CMA Exam Tips

The most significant dilemma that any accounting professional has to go through is choosing the further course of his study. Yes, I am very well acquainted with the amount of hard work an individual has to become an accountant that designation itself does not put matters to rest. Every professional desires growth and scope to succeed further, and accountants are no different. Thus the finance industry came to a consensus regarding it and created a benchmark for professionals to take a step ahead in their careers. Institutes were formed by these financial bodies, which carried out certificate courses to keep the accounting professional abreast of the new trends in the market and also give his career a good boost to motivate him to work efficiently.

Let’s discuss the CMA exam in great detail to help you decide whether this course is the right choice for you. We believe that investing in a suitable method is time-consuming, money-consuming, and effortless. Hence, we would like you to be ready with your hammer to fix the nuts and bolts of the CMA exam. What will the article talk about in detail? Let’s take a quick look.

1. Why is CMA considered as the right choice by most of the Accounting Professionals?
2. About the CMA Exam
3. CMA Exam Completion Criteria
4. Why pursue CMA?
5. Top CMA Networks of 2015
6. CMA Exam Format
7. CMA Exam Weightage/ Breakdown
8. CMA Exam Fees
9. CMA Results & Passing Rates
10. CMA Exam Strategies
11. CMA Exam Scholarship Program
12. CMA Exam Deferral Policy

• CMA is a certificate course offered by one of the leading financial institutions IMA (Institute of Management Accountants). The economic body has been providing general services and benefits catering to professionals in the financial industry.
• A survey has found that 80% of accountants work in the non-financial sector. Thus a course like CMA bridges the gap between the financial technicalities and management skills, making it easier for professionals to relate to the work.
• Becoming a CMA is very smooth, thanks to the efficient management of the IMA body. The IMA has provided an apparent and organized information structure to aid the applicants in the enrollment process.
• The CMA is a prestigious designation and is highly recognized in the corporate world.
• On average, CMA certificate holders enjoy 63% higher compensation than their non-CMA peers. In the age range of 20-29, the CMA certificate holders get 33% higher salaries than non-CMA peers.
• In short, a CMA certificate is exceptionally relevant for success in a business environment.

The details about the program are enunciated below.

• Live Online Classes
• 3,000+ multiple choice questions
• Printed Textbooks
• 5 one-hour 1-on-1 academic tutoring sessions
• Unlimited Access: Yes!
• 500+ digital flashcards
• 70 essay questions
• 2-part review courses
• 1-year CPE subscription - $699 value!

The Certified  Management Accountant is a professional certification in financial management and advanced accounting that qualifies a professional to meet our responsibility related to the arena, highly respected by employers worldwide. A CMA acquires knowledge and skills in financial planning, analysis, control, decision support, and professional ethics. The U.S.-based Institute of Management Accountants awards the CMA certification. The CMA-certified professionals can work in industries like manufacturing and services, public and private enterprises, not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions, government entities, and MNCs.

• Roles:  Financial risk manager, financial planner, and analyst, Capital venture, Internal auditor, Cost accountant, and Manager
• Exam: The CMA course is divided into a two-part exam with each paper of four hours each.
• Exam Dates: Part Part II Exams and I are held in Jan-February, May-June, and September -October
• The Deal: Candidates are given a window of three years from registering to pass both the exam parts and attain their CMA certificate.
• Eligibility: A candidate requires a bachelor's degree from an accredited university across the globe in any discipline to be deemed qualified for the CMA exam.

A candidate must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from an accredited university.

• The candidate requires two years of continuous work experience in jobs that are related to the CMA course, which includes positions such as in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, budgeting, Preparation of financial statements, financial planning & analysis, Monthly, quarterly, and close year-end auditing (external or internal), Budget preparation & reporting, Manage general ledger and balance sheets, Forecasting, Company investment decision making, Costing analysis and Risk evaluation.
• Even after passing the CMA course, the candidate can complete this two-year work experience.
• A CMA candidate is allowed seven years to submit proof of his financial management experience. However, it has to amount to four years, which is equal to two years of a full-time job. Part-time work is also counted.
• A candidate is required to successfully clear Part I and II of the CMA designation in the stipulated time.
• A candidate needs to become a member of the IMA. The cost of its membership varies according to the candidate's status, whether a student or a working professional.
• For certified CMAs, 30 hours of CPE credits, including two hours of ethics and annual IMA Membership, are required to maintain active status.
• A candidate must adhere to the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice.

Recommended Study Hours: The IMA recommends that a candidate take at least two months of study time to achieve the CMA certificate successfully.

What do you earn? The CMA designation! It opens the doors to success at an unimaginable rate.

CMA is a globally recognized and accepted certification in the corporate world and is extremely relevant for a professional who wants to succeed in the business environment. The certified program's visibility is increasing and is the most preferred choice to boost career prospects by professionals not only from the U.S. but also in China and the Middle East. A CMA-certified candidate is eligible for higher positions in the company. The structure of its system can determine the relevancy of the certified courses and the practical lessons it imparts. The CMA curriculum is explicitly designed to mirror real-world applications in practice in the financial and accounting sector. And lastly, the self-evident reason CMA designation holders are paid 63% more than their non-certified colleagues.

The top 500 companies in the world have hired the CMA designation holders in critical positions. The majority of them are MNCs who are mainly into manufacturing. Look at the top few picked;

• 3M
• Alcoa
• AT&T
• Bank of America
• Boeing
• Cargill
• Part I concentrates on Financial Caterpillar
• ConAgra
• Hewlett-Packard
• Johnson & Johnson
• Microsoft
• Procter & Gamble
• Saudi Aramco
• Verizon
• Xerox

The CMA exam is divided into Part I and Part II. Part I concentrates on Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics, while Part II focuses on Strategic Financial Management. The exam emphasizes financial planning, analysis, control, and decision support. Each exam consists of 100 multiple choice 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 to receive credit. Each exam consists of 100 multiple choice 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 to receive credit. Parts I and II 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.

