IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) certifications

Membership first, credential second

IMA's model binds the credential to the association. Only active members may enrol in the Certified Management Accountant programme, candidates buy an entrance fee before any exam, and a CMA stays in good standing only while the membership does. That arrangement has a practical consequence for anyone comparing costs: the recurring membership fee is part of the price of the credential, for as long as you use the letters, not merely a joining fee.

What the CMA says about you

The CMA's two parts cover planning, budgeting, cost and performance management, internal controls and analytics, then financial statement analysis, corporate finance, decision analysis, enterprise risk and professional ethics. Passing both, with a degree and two years of relevant experience, says that you can run and interpret a company's internal numbers and use them to choose between courses of action. It says little about external audit or statutory reporting, which is where chartered accountancy qualifications concentrate. IMA has also moved with testing practice: case-based questions arrived in its exams in May 2026, and exams are sold for English, Simplified Chinese and Japanese sittings. Holders keep the title by logging thirty CPE hours annually. IMA also offers a second certification, the CSCA, which this site does not yet cover. Anyone weighing IMA against a chartered body should compare the two on that axis: inside the company or outside it.