
      2. Primary objectives of entities - part 1 5m
      3. Primary objectives of entities - part 2 7m
      4. Financial return calculations - part 1 11m
      5. Financial return calculations - part 2 5m
      6. Sensitivity to variables - part 1 4m
      7. Sensitivity to variables - part 2 10m
      8. Non-financial objectives - part 1 7m
      9. Non-financial objectives - part 2 4m
    2. Strategic financial policy decisions 6 lessons 59m
      1. Strategic financial policy decisions - introduction 6m
      2. Investment, financing and dividend decisions 9m
      3. International financial strategy 13m
      4. Impact of financial strategy on key ratios 11m
      5. External influences on financial strategy - part 1 10m
      6. External influences on financial strategy - part 2 10m
  4. 04 B. Sources of long-term funds 4 modules39 lessons5h 14m of video
    1. Long-term debt finance (*with 2026 updates) 14 lessons 1h 49m
      1. Debt finance - introduction 5m
      2. Short and medium term debt finance - part 1 6m
      3. Short and medium term debt finance - part 2 9m
      4. Short and medium term debt finance - part 3 6m
      5. Long-term debt finance - part 1 3m
      6. Long-term debt finance - part 2 10m
      7. Convertible debt calculations - part 1 4m
      8. Convertible debt calculations - part 2 14m
      9. Leasing - part 1 5m
      10. Leasing - part 2 11m
      11. Green finance (2026 syllabus) - part 1 8m
      12. Green finance (2026 syllabus) - part 2 10m
      13. Green finance (2026 syllabus) - part 3 9m
      14. Green finance (2026 syllabus) - part 4 9m
    2. Equity finance 11 lessons 1h 24m
      1. Equity finance - introduction 5m
      2. Types of shares and capital markets - part 1 8m
      3. Types of shares and capital markets - part 2 9m
      4. Issuing shares - part 1 9m
      5. Issuing shares - part 2 5m
      6. Rights issues - part 1 7m
      7. Rights issues - part 2 10m
      8. Cost of equity (Ke): dividend growth model - part 1 7m
      9. Cost of equity (Ke): dividend growth model - part 2 8m
      10. Cost of equity (Ke): CAPM - part 1 10m
      11. Cost of equity (Ke): CAPM - part 2 6m
    3. Dividend policy 6 lessons 47m
      1. Dividend policy - introduction 4m
      2. Influences on dividend policy - part 1 13m
      3. Influences on dividend policy - part 2 4m
      4. Dividend irrelevance theory 11m
      5. Alternatives to cash dividends - part 1 7m
      6. Alternatives to cash dividends - part 2 8m
    4. Capital structure 8 lessons 1h 14m
      1. Capital structure - introduction 5m
      2. Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) - part 1 10m
      3. Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) - part 2 12m
      4. Capital structure theories - part 1 8m
      5. Capital structure theories - part 2 9m
      6. MM capital structure calculations - part 1 11m
      7. MM capital structure calculations - part 2 6m
      8. Real world capital structure 13m
  5. 05 C. Financial risks 4 modules40 lessons5h 32m of video
    1. Financial risk 7 lessons 44m
      1. Financial risk - introduction 4m
      2. Types of financial risk - part 1 5m
      3. Types of financial risk - part 2 7m
      4. Types of financial risk - part 3 4m
      5. Quantifying financial risk - part 1 8m
      6. Quantifying financial risk - part 2 7m
      7. Quantifying financial risk - part 3 9m
    2. Currency risk - Exchange rates 8 lessons 1h 2m
      1. Currency risk - introduction 4m
      2. Currency terminology - part 1 10m
      3. Currency terminology - part 2 8m
      4. Factors affecting foreign exchange rates - part 1 9m
      5. Factors affecting foreign exchange rates - part 2 5m
      6. Fisher effect 9m
      7. Practical steps to manage foreign exchange risk - part 1 8m
      8. Practical steps to manage foreign exchange risk - part 2 9m
    3. Managing currency risk 14 lessons 2h 11m
      1. Managing currency risk (hedging) - introduction 7m
      2. Forward contracts - part 1 13m
      3. Forward contracts - part 2 5m
      4. Money market hedges - part 1 4m
      5. Money market hedges - part 2 11m
      6. Money market hedges - part 3 11m
      7. Futures contracts - part 1 6m
      8. Futures contracts - part 2 15m
      9. Currency options - part 1 8m
      10. Currency options - part 2 9m
      11. Exchange traded currency options - part 1 8m
      12. Exchange traded currency options - part 2 11m
      13. Currency swaps - part 1 13m
      14. Currency swaps - part 2 10m
    4. Managing interest rate risk 11 lessons 1h 35m
      1. Managing interest rate risk (hedging) - introduction 7m
      2. Forward rate agreements (FRAs) - part 1 7m
      3. Forward rate agreements (FRAs) - part 2 9m
      4. Interest rate futures (IFRs) - part 1 7m
      5. Interest rate futures (IFRs) - part 2 13m
      6. Exchange traded options - part 1 7m
      7. Exchange traded options - part 2 11m
      8. OTC interest rate options - part 1 7m
      9. OTC interest rate options - part 2 9m
      10. Interest rate swaps - part 1 4m
      11. Interest rate swaps - part 2 14m
  6. 06 D. Business valuation 4 modules30 lessons4h 13m of video
    1. Context of business valuations 6 lessons 57m
      1. Context of business valuations - introduction 4m
      2. Reasons for acquisitions - part 1 13m
      3. Reasons for acquisitions - part 2 12m
      4. Types of acquisition - part 1 9m
      5. Types of acquisition - part 2 7m
      6. Issues with acquisitions 12m
    2. Introduction to valuation methods 11 lessons 1h 25m
      1. Valuation methods - introduction 5m
      2. Efficient market hypothesis - part 1 8m
      3. Efficient market hypothesis - part 2 6m
      4. Asset based valuation 10m
      5. Intangible assets 12m
      6. Dividend valuation model - part 1 4m
      7. Dividend valuation model - part 2 5m
      8. Dividend valuation model - part 3 8m
      9. Dividend valuation model - part 4 3m
      10. Price earnings valuations 12m
      11. Cash flow valuations 12m
    3. Advanced valuation methods 5 lessons 47m
      1. Advanced valuations - introduction 4m
      2. Advanced cashflow valuations 13m
      3. Valuations using a proxy company - part 1 14m
      4. Valuations using a proxy company - part 2 6m
      5. Valuations using a proxy company - part 3 10m
    4. Pricing and post-transaction issues 8 lessons 1h 4m
      1. Pricing and post-transaction issues - introduction 5m
      2. Financing an offer - part 1 10m
      3. Financing an offer - part 2 7m
      4. Post-acquisition share values - part 1 9m
      5. Post-acquisition share values - part 2 6m
      6. Hostile takeovers - part 1 8m
      7. Hostile takeovers - part 2 6m
      8. Integrating a new business 13m
  7. 07 Mock exams 3 full mocks, then more on demand
    • Mock Mock 1 60 questions in 90 minutes, marked instantly
    • Mock Mock 2 60 questions in 90 minutes, marked instantly
    • Mock Mock 3 60 questions in 90 minutes, marked instantly
    • Mock More mocks on demand A new paper from the question bank whenever you want one, up to 5 a day

