CMA

CMA Exam Changes: Start getting ready

April 3, 2024

5 min read

Marketing Manager, Content

If you’re planning to take the CMA Exam to become a Certified Management Accountant, it’s important to be aware that the Institute of Management Accounting (IMA) is making changes to the CMA Exam which will go into effect on September 1, 2024. To help you plan and get ready, we’re outlining these changes from new topics to removed content.

About the CMA Exam

The IMA is the governing board for management accounting and offers the CMA certification. In addition to meeting experience and education requirements, they also require candidates to pass the CMA Exam. The exam is given in two separate parts. Each part is four hours long and consists of 100 multiple choice questions and two essay questions.

The exam is weighted so that the multiple-choice questions count for 75 percent of the grade and essay questions count for 25 percent. You’ll be scored from 0 to 500 on each part of the exam, though the IMA scales the exam scores to maintain consistency and fairness. To pass, you’ll need a minimum score of 360 on each part of the CMA Exam.

Why is the CMA Exam changing?

The IMA conducts periodic reviews of the CMA Exam content to ensure its testing knowledge and competency in topics relevant to real-world business practices. They are implementing the new update after a job analysis study to ensure the exam aligns closely with the knowledge, skills, and abilities that accountants and financial professionals use regularly. This ensures that new CMAs are ready to step into new roles and take on new responsibilities.

What are the changes to the CMA Exam?

Both parts of the exam cover six specific competencies (12 total) with specific topics in each. These core competencies and the percentage they are represented on the exam are not changing. Instead, the IMA is making changes to some of the topics within these competencies.

Exam Part 1: Financial Planning, Performance and Analytics

Competency section	Current CMA Exam	New CMA Exam
External financial reporting decisions (15%)	Financial statements Recognition, measurement, and valuation GAAP - IFRS differences	Financial statements Consolidated financial statements (NEW) Recognition, measurement, and valuation GAAP - IFRS differences
Planning, budgeting and forecasting (20%)	Strategic planning Budgeting concepts Forecasting techniques Budgeting methodologies Annual profit plan and supporting schedules Top-level planning and analysis	Strategic planning Budgeting concepts Forecasting techniques Budgeting methodologies Annual profit plan and supporting schedules Top-level planning and analysis
Performance management (20%)	Cost and variance measures Responsibility centers and reporting segments Performance measures	Cost and variance measures Responsibility centers and reporting segments Performance measures Controllable margin (NEW)
Cost management (15%)	Measurement concepts Costing systems Overhead costs Supply chain management Business process improvement	Measurement concepts Costing systems Overhead costs Supply chain management Business process improvement
Internal controls (15%)	Governance, risk and compliance System controls and security measures	Governance, risk and compliance System controls and security measures Testing internal controls (NEW) Control deficiency remediation (NEW)
Technology and analytics (15%)	Information systems Data governance Technology-enabled finance transformation Data analytics	Information systems Data governance Technology-enabled finance transformation Data analytics Data management (NEW)

Removed exam content includes:

Some process costing content
High-low method
Throughput costing
Theory of Constraints
Activity-based management
Efficient accounting systems

This content only comes from the Cost Management section in Part 1.

Part 2: Strategic Financial Management

Competency section	Current CMA Exam	New CMA Exam
Financial statement analysis (20%)	Basic financial statement analysis Financial ratios Profitability analysis Special issues	Basic financial statement analysis Financial ratios Profitability analysis Special issues Financial trend analysis (NEW)
Corporate finance (20%)	Risk and return Long-term financial management Raising capital Working capital management Corporate restructuring International finance	Risk and return Long-term financial management Raising capital Working capital management Corporate restructuring International finance Debt financing vs equity financing (NEW)
Decision analysis (25%)	Cost/volume/profit analysis Marginal analysis Pricing	Cost/volume/profit analysis Marginal analysis Pricing
Risk management (10%)	Enterprise risk	Enterprise risk
Investment decisions (10%)	Capital budgeting process Capital investment analysis methods	Capital budgeting process Capital investment analysis methods Discount rates (NEW) Profitability index (NEW) Using sensitivity analysis in capital investment decision analysis (NEW)
Professional ethics (15%)	Business ethics Ethical considerations for management accounting and financial management professionals Ethical considerations for the organization	Business ethics Ethical considerations for management accounting and financial management professionals Ethical considerations for the organization Data ethics (NEW) Types of business fraud (NEW) Governmental data protection regulations (NEW)

Removed exam content includes :

Moral philosophies
Statement on management accounting, "Value and Ethics: From Inception to Practice
Facilitation payments

These sections were removed from the professional ethics section of Part 2.

When do the CMA Exam changes go into effect?

CMA candidates will start taking the new CMA Exam on September 1, 2024. However, it’s important to note that both parts of the CMA Exam are only given during the following periods each year:

January 1 through February 29
May 1 through June 28
September 1 through October 31

So, the last day to take the current exam is June 28, 2024.

Don’t let CMA Exam changes stop you from studying

If upcoming changes to the CMA Exam make you re-think your timeline, we want to reassure you that now is still a great time to start studying! While there are updates to the topics within the core competencies, most of the exam stays the same so you can begin studying the material that won't change.

Get CMA Exam Day Ready^SMwith Becker

Becker has been working with the IMA to update our course to align with the CMA Exam changes and meet the updated Learning Outcome Statements. Our CMA Exam review course will be available on July 2, 2024, to ensure you have plenty of time to learn the updated information and get Exam Day Ready^SM!

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