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CIMA P1 · Management Accounting

Everything you need to pass CIMA P1.

Covers cost accounting systems, budgeting and forecasting, variance analysis, and short-term decision-making techniques. £149 on its own, or all four Operational subjects for £349, with lifetime access. P1 is on demand, so you book it when you are ready.

Buy P1 · £149See the Operational 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

The syllabus

What P1 covers.

P1 Management Accounting focuses on cost analysis, budgeting, and short-term decision-making. You'll learn to calculate and interpret variances, build flexible budgets, and use marginal costing techniques to support business decisions. P1 is the core management accounting subject at the Operational Level.

  • Marginal and absorption costing
  • Activity-based costing
  • Budgeting and flexible budgets
  • Standard costing and variance analysis
  • Short-term decision-making (CVP, limiting factors)
  • Cost-volume-profit analysis

The course, section by section

7 sections · 104 lessons · 16h 25m 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 P1 Subject overview 1 module7 lessons1h 2m of video
    1. P1 Overview Videos 7 lessons 1h 2m
      1. P1 overview - introduction 3m
      2. P1 overview - cost accounting for decision and control - part 1 11m
      3. P1 overview - cost accounting for decision and control - part 2 13m
      4. P1 overview - budgeting and budgetary control 14m
      5. P1 overview - short-term commercial decision making 14m
      6. P1 overview - dealing with uncertainty in the short term 5m
      7. P1 overview - summary 2m
  3. 03 A. Cost accounting for decision and control 5 modules36 lessons5h 53m of video
    1. Costing (*with 2026 updates) 7 lessons 1h 37m
      1. Management v financial accounting 15m
      2. Costing definitions 12m
      3. Cost behaviour 9m
      4. Costing for different orgs and digital costing 12m
      5. CGMA cost transformation model 13m
      6. Cost of quality (2026 syllabus) 20m
      7. Environmental costing (2026 syllabus) 16m
    2. Full cost techniques 7 lessons 1h 10m
      1. Absorption costing overview 8m
      2. Overhead absorption rates 8m
      3. Over and under absorption 10m
      4. Advantages and disadvantages of absorption costing 9m
      5. ABC overview 11m
      6. Types of activities and drivers 14m
      7. Advantages and disadvantages of ABC 10m
    3. Marginal cost techniques 8 lessons 1h 20m
      1. Marginal costing overview 9m
      2. Advantages and disadvantages of marginal costing - part 1 9m
      3. Advantages and disadvantages of marginal costing - part 2 5m
      4. Pricing strategies - part 1 14m
      5. Pricing strategies - part 2 9m
      6. Theory of constraints 12m
      7. Throughput accounting - part 1 12m
      8. Throughput accounting - part 2 10m
    4. Standard costing and variance analysis 8 lessons 1h
      1. Standards - part 1 11m
      2. Standards - part 2 10m
      3. Material variances 7m
      4. Labour variances 6m
      5. Variable overhead variances 6m
      6. Fixed overhead variances 9m
      7. Sales variances 4m
      8. Operating statements and causes of variances 7m
    5. Further variance analysis 6 lessons 46m
      1. Sales mix and quantity variances - part 1 7m
      2. Sales mix and quantity variances - part 2 14m
      3. Reasons for sales variances 4m
      4. Advantages and disadvantages of sales variances 4m
      5. Planning and operational variances - part 1 10m
      6. Planning and operational variances - part 2 7m
  4. 04 B. Budgeting and budgetary control 3 modules26 lessons4h of video
    1. Rationale for budgets 10 lessons 1h 37m
      1. The purpose of budgets 11m
      2. Types of planning 6m
      3. Advantages and disadvantages of implementing budgets 10m
      4. Incremental budgets 10m
      5. Zero-based budgeting - part 1 12m
      6. Zero-based budgeting - part 2 10m
      7. Rolling budgets 12m
      8. Activity based budgeting 10m
      9. Beyond budgeting 13m
      10. Budgeting models example 3m
    2. Budgeting concepts (*with 2026 updates) 8 lessons 1h 5m
      1. Budget responsibility 2m
      2. Principal budget factor 3m
      3. High low method 5m
      4. Linear regression 8m
      5. Time series - part 1 9m
      6. Time series - part 2 12m
      7. Technologies for improving budgeting 11m
      8. AI in budgeting (2026 syllabus) 15m
    3. Budgetary control 8 lessons 1h 18m
      1. Flexible and flexed budgets - part 1 10m
      2. Flexible and flexed budgets - part 2 12m
      3. Responsibility accounting 8m
      4. Controllability principle 14m
      5. Feedback and feedforward control 7m
      6. Budgeting and behaviour - part 1 11m
      7. Budgeting and behaviour - part 2 7m
      8. Ethical implications of budgeting 9m
  5. 05 C. Short-term commercial decision making 3 modules23 lessons3h 29m of video
    1. Short-term decision making (*with 2026 updates) 8 lessons 1h 26m
      1. Relevant costs 10m
      2. Non-relevant costs 4m
      3. Cost treatments - part 1 15m
      4. Cost treatments - part 2 13m
      5. Relevant costing and accounting concepts 7m
      6. Decision making using relevant cost principles 14m
      7. Non-financial factors 11m
      8. Weighted benefit scoring (2026 syllabus) 12m
    2. Models for decision making 7 lessons 56m
      1. Single product breakeven - part 1 11m
      2. Single product breakeven - part 2 5m
      3. Multi product breakeven analysis - part 1 9m
      4. Multi product breakeven analysis - part 2 13m
      5. Limitations of breakeven analysis 3m
      6. Data visualisation 4m
      7. Decision making models 11m
    3. Limiting factor analysis 8 lessons 1h 7m
      1. Single limiting factors 14m
      2. Shadow price 3m
      3. Graphical linear programming - part 1 10m
      4. Graphical linear programming - part 2 6m
      5. Simultaneous equations - part 1 3m
      6. Simultaneous equations - part 2 11m
      7. Simultaneous equations - part 3 8m
      8. Assumptions and limitations of linear programming 12m
  6. 06 D. Risk and uncertainty in the short term 1 module7 lessons1h 17m of video
    1. Risk and uncertainty in decision making 7 lessons 1h 17m
      1. Risk and uncertainty 8m
      2. Expected values and standard deviation - part 1 16m
      3. Expected values and standard deviation - part 2 9m
      4. Dealing with uncertainty 14m
      5. Perfect information 8m
      6. Decision trees 11m
      7. Other techniques for dealing with uncertainty 11m
  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 P1 before you sit P1.

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 Operational Level

P1 is one of the three Objective Tests on the CIMA Operational Level, with E1 and F1. CIMA lets you sit them in any order, and the OCS once all three are passed.

See the full Operational route →
  1. E1 Managing Finance in a Digital World
  2. P1 Management Accounting You are here
  3. F1 Financial Reporting
  4. OCS Operational Case Study

Personalised CIMA pack

One price per CIMA level, from £349, with lifetime access as standard.

Tell us which CIMA subjects you have already passed, or are exempt from taking. The best option updates as you go.

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 P1 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 P1 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 P1 before the other Operational Objective Tests?

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

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 P1 exam day?

Get through your exams.
Get on with your life.

Take P1 on its own, or add it to the subjects you have left.

Buy P1 · £149