What Is a CMA Course? Your Ultimate Guide to CMA Review Courses

If you’re just delving into the fun and exciting world of finance and accounting, then you may be pretty new to the CMA certification.

What is the CMA? It’s a certification, with an exam you’ll need to take and pass, that will qualify you to become a Certified Management Accountant — a subspecialty of accounting associated with strategic and managerial roles.

More so, you may be wondering what a CMA course is since I talk about it so frequently.

It is my firm belief that there are no stupid questions, so if you’ve been asking yourself, “What is a CMA course?” then this post is for you. I will be diving into what it is, why you need it, and what makes one review course better than others.

Originally published in 2021, this article was updated and republished on February 4th, 2026.

What Is a CMA Course?

A CMA review course is a structured study program designed to help candidates prepare for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exam. It covers the key managerial accounting topics tested on the exam, including financial planning, performance analysis, and strategic decision-making. Most review courses include video lessons, textbooks, practice questions, and mock exams to help candidates build their knowledge and confidence and improve their chances of passing on their first attempt.

In order to earn your CMA certification, you must pass the CMA exams, fulfill two years of professional experience, and sign up for an IMA membership.

The CMA exam consists of two parts, which candidates can take during the allotted testing windows. There are three windows each year, and it’s up to the CMA candidate’s discretion when they sit for the exam.

Unfortunately, the global pass rates for the exam are pretty low. In fact, the average pass rate is around 50% for both Part One and Part Two.

While some candidates may find these statistics discouraging, I do not.

Why?

Because with the right kind of review course, I believe anyone can earn their CMA certification on the first try.

When it comes to choosing the right management accounting course, you have several options if you’re interested in comparing CMA courses. However, there are certain study materials and tools you should be looking for.

Here, I am going to break down what to look for in a high-quality CMA course so you get the most bang for your buck.

Benefits of Taking a CMA Review Course

A CMA course can make a big difference in your exam preparations.

Here are some of the key benefits that make CMA review courses a popular choice among candidates:

• Structured study approach: A review course covers the entire CMA syllabus in a logical, organized manner. This ensures you review every tested topic without unnecessary repetition or the risk of missing key concepts. It also removes the guesswork from planning your own study path.
• Expert guidance and support: CMA review course materials are typically developed by subject-matter experts who understand the exam requirements inside and out. Some courses, such as the CMA Exam Academy’s 16-Week Accelerator Program, also offer personalized coaching support, so you can get your questions answered directly.
• Easy-to-digest lessons in various formats: Complex concepts are broken down into smaller, focused lessons, making them easier to understand and retain. Many courses also include textbooks, audio lessons, and video lectures, giving you flexibility in how you study.
• Better time management and accountability: Most CMA review courses include study planners, progress tracking, and milestone checks. These tools help you stay on schedule, manage your time effectively, and build consistent study habits, ensuring you cover all essential topics well before exam day.
• Extensive practice: Access to large question banks, model answers, detailed explanations, and timed mock exams helps you become familiar with the exam format and identify weak areas early. This also allows you to practice your pacing and refine your test-taking strategies.

Choosing the right CMA review course can help you build your confidence going into the exam and significantly improve your odds of passing the CMA exam on your first try.

What to Look For in CMA Courses

Choosing a review course is largely dependent on your individual learning style, but there are core items that should be non-negotiable.

The following items are must-haves in solid CMA courses.

Instructor-Led Personalized Coaching

Most online review courses are designed to be self-study. This means candidates have to teach themselves the material outlined in the course.

For many candidates, this can be incredibly stressful, especially when they don’t understand a concept.

Unlike self-study courses, instructor-led programming walks you through topic by topic. When questions pop up, you have the opportunity to dive even deeper into them.

On top of all this, instructor-led coaching holds you more accountable than self-study courses. Rather than having to dig deep for the motivation to study, an instructor can help you streamline your focus.

Support and Accountability Check-Ins

When you commit yourself to earning your CMA certification, it can be tough. The amount of studying and preparing required can take you away from your family and friends.

More often than not, people struggle to find adequate moral support.

A great review course should include some level of support. This can be anything from regular accountability check-ins, study groups, or simply encouragement when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

AI-Powered Study Support (24/7 Access to Answers)

One of the biggest frustrations CMA candidates face is getting stuck on a concept and having no one to ask in the moment. You’re studying late at night, on a weekend, or during a quick lunch break — and traditional instructor support just isn’t available.

