Certified Management Accountant
How to Get Certified as a Management Accountant (CMA)
A list of steps to take and requirements to meet to become a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). Follow these requirements to become certified management accountant.
The designation of Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is a qualification that can be helpful to any person working in management accounting or finance departments or fields. It is a great certification to have because it highlights and legitimizes your abilities and because it can help you to bring home a higher paycheck. The CMA designation is also helpful for Certified Public Accountants (CPA) to have as it gives a person a more well-rounded accounting understanding.
The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) is the organization that grants and upholds the Management Accountant certification program. There are several requirements a person must meet to become a Certified Management Accountant. These requirements include:
Education
You must meet the education requirement for the CMA certification before you can sit for the exams. The IMA is flexible when it comes to this requirement as they give candidates three choices to meet this condition. First, a candidate can meet this requirement if they have a Bachelors degree in any subject from a U.S. regionally accredited institution. If that degree is from a school outside the U.S., the IMA will decide if it is acceptable to their standards on a case-by-case basis.
If you do not have a Bachelors degree then there are two other options to meet the educational requirement. You can either take the GMAT or GRE and pass in the top 50th percentile, or you can show proof of a certification that is the equivalent of the CPA, CMA, or Certified Financial Manager (CFM).
Experience
The IMA requires two years of consecutive experience in management accounting and/or financial management to take their CMA exams. The experience that will meet this requirement is varied, but it does have to be at a level that financial judgments are required by the candidate regularly.
Membership and Testing
Membership in the IMA is necessary to gain and keep a CMA license. This membership is also needed before you can sit for the CMA exams. Once you join the IMA (this requires a yearly fee) then you can start sending your required information to sit for the CMA exams. You must submit your educational proof (such as transcripts), experience documentation (the forms will be sent to you from the IMA), and then the exam fees. Once this has all been sent and verified you can sit for the four parts of the CMA exam; studying the subjects rigorously is advisable before sitting for the exams.
Related Articles:
What is the IMA?: Overview of the Institute of Management Accountants
Management and Public Accounting
Sources:
The Institute of Management Accountants
