This article is
intended to professionals who would like to improve their career with a CMA
certification.
If you would like to
know what a CMA (Certified Management Accountant) is all about and the benefits
of becoming a CMA, please click on the corresponding links.
There are 6 steps to
tackle to become a CMA in the US:
1.
Become member of IMA
2.
Pay entrance fee
3.
Fulfill the
educational requirements
4.
Satisfy the experience
requirements
5.
Take the CMA exam
6.
Comply with the IMA’s
ethical practice
1. IMA Membership
This is very easy —
just complete an application form and pay the membership fee to resolve the
course.
The normal membership
fee is $250 but if you are a student, a “young professional” (i.e. before you
33rd birthday) or work in the university in the related subject, you can get a
absolute deduction.
2. Entrance Fee
Once you are ready to
enroll the CMA program (i.e. to get the CMA qualification), you can pay the
admission fee.
Please note that from
now on you will have to note the following deadline:
§ must take the CMA exam within 12 months
§ must complete the CMA program within 3 years
Otherwise you will
have to pay the entrance fees.
3. CMA Educational Requirements (part of the CMA exam requirements)
Not like CPA exam,
pretty much any person with a bachelor degree anywhere around the world can
take the CMA exam. Your degree is recognized as long as your school /
university is on this list.
In the event that your
school is not listed, you can still get your record evaluated by one of the
credential evaluation agencies under the membership of NACES or AICE and send an official transcript (in English) to IMA (the
CMA exam administrator) for reference.
4. CMA Working Experience Requirements
§ The candidate must have two continuous years
of professional experience in management accounting or financial management.
§ The requirement can be finished prior to or
within 7 years of passing the exam.
§ Teaching experience can be counted as long as
the courses are related to accounting or corporate financial management above
introductory level.
§ Part-time (defined as 20 hours per week) can
be counted at a rate of 1 year of full-time for every 2 years of part-time
employment.
Definition of Relevant
Work Experience
The nature of work can
include the following:
§ Financial analysis
§ Budget preparation
§ Management information systems analysis
§ Financial management
§ Management accounting
§ Auditing in Government, Corporation and Public
Accounting
§ Management consulting
§ Research, teaching and consulting in related
field
Please note the
internships, trainee programs as well as non-technical positions in sales &
marketing, IT, HR and administration will not be measured as important.
5. The CMA Exam
The examination itself
consists of 2 parts:
§ Financial Planning, Performance and Control –
4 hours
§ Financial Decision Making – 4 hours
For information of the
content and format of the exam, please refer to this page onCMA entrance exam.
You can sign up the
exam online of by phone with credit card information. You can also choose to
register by mailing or faxing the registration form. The examination fee (which
is different from the entrance fee) is $350 for each part but if you are taking
the two parts in the same testing window, it would be $300 per part.
Candidates can take
the exam in any prometric centers in US and around the world. For US, the
center is open every weekday during the following testing window.
§ January and February
§ May and June
§ September and October
You can normally call off an appointment within 72 hours. A
refund (minus $25 administrative fee) is available within 30 days of
registration.
You'll need a comprehensive review course to help prepare for the CMA exam. You can find the best CMA review courses here.
6. Compliance Of Ethical Standard
After completing the
two parts of the CMA exam, applicants will be required to take 30 hours of CPE
(continuing professional education), 2 of which has to be in the area of
Ethics.
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