Key Highlights about the Exam Format

• As soon as one completes the multiple-choice section of the exam and presses the exit button, that section is over, and one cannot go back to it. The candidate has to remain in the essay section to complete the exam.
• A candidate has to correctly answer 50% of the multiple-choice questions to be eligible to take the essay section.
• A candidate has 3 hours to finish the multiple-choice section and one hour to complete the essays.
• A candidate cannot give an exam part more than once during a testing window.

Part 1 – Financial Reporting, Planning, Performance, and Analytics

Part 2 – Strategic Financial Management

Source: IMA

The candidates do not attain immediate pass/fail results because the essay questions are graded offline. It is too time-consuming and labor-intensive, and IMA is committed to assuring consistency, accuracy, and fairness. Hence, all the papers are graded at the same time. Sample grading is done first to ensure that all the alternative solutions have been accounted for. Reviewers are expected to check the grading process continuously, and once it is completed, there is an additional review of papers on the borderline of passing. The scores for the multiple-choice questions are added to the scores of the essay questions to arrive at the total weighted score of pass/fail reflected in a scaled score for the entire part.

The total score determines the pass/fail status of the candidate, and therefore it is not necessary for candidates to “pass” both sections. Exam results are emailed and posted to the online profile approximately six weeks from the end of the month in which a candidate has taken the exam. Performance Reports of the candidates are sent via email from Prometric to candidates who fail to clear an exam successfully. It takes about 14 days for the performance reports to reach the candidate. The Performance reports grade the candidate's performance as satisfactory, marginal, or unsatisfactory for each of the key topic areas from the multiple-choice section of the exam and the overall performance on the essay section of the exam.

The CMA exam is considered very rigorous, and pass rates for the CMA exam have historically been low for both part I and part II. Globally, the pass rates for Part 1 and Part 2 conducted during January-February 2020 were 45% each. The historical pass rates for the 2-part exam are as follows:

CMA Exam Pass Rates

CMA is quite flexible in its study options, and many prep options are available. As a student and a busy professional demands time out, it is better to develop a strategy to study for the course so that you can effectively manage both your worlds and seamlessly blend several tasks into your routine.

The guide explains the examination and the types of questions in the test. It also provides the relevant CSOs content Specifications outlines with references to relevant textbooks and sample questions. However, this is not enough; you also need to check out the suggested reading list to prepare yourself thoroughly.

 LinkUp IMA is an online social network exclusively for IMA members. Within the community, you will be able to join groups based on topic areas, industries, Chapters & Councils, CMA Study Groups, or start your group based on your site of difficulty in terms of the examination content. Help is always welcome, and how about joining your peers in the study sessions to overcome difficult topics and help each other with concepts.

The best thing is to test yourself with sample papers as soon as you finish a topic section. Give an exam in the areas you specifically lagged, go back and study until you scored as per your satisfaction. Only then move on to the next section.

Essay writing is the biggest hurdle for most candidates. Instead of worrying over it, access the online essay questions and practice until you feel ready to crack them.

• Do not panic on seeing the question paper even if you do not know an answer. Skip and come back to it.
• Do not worry if you miss out on anything. Remember, the passing score is 360/500, and you do not need to maximize it.
• Do not get distracted by factually correct but irrelevant answers in the multiple-choice section.

Keep track of the time and speed up. CMA exams are filled with lengthy and complicated questions. Do not get embroiled in one to leave out ten scoring ones.

There is no penalty for wrong answers, so please leave a question unanswered. Your stars might help you to earn an extra mark.

Don’t waste your time thinking over an answer as googly. Instead, use your instincts because you are also tested for your straightforward business instincts.

• Live Online Classes
• 3,000+ multiple choice questions
• Printed Textbooks
• 5 one-hour 1-on-1 academic tutoring sessions
• Unlimited Access: Yes!
• 500+ digital flashcards
• 70 essay questions
• 2-part review courses
• 1-year CPE subscription - $699 value!

The IMA is committed to producing excellent accounting and management professionals. As a part of this effort, IMA has founded the CMA scholarship Program that awards scholarships to deserving top candidates. International students, as well as students from the U.S., are allowed to apply for the scholarship. The eligibility criterion for the same is:

• The top 5% or five students, whichever is greater, in an accredited undergraduate accounting or business program, and
• The top 5% or five students, whichever is greater, are in an accredited Master's level accounting or business program.

In the undergraduate programs, there is a preference for students who are completing the junior (third) year of their program to be nominated for the award. Undergraduate and Master's level scholarships are awarded based on faculty nomination.

In cases of rescheduling or canceling an exam appointment within 30 days of the appointment date, a candidate will be required to pay a rescheduling fee to Prometric. Charges cannot be rescheduled or canceled within 72 hours of the scheduled appointment and cannot reschedule appointments to another testing window. A candidate must sit for an exam during the testing window. He has purchased an authorization as IMA does not entertain authorizations to another testing window.

The CMA Entrance Fee is not refundable. The examination fee is refundable within 30 days from when the candidate purchased the exam and if no appointment has been set with Prometric. A processing fee will be subtracted from the refund.

This has been a guide to CMA Exam Tips. Here we discuss a complete guide on the CMA exam, why you should pursue it, its fees, structure, passing strategies, tips, tricks, etc. You may also have a look at the following articles –

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