Certified Management Accountant

Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is a professional certification credential in the management accounting and financial management fields. The certification signifies that the person possesses knowledge in the areas of financial planning, analysis, control, decision support, and professional ethics. There are many professional bodies globally that have management accounting professional qualifications. The main bodies that offer the CMA certification are the Institute of Management Accountants (USA) and the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (Australia).

Since Certified Management Accountants of Canada merged with CPA Canada in September 2015, only the IMA and ICMA offer CMA certification. However, the certification pathways for the two bodies, in terms of entry requirements, study syllabi and experience requirements, are very different.

The United States–based Institute of Management Accountants USA is one of the two global bodies that offers CMA certification. Candidates may prepare for the exams using self-study materials from IMA-approved publishers, such as Becker [1] , Gleim [2], and HOCK International CMA. IMA also has a list of approved CMA course providers, each of these providers meets strict criteria to be recognized as such [3].

USA-certified professionals work inside organizations of all sizes, industries, and types, including manufacturing and services, public and private enterprises, not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions, Government entities (USA), and multinational corporations worldwide. To obtain certification, candidates must pass a rigorous exam, meet an educational requirement, experience requirement, and demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning through continuing professional education (CPE).

Prior to 2010, the CMA exam was organized into four parts: Business Analysis, Management Accounting and Reporting, Strategic Management and Decision Analysis. Since 2010, the exam has been condensed into two four-hour parts, covering largely the same material as the former four part exam with added emphasis on financial planning, analysis, control, and decision support.

Each exam consists of descriptive questions and two 30-minute essay questions. Candidates are given 3 hours to complete the multiple choice section and one hour to complete the essays. Candidates must show their work for the essay questions in order to receive credit. Parts 1 and 2 of the CMA exam are scored on a scale of 0–500 with a candidate's raw score converted to a uniform scaled score against all exam candidates. On this scale, a score of 360 represents the minimum passing scaled score.

Part 1 – Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics.

Part 2 – Strategic Financial Management