A high-quality CMA course should now include an AI study assistant that acts like a 24/7 on-demand tutor. Instead of waiting hours (or days) for a response, you can ask a question and get a clear explanation within seconds. This is especially helpful when you’re working through practice questions and need to understand why an answer is right or wrong before moving on.

CMA Exam Academy’s AI CMA Coach provides personalized responses based on your questions, helping you reinforce weak areas, clarify confusing topics, and keep your study momentum going.

Because it’s available 24/7 and works on mobile devices, you can use it whenever and wherever you study: at your desk, while making dinner for the kids, or between meetings. Instead of interrupting your flow to search forums or wait for human support, you stay focused and keep progressing.

Progress Reports

How will you know if your studying is paying off if you don’t receive any progress reports?

The reality is, you won’t.

Regular progress reports outlining your strengths and weaknesses can really help you streamline your study efforts.

After all, why spend hours studying concepts you already understand rather than the ones you’re struggling with?

In addition to that, CMA courses are often created around a certain study plan. You are meant to complete core subjects at specific times.

Progress reports can serve as reminders that you are falling behind or maybe even ahead of the game (woohoo!).

Bite-Sized Video Tutorials

One of the biggest mistakes I see in CMA courses is the use of overly long, unnecessarily complicated tutorials.

Great review courses, like CMA Exam Academy, offer bite-sized video tutorials. Each tutorial is broken down in easy-to-consume sizes so you can tackle one topic at a time.

And don’t be confused with the term bite-sized. Though short, each tutorial contains every important detail you will need to understand a concept so you don’t get caught off guard on exam day.

Multiple-Choice Questions and Essay Practice Questions

If you are unfamiliar with the format of the CMA exam, then you may not be aware that it consists mostly of multiple-choice questions. For each part of the exam, you are allotted four hours total: three hours to complete 100 multiple-choice questions and one hour to complete two essay questions.

Many people struggle with multiple-choice questions, so having access to a test bank of thousands of practice questions can be incredibly beneficial.

The difference between an okay review course and a great one can be found in the test bank. Test banks are a great tool to challenge your knowledge with questions that are structured and formatted just like the ones found on the actual CMA exam.

CMA Exam Academy’s test bank contains 100% unique CMA questions, as well as actual test questions from previous exams, to offer you the real exam day experience.

We included timed practice tests to put you under the pressure of the clock, and thanks to our innovative PassRate Technology, you will know you’re ready for the real exam when you reach 86% and above on your test bank dashboard.

Mock Exams

The absolutely best way to prepare for the exam is to run through a mock exam. Mock exams mimic the structure and format that you will find on the day of your actual exam. Taking Certified Management Accountant practice tests periodically will help you know when you are ready.

In addition to getting familiar with the exam format, you will be timed so you can start to feel comfortable with the time crunch.

Textbooks (Hard Copy or E-Book)

Hands down, every review course should come with a textbook containing all the material needed to pass the exam.

Whether you opt for a hard copy or an e-book is up to you.

When I was preparing for the CMA exam, I found it really useful to have a textbook that was easy to understand. Not all textbooks are designed the same. Some are laced with complicated accounting jargon and require you to have an extensive accounting background, and since many CMA candidates do not, this can be overwhelming and confusing.

The textbooks at CMA Exam Academy are written in simple, easy-to-understand terms, which makes the material easy to grasp even for candidates with no prior accounting background.

Formula Guide

In order to pass the exam, you will need to know all the formulas used by accountants and financial positions.

If you don’t know every formula, you can get tripped up and lose a lot of points on your exam. That’s why selecting a CMA course that features access to formula guides is so important.

Study Hacks or Exam Prep Guides

I like to be organized and discovered that using a course with a clear study plan really helped me take my studying to the next level when I was preparing to take the CMA exam. A clear study plan gave me the structure I needed to make sure I was covering all the essential concepts and material.

Look, I get it. Some of us simply aren’t planners. We lack time management skills and the ability to stick to a study plan.

So in my opinion, choosing a review course that offers a proven study plan and effective study hacks can come in handy.

Audio Lessons

Want to study on the go?

Washing dishes, folding laundry, commuting to work?

The truth is, most candidates live busy lives and are trying to balance work, family, and studying.

Audio lessons are a great way to study on the go.

When it comes to audio lessons, you want to make sure that the material covered in audio files is as detailed as any video tutorial.

What Your CMA Course Needs to Cover

Not all CMA courses are built the same, but there are fundamental concepts and topics that your course must cover if you want to pass the exam.

For starters, the CMA exam is a two-part exam, and each part covers different material.

Part One of the CMA Exam Covers:

• External Financial Reporting Decisions (15%): This section focuses on understanding and preparing financial statements. You’ll be tested on revenue recognition, asset valuation, income measurement, and how financial reports support decision-making.
• Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting (20%): This area covers budgeting concepts, methodologies, strategic planning, and forecasting techniques. It emphasizes how budgeting and forecasting are used to plan ahead, allocate resources, and support decision-making.
• Performance Management (20%): Performance management examines how organizations measure and evaluate performance. Topics include variance analysis, responsibility centers, and performance measures such as ROI and KPIs.
• Cost Management (15%): This section focuses on measuring and managing costs to improve profitability. You’ll study costing systems, overhead allocation, supply chain management, and business process improvement.
• Internal Controls (15%): Internal controls address how organizations safeguard assets, minimize risks, and ensure compliance. Topics include control frameworks, governance, risk assessment, compliance processes, and security measures.
• Technology and Analytics (15%): This area evaluates how technology and data analytics support financial planning and decision-making. It covers information systems, data governance, analytics, and technology-enabled finance transformation.

Part Two of the CMA Exam Covers:

• Financial Statement Analysis (20%): This section focuses on interpreting and analyzing financial statements to assess a company’s financial health and overall performance. Key topics include financial ratios, profitability and liquidity analysis, and the impact of special issues such as foreign currency translation.
• Corporate Finance (20%): Corporate finance covers funding decisions and capital structure management. It includes risk and return, capital raising, working capital management, and corporate restructuring.
• Decision Analysis (25%): Decision analysis emphasizes the use of financial data and analytical techniques to support business decisions. Topics include cost-volume-profit analysis, pricing decisions, and marginal analysis.
• Risk Management (10%): This section explains how companies identify, mitigate, and manage financial, operational, legal, and compliance risks.
• Investment Decisions (10%): This area examines how organizations evaluate and choose investments. You’ll study capital budgeting techniques and investment analysis methods, including NPV and IRR.
• Professional Ethics (15%): Professional ethics outlines the ethical standards expected of CMA professionals and organizations. It covers ethical decision-making, legal compliance, fraud, data ethics, and social responsibility.

It is important that any CMA review course you choose covers each of these ICMA Learning Outcome Statements (LOS) topics in depth.

What Are the CMA Course Fees?

I’m not going to sugarcoat it — CMA review courses are an investment. The price for a review course varies depending on which provider you go with and how extensive the program is.

For example, you can purchase the textbook alone and try to teach yourself for as little as $200 per part. Full-blown review courses that offer everything I mentioned above can range from $1,299 to $2,199.

As I said, this is an investment. But definitely one that can make the difference between passing and failing.

If you’re having a hard time swallowing the thought of spending almost $1500, there is one option to consider: asking your boss to cover the cost.

Let’s say you already have a job in the finance and accounting arena and want to rise in the ranks of your current company. Why not ask your boss to consider covering the fee, or at least partially?

There are some tactful ways to approach this subject, but as long as you go into it with the goal of improving your knowledge and furthering the company itself, they may just go for it.

I wrote a post on how to make the ask — have a read here.

Choosing the Best CMA Course for You

In my experience, I have found that a program containing all of the suggested materials above will give you the best possible chance of passing on the first try.

Ultimately, it is your personal learning style that will determine what CMA course is right for you, but at least now you have a strong foundation to help you make that decision.

When it comes down to it, you don’t want to waste your time furthering your career. You want the quickest, most efficient path, and choosing the right CMA review course can help immensely.

If you’re looking for a course that actually brings all of these pieces together in one clear system, that’s exactly why I built the CMA Exam Academy 16-Week Accelerator Program. It’s for candidates who don’t just want a pile of study materials, but a real plan to follow, coaching when they need help, and accountability to stay on track.

Don’t settle for a second-rate CMA course. Learn more about CMA Exam Academy’s products and resources, and how my trusted review course can lead you to CMA success.

 

More from Nathan

CMA Review Course – My Study Secrets
Certified Management Accountant Course
Preparing for the CMA Exam as a Busy Parent

Hi, I’m Nathan Liao (aka the CMA Coach)! For the last 10 years, over 82,000 accounting and finance pros came knocking at my door seeking guidance and help. If you’re also aiming to conquer the CMA exam on your very first try—without wasting away time or money—you’ve found your ultimate guide. Dive in deeper to discover more about me and the dedicated team that powers CMA Exam Academy. Click here and let’s embark on this journey together!