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IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) certificationsIMA (Institute of Management Accountants) · proctored exam

Certified Management Accountant (CMA®)

Where auditors check the numbers and analysts price them, management accountants decide what the numbers should be next year. The CMA certifies that inward-facing work: budgets, costs, controls, capital decisions and the ethics of reporting them.

Two exam parts, taken in either order, plus experience and a membership that must stay active while you use the title.

Certificate facts

Level
Professional
Field
Finance & accounting
Access
Paid
Assessment
Proctored exam
Duration
240 minutes
Questions
Per part: 100 multiple-choice questions in three hours, then a one-hour second section. The 2024 outline describes two essays there; since May 2026 IMA uses two case-based questions with drag-and-drop, fill-in and calculation items
Languages
English, Chinese, JapaneseIMA sells entrance fees for English, Simplified Chinese and Japanese exams; candidates testing in China, Taiwan or Japan buy through regional pages.
Price
545 USD (read 26 September 2026)
Validity
1 year, renewable
Exam delivery
Prometric test centres in three windows: January/February, May/June, September/October

Prerequisites: Active IMA membership; a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or a related professional certification; two continuous years in management accounting or financial management, completed before or within seven years of passing.

Renewal: Report 30 hours of continuing professional education every year, at least two of them in ethics, and keep IMA membership active.

Source: certificate page at IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) · Price: Per exam part, as IMA's enrolment page displayed it to a signed-out visitor; IMA says the exam fee depends on your membership type. A 300 USD entrance fee, valid three years, comes first, and active IMA membership is required (read 2026-09-26)

How to prepare

  1. 1. Online courses

    Courses and practice questions from the directory that target exactly this exam — details, price and the provider link (affiliate) are on the course page.

  2. Book the exam

    Delivered by Prometric test centres in three windows: January/February, May/June, September/October. Schedule with IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) (opens in a new tab)

Affiliate disclosure: the course link above is an affiliate link — buying through them may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The vendor's learning path and booking links carry no commission.

The CMA comes from IMA, with the Institute of Certified Management Accountants named on its exam outline, and it is built around one idea: finance is a function inside a business, not a service to investors. The two exam parts divide that function cleanly. Part 1 is running the numbers, from planning and budgets to cost control and internal controls. Part 2 is using them to decide, from reading statements to choosing investments and managing enterprise risk.

Twelve topics, weighted

Part 1: Financial Planning, Performance, and AnalyticsPart 2: Strategic Financial Management
External Financial Reporting Decisions, 15 %Financial Statement Analysis, 20 %
Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting, 20 %Corporate Finance, 20 %
Performance Management, 20 %Business Decision Analysis, 25 %
Cost Management, 15 %Enterprise Risk Management, 10 %
Internal Controls, 15 %Capital Investment Decisions, 10 %
Technology and Analytics, 15 %Professional Ethics, 15 %

Every topic is set at IMA's highest coverage level, which in its own outline means evaluation and synthesis as well as recall. Two details surprise newcomers. The technology and analytics topic brings systems and data analysis into an accounting exam, and US federal income tax is assumed wherever it changes a decision, such as depreciation or interest. The outline also takes for granted that you can already prepare financial statements and handle time value of money and basic statistics.

A format in transition

Each part lasts four hours. The first three are a hundred multiple-choice questions; the last hour is a separate section. The 2024 outline still describes two essays there. IMA's enrolment page says case-based questions arrived in May 2026: a business case of roughly 250 words followed by drag-and-drop, fill-in, select-from-list and calculation items, two of them per exam. Preparation material written before that change will rehearse the wrong final hour.

  • Testing windows: January and February, May and June, September and October, at Prometric centres.
  • Book early: appointments need at least 72 hours' notice and cannot move to another window; a missed window means a new registration fee.
  • Deadlines: the entrance fee lasts three years, which is how long you have to pass both parts.

Upkeep is modest but permanent. The title needs thirty hours of continuing education a year, two in ethics, and an active membership. IMA ties CMA status to active membership, so the membership fee belongs in any honest cost estimate.

