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The CMA certification, Certified Management Accountant, is a globally recognized certification in strategic management and financial accounting. CMAs work in accounting, strategy, and corporate finance teams within an organization. Positions filled by CMAs include cost accountant, financial strategist, and risk manager, and many CMAs function as executive decision-makers within their team.
Becoming a CMA opens up new career opportunities, increases your earning potential, and can boost your job satisfaction. Learn everything you need to know about the CMA certification using this CMA Resource Center.
Becoming a CMA requires you to meet several requirements set by Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), which includes passing the CMA exam. Throughout this page, we cover the basic steps you need to complete in order to become a CMA.
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In order to become a CMA, you must meet IMA’s requirements. These include membership, education, experience, and examination requirements. You can sit for the CMA exam before you’ve completed the education and experience requirements.
Before you begin your CMA journey, check out the current CMA requirements to see which ones you already meet and which ones you’ll need to make plans to meet. Earning your CMA certification could take a lot less time than you’d think, depending on where you are in your accounting career.
Visit our CMA Requirements resource page for more information on all of the CMA requirements and how you can meet them.
Once you’re ready to get started on the path to earn your CMA certification, the first step is joining IMA, which is the association in charge of the CMA certification. It sets the requirements to become a CMA, one of which is active membership.
Joining IMA is a simple process that requires you to make an account and pay a membership fee. The amount of the fee you pay is based on your current career status, and it can vary significantly. Planning out your fees in advance will help you keep your finances in order and prevent you from paying more in the long run.
For more information on joining the IMA, visit our Applying for the CMA Exam resource page. For more information on all the CMA Exam fees and costs, check out our CMA Exam Costs resource page.
After you’ve joined IMA, you are eligible to enroll in the CMA program, which is run by the ICMA. You must enroll in the CMA program in order to register for the CMA exam and earn your CMA certification. Once you are enrolled in the CMA program, you have three years to pass both parts of the CMA exam.
While you have three years to pass the CMA exams, you have seven years to fulfill the education and experience requirements. You will not be considered a CMA until you have met all of the CMA requirements and requested your certificate.
For more information on enrolling in the CMA program, visit our Applying for the CMA Exam resource page.
Three years may seem like a long time to complete the CMA program, but without a study plan, you could quickly find that time dwindling down. The CMA exam is divided into two parts, which you will schedule, sit for, and pass separately in order to earn your CMA certification. In addition to testing your accounting knowledge, these exams test your financial planning, management, business, and IT knowledge.
It is important to begin thinking about your study plan early in the process. Once you sit down with a calendar and cross out all of the days you’re unable to study, you might find yourself with less time than you’d expect.
For more information on what both parts of the CMA exam will be like, visit the CMA Exam Parts resource page.
Knowing your study needs will help you decide what you need from a CMA exam review provider. We suggest you think about what you look for in a review system—exam questions, videos, outline material, etc.—to make sure you don’t need to retake either part of the CMA exam. You have to pay around $400 each time you sit for a part of the CMA exam, so it’s definitely not an exam you want to retake.
There are three steps you must complete to meet the CMA exam requirement:
Register for the exam
Schedule your appointment
Sit for the exam
When registering for the CMA exam, you will select the testing window you want to take the exam in and pay the CMA exam’s fees for the part(s) you are registering for. The CMA exam is available in three large testing windows with blackout dates in between.
If you are unable to take the CMA exam during the testing window you’ve registered for, you will not be able to reschedule the exam. Instead, you will have to register for a different testing window and pay another CMA exam fee (but not the IMA membership fee or CMA program fee). Because of this, it is important that you are confident your study preparations will be complete by your chosen testing window before you register.
For more information on registering for the CMA exam, visit our Applying for the CMA Exam resource page.
After you have registered for the CMA exam, you’ll schedule your testing appointment. This is done through Prometric, a third-party testing center.
Because testing dates can fill up quickly, it is important to plan out your testing appointments in advance. Otherwise, you may have to go to an inconvenient testing center or have to test at a non-ideal time.
You are able to reschedule your testing appointment for other dates within the same testing window, but depending on the notice you provide Prometric, you may have to pay a rescheduling fee.
For more information on scheduling the CMA exam, visit our CMA testing windows resource page.
After you’ve enrolled in the CMA program, you have three years to pass both sections of the CMA exam. The CMA exam is hard—fewer than half of test takers pass both sections of the CMA exam. Working with a great review system will help you reach this goal and save you a lot of time and money.
After you’ve passed both parts of the CMA exam, you’ll have 7 years to fulfill the education and experience requirements.
For more information on the CMA exams pass rates, visit our CMA Pass Rate resource page.
Once you’ve met the examination, experience, and education requirements, you will be eligible for CMA certification.
To maintain your CMA certification, you must
Meeting these requirements will not only ensure you continue to benefit from the CMA certification, but they will help you develop an even deeper knowledge of accounting, business, and management procedures, as well as stay on top of current trends.