Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is professional accountant holding specialty skills in financial management and strategy.
The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), a globally recognized organization, has the CMA designation falling under the franchise, wherein one meets the qualification and passes the CMA exam.
Management accounting is very biased, and it is applied using financial data to help businesses make better-informed decisions, manage risks, optimize performance, and attain strategic goals.
Key Features of CMA:
1. Concentration Areas
Concentration of CMAs is toward internal financial management rather than at the external financial reporting and are better aware of issues relating to cost management, budgeting, performance measurement, and internal controls
CMAs are provided training on business strategy, monitoring performance, and decision-making in a firm based on its financial information.
They make most of the financial projections and risk assessments and recommend methods to achieve the best-performing financial results.
2. Qualification requirements:
-Undergraduate degree
– Two years work experience in management accounting/financial management He /She must have sat for the CMA Exam that is divided into two modules.
1: Financial Planning, Performance and analytics chapter
2: Strategic Financial Management
3. CMA Exam Content:
Knowledge will be tested in core areas which comprise of: Financial planning Budgeting Internal controls Financial reporting Decision analysis and professional ethics
4. Certifying Body :
The Institute of Management Accountants, IMA comprises more than 140,000 members worldwide and is the only organization that awards CMA certification. It also provides other resources to its member fraternity for exclusive benefit to meet professional development, networking, and continuous education.
5.Desirable Skills and Competencies:
Financial Reporting and Analysis
Cost Management
Internal Controls and Risk Management, and
Strategic Financial Planning
Business Analysis and Decision Support
Performance Management
Ethics and Governance
6. International Acceptance:
CMA is highly accepted and, in fact, is a prestige badge to management accounting. For those candidacies that aim at top-rung management or corporate ladder into places like CFO, finance director or corporate controller, it is essential.
-CMAs are required to renew their certification every year. The same keeps them permanently conversant with changing best practices, standards, and technology.
Benefits of Being a CMA:
Superior Career Opportunities: This certificate is widely embraced in accounting and finance sectors and specifically for those interested in leadership positions.
Better Salary Scale: CMAs will earn much more than the rest who haven’t obtained this certificate.
Global Opportunity: Since the CMA is an international certification, higher chances that the individual will work with multinational companies and even all over the world.
It is therefore mainly related to professional activities and in-depth knowledge of accounting, financial analysis, and strategic decision-making.
– CMA vs. CPA: The CMA is more concerned with internal management accounting cost control and strategic decision-making on finance. The professional holding this qualification is more concerned with external reporting and auditing to do with tax, as a CPA.
CMA vs. CFA: The crucial difference, however is that the CFA is more investment-oriented than the CMA is. It is actually much more focused on analysis, portfolio management, and construction of a portfolio.
Generally, CMA is that badge of professionalism which transforms the accountant into an effective professional person running strategies in a firm with improvement capability of an organizational performance and possible risks monitoring of financial resources. It is therefore beyond price to any who should want to walk into the corridors of management accountant or other financial leadership corridors.