About the CMA Exam: Everything You Need to Know

The CMA exam is a big step towards a global credential of the utmost integrity. The CMA certification confirms that you have a mastery of the critical skills and knowledge in planning, analysis, control, and decision support - a highly sought-after skill set in the realm of accounting, finance, and business management.

The CMA is the gold standard in Management Accounting - meaning it is an advanced certification specifically designed to measure critical accounting and financial management skills.
It is also a very respected designation.

The skills are more practical - it turns out that nearly 80% of us end up in non-public accounting, so the knowledge learned from taking the CMA is especially helpful and desired.

You have more career options and flexibility.
According to the IMA's survey, 80% of CMAs feel that their certification allowed them to move freely across all areas of the business - accounting, executive leadership, operations, IT, and finance. 77% say that new career opportunities were opened to them because of their CMA certification.

The CMA exam and certification are worth the investment. As a CMA you earn more - approximately 55% more than non-certified professionals.

On average, CMAs all over the world earn $90,000 a year, and they reach 6-figures in the USA with $121,795 a year.

You may begin preparing for the CMA exam even before you are eligible to obtain your CMA certification.

College students may study for the CMA exam and even complete both exam parts before earning a bachelor's degree in order to have a competitive edge right out of the gate.

Professionals may also pursue the CMA designation before they meet the experience requirement to fast-track their careers.

Even if you are not yet qualified to get certified, a passing score on the CMA exam demonstrates that you have the skills and knowledge to distinguish you from your non-certified peers.

You have up to 7 years after passing the CMA exam to fulfill all the prerequisites to be officially certified.

Certification entrance fee for Professional members -
$250 (non-refundable)

Certification entrance fee for Student/Academic members -
$188 (non-refundable)

You must either have a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited university or college, or a professional certification.

CMA candidates may have various degrees such as accounting, finance, economics, and general business.

You can take the CMA exam before meeting this qualification.

Before taking the CMA exam, you must pay the nonrefundable entrance fee for your CMA certification program ($250 for Professional members, $188 for Student and Academic members).

Consider your ideal CMA exam dates before you register.

You must complete the CMA program and pass both parts of the CMA exam within 3 years of entry, otherwise you'll have to repay the entrance fee and retake any passed exams.

800-638-4427
(201)-573-900

You may register on the IMA online store,
or by calling 800-638-4427 or (201) 573-9000.

The exam fee is $415 for regular members, or $311 for students.

After registering and receiving your authorization from ICMA, schedule your testing appointment at a Prometric Testing Center near you by logging onto www.prometric.com/ICMA.

$50 CANCELLATION FEE
WITHIN 30 DAYS OF EXAM

SHOULD BE IN THE SAME EXAM WINDOW

The best way to reschedule your exam is by doing so 31 days or more in advance.

Should you need to reschedule your exam due to a more last minute scenario and it is 30 days or less until your exam, you will be charged a $50 fee.

You may not reschedule or cancel an appointment to a different exam window.

If you do not follow the cancellation policy and don't show up to your scheduled appointment, you'll have to re-register at full cost to schedule another appointment.
To reschedule or cancel your appointment, log onto www.prometric.com/ICMA.

How to study for the CMA exam is a question of choosing the right study materials and support. The CMA Exam Academy provides you with the ultimate CMA exam tool kit - everything you need to totally prepare for the exam:

What better way to know exactly what to expect on the exam, than by learning from someone who knows?

One-on-one coaching with a CMA like myself is incredibly helpful because it gives the opportunity to work  alongside someone who understands the exam experience, and can answer any questions you may have.

Keeping to a schedule and having someone to report to is a great way to stay on track. An accountability partner can motivate you to stay focused, and can be someone for you to lean on during those times you feel demotivated or want to procrastinate.

When you have an accountability partner you psychologically feel more inclined to do the work because you don't want to disappoint them. A definite must-have for those who suffer from a lack of self-motivation.

Using the right textbook is essential because this is where you are going to learn most of your material. You want to make sure your textbook is up to date with CMA exam changes, and that you can follow along with it easily.

In addition to textbooks, having access to an online test bank is critical. Test banks contain thousands of practice questions that give you insight into how the exam questions will be designed, and what sort of material you need to know.

Using test banks will also help you discover which subjects you are strong in and which ones are your weaknesses. This is especially helpful in helping you move forward with your studying, as you'll know which areas to focus more on.

Though textbooks are a must, many learn better using more interactive methods. Video and audio lectures deliver subject material to you in a different format, one that might suite your personal learning style better.

