Certified Management Accountant (CMA) USA is the highest Management Accounting Certification offered by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). This will enable you to formulate robust financial strategies and become proficient in financial planning, analysis, control, and decision making.
With a CMA USA, you can become a financial planning analyst, controller, or even a finance manager. You may even get the chance to climb up the corporate ladder to become a CFO.
To become a CMA USA, you must learn from the best CMA coaching institute in India, NorthStar Academy.
Table of Contents
CMA Part 1 exam is a computerized exam conducted in two parts with 100 multiple-choice questions and 2 essay questions within 4 hours.
You are eligible to take the exam on any weekday within the testing windows of January/February, May/June, and September/October through Prometric testing centers.
However, most people struggle to clear CMA Part 1 exam, with pass rates averaging as low as 35-45%.
The IMA or the Institute of Certified Management Accountants is the globally recognized body that prepares Content Specification Outlines (CSOs) referring to the degree of coverage expected in each topic.
This can be helpful to you because :
The IMA defines the three levels of coverage as:
A: Requires knowledge and comprehension by the candidates.
B: Focusses on knowledge, comprehension, application, and analysis.
C: The candidate needs the skill of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
The CMA Part 1 exam tests you at a skill level C for all areas which ideally means that all candidates must be completely knowledgeable about the material being studied.
Skills required to be CMA USA:
PCMA Part 1 exam certification test covers Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics.
Financial statements
If you have studied accounting in school or college, this should be an easy section and would include a majority of computational questions.
Pro forma income
Financial statement projections
Cash flow projections
Remember that budgeting might seem like the longest section of Part 1. In the CMA Part 1 exam, you will be expected to calculate various items such as the cost of goods manufactured, sold, and other items in the budget.
You may even be tested on some conceptual questions such as the definition of budgeting. Section B is more in-depth than section A, however, the concepts are not difficult, but the questions in some budgeting scenarios may get lengthy or complex.
Cost and variance measures
Candidates are tested on the methods used for performance evaluation in companies. If you have worked in the accounting department previously, you must be familiar with most evaluation tools.
Certain components in the syllabus, like standard costs, are used mostly in manufacturing companies as opposed to service-oriented companies. Hence, if you are working for a service company, you could benefit from spending more time on understanding the standard cost concept.
You need to develop expertise in various costing methodologies since this section will include calculations.
The internal control questions are mostly conceptual, so could be a little ambiguous. With a lot of practice, you will be able to get the hang of identifying the correct answers.
This section will help you stay on top of market trends in the industry, so it is necessary to learn this section correctly.
CMA USA exam is a computerized exam with 2 essay questions and 100 Multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
The four hours of the CMA Part 1 exam are divided into – 3 hours for the MCQs and 1 hour for the essays.
You need to correctly answer at least 50% of the MCQs in your CMA USA exam to move to the essay question.
In the CMA USA essay section, you must complete sub theory or calculation questions based on two scenarios describing a typical business situation.
While answering a conceptual essay question, write as much as you can about the topic so that at least you can gain partial credit.
While all of this may seem overwhelming, please know that you are not alone. With NorthStar Academy’s comprehensive CMA USA program, you will get access to a framework for studying for success. You will be able to clear your exams on your very first attempt and make your parents proud.
As mentioned on the IMA website, “Once you’ve completed and passed both parts of the CMA exam, you must complete 30 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) each year.
M. Irfat sir has widely been acclaimed as the best mentor for CMA USA. He is often referred to as the “God of Costing”. He has won the Teaching Excellence Award for his expertise and mentorship.
NorthStar Academy is the best institute for US CMA online classes.
USA CMA has an average passing rate of 35-45% globally.
The CMA Part 1 exam can be cleared easily with the right preparation and studying with dedication. Institutes like NSA can help you achieve the right framework for success.
Finally, if you want to dedicatedly spend studying time on CMA USA and To be sure of clearing your exam in the first attempt, you can enroll in Northstar Academy’s comprehensive CMA program to get access to experienced faculty such as M Irfat “Teaching Excellence Award”, learn from the basics, access to a global cohort, study materials, and exam preparation through aggressive mock tests.
Great blog about CMA USA!!