CIMA MCS · May & Aug 2025
Trimayr past exam tasks: CIMA MCS May & Aug 2025
Trimayr (hair salons) was the Management Case Study pre-seen for May & Aug 2025. Here is every sub-task CIMA set on it, across 6 exam variants, summarised in our own words.
CIMA's post-exam materials for May & Aug 2025 (the real variants, suggested answers, marking guidance and examiner's report)
- Exam variants
- 6
- Sub-tasks
- 48
- Topics tested
- 16
- Industry
- Hair salons
Core activity mix
Sub-tasks across all variants, under the core activity CIMA's marking guidance gives each one.
- AEvaluate opportunities to add valueBlueprint weighting 15–25%11
- BImplement senior management decisionsBlueprint weighting 15–25%7
- CManage performance and costs to create sustainable valueBlueprint weighting 15–25%12
- DMeasure performanceBlueprint weighting 15–25%10
- EManage internal and external stakeholdersBlueprint weighting 15–25%8
Topics tested
- Responsibility centres and performance measures7
- Business risks5
- Accounting treatments3
- Business models and value3
- Disruptive technology and business intelligence3
- Financing and cost of capital3
- Leadership, teams and engagement3
- Pricing strategy3
- Projects and project teams3
- TQM, target and life-cycle costing3
- Groups, goodwill and joint ventures2
- Integrated and sustainability reporting2
- Interpreting financial performance2
- Investment appraisal and real options2
- Stakeholders, negotiation and conflict2
- Transfer pricing2
The tasks, variant by variant
Each candidate sat one variant. Every variant covers every core activity, but on different topics and new information.
- V1 · Task 1(a)Core activity A: Adding value
Whether salons should raise prices to recover higher apprentice wages.
- V1 · Task 1(b)Core activity E: Stakeholders
Whether raising new apprentices' pay on its own could cause conflict in salons.
- V1 · Task 2(a)Core activity B: Implementing decisions
Skills needed by the manager of a recruitment campaign project.
- V1 · Task 2(b)Core activity A: Adding value
Difficulties forecasting cash flows for the NPV of a recruitment campaign.
- V1 · Task 3(a)Core activity C: Performance and costs
Bringing TQM ideas into apprentice training and induction.
- V1 · Task 3(b)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Accounting for creating training materials and for apprentices' training time.
- V1 · Task 4(a)Core activity C: Performance and costs
Product, reputation and operational risks of an online induction course, with responses.
- V1 · Task 4(b)Core activity E: Stakeholders
Positive integrated report disclosures on intellectual, human and social capital for the course.
- V2 · Task 1(a)Core activity A: Adding value
How selling off salons affects defining value and capturing residual value in the business model.
- V2 · Task 1(b)Core activity C: Performance and costs
What it means that owned salons often improve once they are franchised.
- V2 · Task 2(a)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Approach to benchmarking the performance of divested salons.
- V2 · Task 2(b)Core activity A: Adding value
Challenges for new franchisees in setting profit-maximising prices.
- V2 · Task 3(a)Core activity E: Stakeholders
Issues likely to come up when negotiating the sale price of salons.
- V2 · Task 3(b)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Limitations of a ROCE calculation for negotiating salon sale prices.
- V2 · Task 4(a)Core activity C: Performance and costs
Reputation and contractual risks of selling salons as going concerns.
- V2 · Task 4(b)Core activity B: Implementing decisions
Debt characteristics that make repaying part of it from sale proceeds worthwhile.
- V3 · Task 1(a)Core activity C: Performance and costs
Leadership challenges for a new head of training, and the best leadership styles.
- V3 · Task 1(b)Core activity A: Adding value
Using the business intelligence system to set selection criteria for the new head.
- V3 · Task 2(a)Core activity A: Adding value
Implications of heavy use of volunteers for defining and creating value.
- V3 · Task 2(b)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Risks of too few volunteers and of contractual inadequacy.
- V3 · Task 3(a)Core activity B: Implementing decisions
Debt versus equity for the initial investment in a training academy.
- V3 · Task 3(b)Core activity C: Performance and costs
For and against running the academy as an investment centre.
- V3 · Task 4(a)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Two KPIs for the board to judge the academy's performance.
- V3 · Task 4(b)Core activity E: Stakeholders
Integrated report disclosures on the academy's intellectual, human and social capital.
- V4 · Task 1(a)Core activity C: Performance and costs
How an acquired overseas subsidiary should be set up as a responsibility centre.
- V4 · Task 1(b)Core activity E: Stakeholders
How acquiring a foreign subsidiary affects the group's reported performance.
- V4 · Task 2(a)Core activity A: Adding value
For and against seeing a new scanning product as a disruptive technology.
- V4 · Task 2(b)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Accounting for salons' charges to customers for the new scans.
- V4 · Task 3(a)Core activity C: Performance and costs
Difficulties applying target costing to design issues when setting a selling price.
- V4 · Task 3(b)Core activity B: Implementing decisions
Steps to set up a project team for the product design work.
- V4 · Task 4(a)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Reputation and contractual inadequacy risks arising from a contract extract.
- V4 · Task 4(b)Core activity E: Stakeholders
Whether a subsidiary should price intra-group sales in the home or the foreign currency.
- V5 · Task 1(a)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Three ratios for comparing salon performance, and whether to use monthly or annual figures.
- V5 · Task 1(b)Core activity A: Adding value
For and against letting individual salons set their own prices.
- V5 · Task 2(a)Core activity A: Adding value
Using the business intelligence system to make better use of online reviews.
- V5 · Task 2(b)Core activity C: Performance and costs
Challenges for franchisees in empowering and engaging staff to improve customer feedback.
- V5 · Task 3(a)Core activity B: Implementing decisions
Debt or equity to fund an investment in new company-owned salons.
- V5 · Task 3(b)Core activity C: Performance and costs
For and against running the new owned salons as an investment centre.
- V5 · Task 4(a)Core activity B: Implementing decisions
Ways to identify average performers among current salon staff.
- V5 · Task 4(b)Core activity E: Stakeholders
Three difficulties of using transfer pricing to move strong staff into the new salons.
- V6 · Task 1(a)Core activity A: Adding value
Difficulties forecasting cash flows for the NPV of an acquisition.
- V6 · Task 1(b)Core activity E: Stakeholders
Challenges in measuring and accounting for goodwill on an acquisition.
- V6 · Task 2(a)Core activity A: Adding value
How the acquired business could strengthen the business model.
- V6 · Task 2(b)Core activity C: Performance and costs
Monthly performance measures the board could ask of the acquired business.
- V6 · Task 3(a)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Reputation and contractual risks of advertising on the back of owning the acquired business.
- V6 · Task 3(b)Core activity B: Implementing decisions
Roles for different staff groups in a proposed project team.
- V6 · Task 4(a)Core activity D: Measuring performance
Whether event sponsorship costs can be capitalised as intangible assets.
- V6 · Task 4(b)Core activity C: Performance and costs
Challenges of a value analysis of the acquired business's costs.
Practise the same skills in Wuudbreak
Trimayr won't be set again, but the core activities will. Timed MCS tasks in the current pre-seen, marked in about a minute. Try one task free, no card needed.