The clocks deserve attention before you pay anything. The entrance fee opens a three-year window in which both parts must be passed; miss it and you buy the entrance fee again. The experience requirement runs on a longer clock: two continuous years in management accounting or financial management, completed before the exams or within seven years of passing them. That makes the CMA workable for students and early-career staff, who can pass the exams first and let the experience accumulate, but only if the three-year exam window is planned around real study time rather than hope.

What a question looks like

Written by us in the exam's style. It is not a real question from any question bank, and we do not publish those.

A plant manager's bonus depends on beating the budgeted cost per unit. Late in the year he increases production well beyond expected sales. Under absorption costing, what happens to reported unit cost and operating income, and what control would you recommend?

It joins two topics the exam likes to connect: cost accounting and performance management. You need to see that spreading fixed overhead over more units flatters the result while stockpiling inventory, and then name a fix such as variable-costing measures or inventory limits.

What it costs to get and to keep

ItemAmountNote
Entrance fee300 USDEnglish-language entrance fee; valid three years, during which both parts must be passed; student members may see a lower rate at checkout (read 26 September 2026)
Part 1 exam545 USDas displayed to a signed-out visitor; IMA states that the exam fee varies with membership type (read 26 September 2026)
Part 2 exam545 USDsame conditions as Part 1 (read 26 September 2026)
IMA membership, yearlynot publishedrequired before the entrance fee and for as long as you hold the CMA; the amount depends on membership type and was not read for this record (read 26 September 2026)
Continuing educationnot published30 hours a year, two in ethics; cost depends on where you earn the hours (read 26 September 2026)

How much preparation, from where you are

Accounting graduate early in a corporate finance role
The intended candidate. Budgeting and cost topics connect to daily work; corporate finance and risk management usually need structured study.
Financial analyst from outside accounting
Part 2 will feel familiar. Part 1's controls and cost management are the weak side, and the exam treats them as seriously as valuation.
Candidate outside the United States
Add time for the US tax effects the outline assumes, and practise the second-section format in English if English is not your working language.

What passing this does not prove

  • Statutory audit or the external auditor's work; the CMA looks inward.
  • Any particular ERP or planning software.
  • Local tax law outside the US federal rules the outline assumes.
  • Presenting a budget to a sceptical board, which is where the job is won or lost.

Against the alternatives

ACCA Qualification
ACCA is a full professional qualification with thirteen exams, audit, tax and law, and leads to ACCA membership. The CMA is two exams focused on management accounting. Choose ACCA for a statutory accounting career; choose the CMA to certify a corporate finance role you already have or want.
Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA®)
FMVA teaches spreadsheet modelling and valuation by course and online exam; the CMA tests the judgement behind budgets and decisions under proctored conditions. They sit well together, and the CMA is the harder signal.

Certified Management Accountant (CMA®) — quick answers

What does the CMA cost?

An entrance fee, two exam fees and IMA membership, plus study materials. The exam fee varies with membership type; the cost table lists what IMA displayed on the reading day.

Can I take Part 2 before Part 1?

Yes. IMA sets no order, so starting with the part closest to your daily work is a reasonable way to build momentum.

What changed in 2026?

IMA introduced case-based questions in May 2026. IMA's enrolment page describes two of them in the final section of each part, where the 2024 outline still describes essays; check that your study material covers the new format.

Do I need a degree before sitting the exam?

The credential requires a degree or a relevant professional qualification. The experience requirement can be completed before or within seven years of passing.

How do I keep the CMA?

Report thirty hours of continuing education each year, two of them in ethics, and keep your IMA membership active.

Where this certificate sits in the field

What comes next

Concepts this certificate draws on

Glossary entries with the reason each one matters for Certified Management Accountant (CMA®).

A vendor certificate — not a degree and not an accredited qualification. Facts are from the vendor's exam page on the date shown; prices are list prices that vary by country and tax.

Last reviewed 26 September 2026 · Getting Digital