Modern tuition

Expert video, with a tutor in every lesson.

Built and taught by people who have lectured this material for years, with an AI Tutor sitting inside each lesson to answer the question you have right now.

  • Experts Former Kaplan and BPP lecturers and academics from major UK universities.
  • AI Tutor Ask a question inside the lesson and get an answer grounded in that lesson.
  • Pick up where you left off Your progress is saved lesson by lesson, so you always come back to the right place.

Real mock exams

Sit F3 before you sit F3.

Full timed mocks in the real format: 60 questions in 90 minutes, drawn from a large question bank, in an exam-style interface.

  • The real format Same question count, same clock, same kind of interface.
  • From a bank, not a booklet Three mocks to start, then a new one whenever you want it, each assembled from a large question bank rather than a fixed paper.
  • Timed The clock runs. Pacing is half the exam.

Feedback on every mock

Know which topics have landed.

A mock does not stop at a percentage. Every question comes back with an explanation, grouped by syllabus section, so you can see what to go back to.

  • Marked instantly No waiting, no tutor queue.
  • An explanation for every question Right or wrong, you see why.
  • Grouped by section So a weak section is obvious, not buried in a score.

The Strategic Level

F3 is one of the three Objective Tests on the CIMA Strategic Level, with E3 and P3. CIMA lets you sit them in any order, and the SCS once all three are passed.

See the full Strategic route →
  1. E3 Strategic Management
  2. P3 Risk Management
  3. F3 Financial Strategy You are here
  4. SCS Strategic Case Study

Personalised CIMA pack

Finish CIMA from £349 a level, with lifetime access as standard.

Tell us which CIMA subjects you have already passed, or are exempt from taking. We have pre-ticked everything CIMA requires before F3 - adjust it if that is not you.

Step 1 of 2

First, what have you already passed?

Tick what you've passed or been exempted from - we'll only show what's left.

Operational Level
Management Level
Strategic Level

Exempt from a whole level through your degree? Use Tick all on that level.

Questions

The things students ask before buying.

What does the F3 course include?

Expert-led video lessons across the whole syllabus with an AI Tutor in every lesson, and full timed mock exams online (60 questions, 90 minutes, drawn from a large question bank): 3 to start and a new one whenever you want it, each marked instantly with an explanation for every question. £149, lifetime access.

How is F3 examined?

60 objective test questions in 90 minutes. It is on demand, so you book it when you are ready rather than waiting for a window.

Do I need to pass F3 before the other Strategic Objective Tests?

No. CIMA lets the three Strategic Objective Tests be sat in any order. All three must be passed before the SCS.

What if I buy one subject and want more later?

You only ever pay the difference. Add subjects at any time and the price you already paid comes off the bigger pack, so you never pay twice for the same course.

How long do I have access?

Lifetime access, on every course. There is no subscription and no renewal - if you need to resit, or come back to the material years later, it is still there.

Ready for a clearer route to your F3 exam day?

Get through your exams.
Get on with your life.

Take F3 on its own, or add it to the subjects you have left.

Buy F3 · £149