The advantage of video is that you can see on screen formulas and answers, which may help you retain material better.

Listening to the material is a great option for those of us on the go because you can pop in a set of earbuds and learn while you travel or even when you're doing household chores that require little effort, like laundry or the dishes.

Incredibly convenient and again, beneficial for those with an auditory learning.

The CMA exam has many key formulas and you need to know them all.

This is often one of the most challenging aspects of the exam, so having a formula guide you can refer to will be very helpful.

Having a support group that is going through the same experience as you can be very helpful during your CMA exam journey, which is why having a private study group is so great.

Study groups let you connect with other students and give you the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, bounce ideas off one another, and share study strategies.

I recommend a 16-week study plan as the optimal plan. Taking 16 weeks to study for each part of the exam (16 weeks for part one, and 16 weeks for part two) gives you ample time to learn everything you need to know for the CMA exam without dragging on so that you forget everything you learned at the beginning of your studies by the time the exam comes around.

I, for instance, spent around 6 months total studying for the exam, taking 3 months to study for each exam part. During the weekdays, I studied after work at Starbucks for 3-4 hours max each day, taking a 10-minute break each hour. On Saturdays, I studied at a Starbucks 3 hours in the morning, 4 hours in the afternoon, and 3 hours at night, taking a 10-minute break each hour. Sundays were my day to rest and spend time with family and friends.

To keep yourself on track when studying for the exam, you may find it extremely beneficial to plan out your study time:
Make study appointments. Mark you calendar with how long you plan to study each day, and stick to it!
Remember to also plan study breaks. It's important to make sure you spend some time relaxing so you don't get burnt out. Scheduling break time will ensure that you have enough time to rest and refresh without getting thrown off track.

The CMA exam is given on a computer and consists of two parts. Both parts may be taken in the same window, but I strongly recommend taking each part in separate windows to give yourself ample time to study and focus on each part individually. Each part is 4 hours and contains a 3-hour multiple-choice section, followed by a 1-hour essay section with 2 essay questions. Here's the breakdown:

4 hours, 100 multiple-choice questions, and two 30-minute essay scenarios

4 hours, 100 multiple-choice questions, and two 30-minute essay scenarios

If you answer at least 50% of the multiple-choice questions correctly, you will then advance to the essay section. If you answer less then 50% correctly, you automatically fail the exam part and will need to register at full cost to retake the exam part.

Once you have submitted your multiple-choice answers for scoring, you cannot go back. You may use the full remainder of your time to complete the essay portion of the exam, which means if you finish the multiple choice portion before the 3 hour limit, any leftover time will be added to your time allowed to complete the essay portion.

Each section of an exam part is graded separately and then added together for your total score. The total score will determine whether you pass or fail. A passing score is 360, and a perfect score is 500. Here's more about how the CMA exam score is calculated.

The multiple-choice section is worth 75% of your total score. This section is automatically graded upon submission by a computer algorithm. You will need to score at least 50% on this section to move onto the essay section.

Of the 100 multiple-choice questions, only 90 are scored, leaving out 10 unscored. The reason for this is the IMA pretests questions to access the reliability of each question before making them live scored items. If high scorers are not answering a question correctly, the IMA reevaluates the question to be sure it is a clear question with no alternate answer. If the question is incoherent, they may remove it from the question bank. This means you only need to answer 45 of the 100 correctly to score 50% on the multiple choice section.

The essay section is worth 25% of your total score. These essays are scored offline through a rigorous and thorough grading process. You will receive these results along with your total score approximately six weeks after the end of the month you took your test.

A great way to prepare for the multiple choice questions you'll come across on the exam is to take plenty of practice tests.

To tackle the CMA exam multiple choice questions, use these strategies:

If you finished before the 3 hours are up, you can either review your answers or move straight to the essay section. If you do the latter, you'll have more time to answer the essay questions.

The essay questions you will encounter on both parts of the CMA exam are there to determine your understanding of the concepts you've learned and your ability to apply them to a business scenario. Follow these pointers below to conquer the essays:

*After passing both CMA exam parts, you must fulfill your Continuing Professional Education requirement by completing 30 hours of CPE every year, with at least two of those hours in the area of ethics. Be sure to keep all CPE certificates for at least two years since reported CPE hours are verified at random.

If you've failed the exam, don't be discouraged! 45% are in your same boat, feeling frustrated and dejected. But you can use this failure to your advantage to pass the exam the next time around with confidence if you follow these steps:

This is the most important step. Keep pushing through until you achieve your goal - it's worth it!

Click here and start your journey to passing your CMA exam the first time.