CMA Certification Requirements Explained

Not everyone can become a certified management accountant, but if you can, it may be worth pursuing. According to the Institute of Management Accountants, it’s a career path that earns successful candidates over for every hour of study.

In this guide, I’ll explain the CMA certification requirements you actually need to know if you want to (or qualify to) pursue this career path.

So, without further ado, let’s get you closer to being certification-ready.

Key Takeaways

• Know The Core Requirements: CMA certification requires IMA membership, passing both exam parts, a qualifying degree or approved professional certification, and two years of relevant work experience.
• You Can Start Before Finishing Everything: You can take the CMA exam before completing the education or experience requirements, but full certification only comes after all criteria are met and verified.
• The Exam Has Two Parts: The CMA exam is split into two sections covering financial planning, performance, analytics, and strategic financial management.
• Certification Has To Be Maintained: To keep the CMA active, you need annual continuing education, ethics training, and current IMA membership.
• The Full Timeline Takes Planning: The process can take several years when you factor in education, exam prep, and the required work experience.

How to Qualify For The CMA Certification

To qualify for the CMA certification, you need to meet four core requirements:

• Join the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)
• Enter the CMA program and pay the entrance fee
• Pass both parts of the CMA exam
• Meet the education and experience requirements

A common point of confusion: you can usually take the exam before you finish the education or experience requirements, but you cannot receive the full CMA credential until those requirements are verified by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA), the certification arm of IMA.

That makes the CMA more flexible than many people expect. If you’re still in school or building experience, you may be able to start the exam process now and complete the remaining pieces later.

How To Meet The Education, Experience, and Membership Requirements

The biggest part of understanding CMA certification requirements is knowing what counts, when it counts, and how long the full path really takes.

Education Requirement

To earn the CMA, you must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or an approved professional certification accepted by IMA. The degree does not have to be in accounting or finance, though those majors can obviously help with exam prep.

If your degree is from a non-US institution, IMA may require evaluation by an independent credential service to confirm equivalency. The key issue is accreditation and recognition, not just whether you completed a program.

Experience Requirement

You also need two continuous years of full-time professional experience in management accounting or financial management. This experience can generally be completed before or within a set period after passing the exam, based on IMA rules.

Qualifying work often includes tasks such as:

• Preparing financial statements
• Budgeting and forecasting
• Analyzing costs or margins
• Internal reporting and performance analysis
• Financial planning
• Risk evaluation
• Decision support for management

Some part-time roles may count on a prorated basis if they meet IMA thresholds. Teaching certain college-level accounting or corporate finance courses may also qualify in some cases.

Membership Requirement

You must maintain an active IMA membership and pay the CMA entrance fee. Without active membership, you cannot move through the certification process.

Here’s a simple view of the main CMA certification requirements:

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How the CMA Exam Fits Into Certification

The CMA exam has two parts, and both must be passed. According to the IMA, the exam covers financial planning, performance, analytics, and strategic financial management.

Each part is four hours long and includes:

• 100 multiple-choice questions
• 2 case-based question sets

The two parts are:

1. Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics
2. Strategic Financial Management

You do not need to pass both parts at once, and many candidates take them in separate testing windows. After you pass both, you still need the education and work experience requirements approved before certification is awarded.

Cost and Maintenance

CMA costs vary by candidate status, but there are usually several categories of expense:

• IMA membership dues
• CMA entrance fee
• Exam registration fees for each part
• Study materials and prep course costs

Because pricing can change, it’s best to verify current fee schedules on the official IMA website. If you’re budgeting, many candidates also spend several hundred to several thousand dollars on prep resources, depending on whether they self-study or use one of the top CMA review courses.

Once certified, you must maintain the credential. That generally means:

• 30 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) each year
• At least 2 hours of ethics CPE annually
• Ongoing IMA membership and CMA maintenance dues

Conclusion

The CMA certification requirements are straightforward on paper, but the full path includes more than passing an exam. You need an active IMA membership, a qualifying degree or approved equivalent, two years of relevant experience, and ongoing maintenance once certified.

If the CMA matches your career goals, your next step is to compare study options and build a realistic timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions