How to become a CMA in India

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CMA
August 17, 2022
What’s on this page:

Introduction

Why become a CMA?

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India

Bird’s eye view of the CMA Course

Fee Structure of the CMA Course

About the Examinations

The CMA Foundation Exam

The CMA Intermediate Exam

The CMA Final Exam

Training during the CMA Course

Becoming a Member of the ICMAI

FAQs about the CMA Course

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Introduction

A CMA or a Cost and Management Accountant is responsible for the allocation, management and regulation of funds in a business; any business. A Cost and Management Accountant is someone who performs these duties. A job as a CMA is a rewarding and a highly paid as well as respectable one. There are a number of reasons why you should pursue a career in CMA, but the most important reason is that you should really want to; otherwise you won’t be able to work towards it or enjoy it. So, if you’re serious and dedicated towards your goal, let’s look at these reasons in detail.

Why become a CMA?

Do you have a knack for accounting and finance, and an ever-growing love for business and numbers? Then, perhaps, CMA is the way to go for you.

Also, there is no shortage of jobs or career options for the CMA professional, and neither is there a lack of industries. Nearly every industry needs a CMA. Cost Accountants are always in high demand in the Public and Private sectors, Banking and Finance, Developmental Agencies, Education and Research, you name it! Some common job titles for CMA professionals include:

  • Finance Manager
  • Financial Analyst
  • Financial Controller
  • Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
  • Certified Management Accountant
  • Finance Director
  • Senior Financial Analyst
  • Chairman
  • Managing Director
  • Chief Executive Officer

These are only a few among the many job avenues you can seek employment in, as far as the private sector goes. In the government sector, you can be working in the all-India cadre – ICoAS which is the Indian Cost Accounts service and is as prestigious as the civil service posts of IAS, IPS and IFS. And if that’s not your cup of tea, you can always teach CMA by gaining the necessary academic qualifications.

Are you a CMA exploring avenues to teach? Why don’t you try teaching online with LearnCab? You can contact us to explore options:

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The first step to pursue a fruitful career in these domains above is to register for the CMA course at the Institute of Cost Accountants of India or ICMAI, for short.

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India

What is the ICMAI?

If you aim to become a CMA,  you will need to become a member of the ICMAI, the Institute of Cost Accountants of India.

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India was previously known as The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI). The ICMAI was first established in 1944. The end of the Second World War saw the start of a new Industrial Revolution to resurrect everything that it had taken away. Colonization was on its way out and new governments were being formed and the need for cost accounting was growing rapidly.

And so, in 1959, the Institute was reestablished under the Cost and Works Accountants Act. This act declared the institute, a statutory professional body (the only licensing body in India operating exclusively in this field) for the regulation of the profession of Cost and Management Accountancy. Since then, ICMAI has been responsible greatly for the changing and improving industrial and economic landscape of India.

What are its Objectives?
  • Making Cost and Management Accountancy a helpful tool in all economic activities
  • Implementing scientific methods in Cost and Management Accountancy
  • Staying up-to-date with all the changing trends in the field, and Economics as a whole
  • Operating ethically and condemning unethical practices in the profession
  • To hold conferences on new and interesting professional subjects that might add value to the existing Cost and Accounting subjects

That concludes this admittedly very brief overview of the Institute. Now, let us get a big picture overview of the CMA Course.

Bird’s Eye View of the CMA Course

The CMA Course has two components: practical training and a theoretical (examination) component. The theoretical component involves passing the following three exams:

In addition, aspirants will need to undergo the following training during the course:

  • 3 days “Communication and Soft Skills” for Intermediate students
  • Compulsory Computer Training for Intermediate students for 100 hours
  • 7 days “Industry Oriented Training Programme” after enrolling for Final course.
  • 15 days Modular Training after passing Final course and before campus placement
  • Practical training

Now, there are two routes to enter the course: through CMA Foundation or Direct Entry if you fulfill certain requirements. The chart below gives you a comprehensive overview of the entire CMA course. Bear in mind that you can qualify for exemptions each step of the way! We’ll go into that later.

We will talk about what these training requirements are all about later in detail.

Now, let us look at the fee structure for the CMA course

Fee Structure for the CMA Course

The total fees for the CMA Course are quite reasonable as shown in the table below.

Fee Structure for the CMA Course
Particulars Total Fee (Indian Citizens; in INR) Total Fee (International Students; in US Dollars)
CMA Foundation 4000 250
CMA Intermediate 20000 1100
CMA Final 17000 800
Modular Training after passing the CMA Final exam 4000
Denovo fee 2000 40
Revalidation fee – Intermediate per group/Final 800/1000 40/50
Computer Training Exemption Fee 3000 600
Subject exemption fee per paper 1000 100

Don’t worry if some of the terms may be unfamiliar to you; we will clarify them later in the post.

We also want to make a brief note about coaching available. When signing up for any level of the CMA course, you’ll have to indicate whether you are going to be opting for oral or postal coaching. If you choose oral coaching, you will be given

Now let’s go into the exams themselves in detail.

About the Examinations

The CMA exams are held twice a year, once in June and once in December. Registration to the course is open throughout the year; however if you want to appear for the June examination, the last date to register (for any of the three levels) is 31st January for the June attempt, and 31st July for the December attempt.

ICMAI offers potential students the entire package from beginning to end to kick-start a career in CMA. As mentioned, the three levels of the course are CMA Foundation, CMA Intermediate and CMA Final.

We will look at each one in detail, and walk you through the registration and admission process, as well as a brief overview of the syllabus.

The CMA Foundation Exam

CMA Foundation Exam: Registration and Eligibility Requirements

In order to be eligible to appear for the CMA Foundation exam, you should:

  • Have passed your 10th standard exam (or its equivalent recognized by the Board of Education).
  • Have cleared your 10+2 exam (or its equivalent from a recognized Board of Education by the Central Government).

You can apply for the exam in two ways. By registering:

Offline Registration for CMA Foundation

If you wish to register offline, you can purchase a prospectus priced at Rs 250, with the application form enclosed along with the course fee of Rs. 4000.

With your form, you must make sure you have attested* copies of your:

  1. Matriculation Certificate
  2. 10+2 Mark sheet
  3. Degree

You will also need 3 passport-size photographs.

*Attestations are valid only if they are made by a member of The Institute of Cost Accountants of India /The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India/ The Institute of Company Secretaries of India / Parliament/State Legislative Assembly, a Gazetted Officer or Principal of a recognized college.

You can send your form along with the mandatory documents to your respective Regional Councils/Chapters.  You can find your closest Council in the following table:

 Regional Councils (Name & Address) Area Covered Country-wide

Western India Regional Council: Rohit Chambers, 4th Floor, Janmabhoomi Marg, Fort Mumbai – 400 001.

Ph: 022-22872010 / 22841138 / 22043406 / 22043416; Fax: 91- 022- 22870763; Email: wirc@icmai.in; Website: www.icwai-wirc.org

 The states of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa and the Union Territories: Daman Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Southern India Regional Council: 4, Montieth Lane, Egmore, Chennai – 600 008.

Ph: 044-28554443 / 28554326/28528219; Fax : 91- 044- 28554651; Website: www.sircoficwai.com; Email: sirc@icmai.in

 The states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and the Union Territory: The Lakshadweep

Eastern India Regional Council: 84, Harish Mukherjee Road, Kolkata – 700 025.

Ph: 033 -24553418 /24555957; Fax: 91 033-2455-7920;  Email: eirc@icmai.in

 The states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Tripura, West Bengal, Sikkim, the Union Territories: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands and foreign countries

Northern India Regional Council: 3, Institutional Area, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110 003

Ph: 011 – 24626678; 24615788; Fax: 24622156; Email: nirc@icmai.in

 The States of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and the Union Territory: Chandigarh
Online Registration for CMA Foundation

In order to register online, you will require soft copies of the following:

  1. Passport-size photo (colour) in JPG/JPEG format
  2. Age Proof Certificate (PDF format) with size not exceeding 300 KB
  3. Copy of your signature in JPG/JPEG format
  4. Your degrees and certificates with file size of each not exceeding 300 KB

You need to upload all the documents and pay a CMA Foundation Registration fee online through Debit/Credit card, Internet Banking/Pay Fee Module of IDBI.

After this transaction is successful, you will receive a ‘welcome’ message.  All your information will be sent to the Directorate of Studies for verification of your documents. Once this is done, your Registration is almost complete. On verification of your documents, you will be able to download your Admit Card and Registration Letter. Once your registration is complete, your study material will be dispatched.

Now, note that once you register, your registration period will be valid for up to 3 years from the time of registration. Also, if you want more details about the registration process, we invite you to read our blog post on how to register and appear for the CMA Foundation exam.

Papers of the CMA Foundation Exam

The Syllabus of the CMA Foundation Course consists of 4 papers

  • Paper 1: Fundamentals of Economics and Management
  • Paper 2: Fundamentals of Accounting
  • Paper 3: Fundamentals of Laws and Ethics
  • Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics & Statistics

Each paper is of three hours’ duration and the exams are conducted offline. They are descriptive papers in nature. Now, let’s look at the passing requirements. If you want to know more about the nature of the exam, paper and topic-wise weightage, we invite you to read our blog post on “how to register and appear for the CMA Foundation exam“

CMA Foundation Exam Passing Requirements

You can appear for the CMA Foundation Exam as many times as you want. But you’ll have to appear for all papers at the same time.

You’ll need to fulfill the following two conditions:

  1. Obtain at least 40% in all papers; and
  2. At least 50% in total

That is, at least 40 in each paper, and a total of 200 when you add up all your marks obtained!

You can get paper-wise exemptions in case you are unable to clear the exam. If you secure 60% or more in any paper or papers, you shall be exempted in that paper(s) from appearing in the immediately successive three terms of examination. After that, your exemption becomes invalid and you’ll have to appear for that paper again.

Additionally, you can get qualification-based paper-wise exemptions if you fall among the following categories of students:

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The CMA Intermediate Exam

CMA Intermediate Exam: Registration and Eligibility Requirements

You’ve read about the first step to achieve your dream of becoming an outstanding CMA professional. It’s now time to read about level 2 – the Intermediate exam. So, let’s check your eligibility. You are eligible if you’ve:

  1. Passed your Senior Secondary School Examination (10+2) from a government-recognized Board of Education AND
  2. Passed the Foundation Course of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI) OR
  3. Graduated in any discipline other than Fine Arts from a recognized board of education OR
  4. Passed the Foundation (Entry Level) Part I Examination of CAT of the Institute/Foundation (Entry Level) Part I Examination and Competency Level Part II Examination of CAT of the Institute OR
  5. Passed Foundation of ICSI / Intermediate of ICAI

The registration procedure remains the same for the Intermediate Course as well. However, there are additional documents that you might require, depending on which enrolment category you fall under:

PROVISIONAL (For candidates who are yet to complete Graduation/Equivalent) – The minimum documents required for this are:

  • Passport Photo
  • Signature Copy
  • Age Proof
  • 10th Pass Mark sheet
  • 12th Pass Mark sheet
  • Graduation (1st & 2nd year / 1st to 5th semester) Mark sheet
  • Graduation (3rd year / 6th semester) Admit Card

REGULAR (For candidates who have Graduated/Equivalent) – 

  • Passport Photo
  • Signature Copy
  • Age Proof
  • 10th Pass Mark sheet.
  • 12th Pass Mark sheet.
  • Graduation (1st to 3rd year / 1st to 6th semester) Mark sheets

Any ONE of the following qualified Mark sheets
i) CAT-CMA
ii) CMA Foundation
iii) CS Foundation
iv) IPCC-CA Inter

REGULAR (For Engineering Graduates) – This includes those candidates who have completed 2nd year/ IV semester / Equivalent or Graduate Engineers (qualified Engineering Final Examination):

  • Passport Photo
  • Specimen Signature
  • Age Proof
  • 10th Pass Mark sheet
  • 12th Pass Mark sheet
  • 2nd year or 4th semester Mark Sheet or equivalent Mark Sheet (for Engineering students) or Engineering Completion Certificate

With these documents in place, you should sign up and register for the CMA Intermediate exam. Also, just as in the case of the CMA Foundation exam, you’ll need to sign up for either oral or postal coaching from ICMAI. Note that your registration remains valid for up to 7 years from the date of registration. If you fail to complete the CMA Intermediate course during this period, you can apply for renewal of registration also known as De Novo registration. You can find the application form on the ICMAI student website under online value added services as shown below:

For more details on registration, eligibility requirements, make sure to check out our blog post on how to register and appear for the CMA Intermediate exam.

Papers of the CMA Intermediate Exam

The CMA Intermediate Exam consists of 2 groups of 4 papers each. Each paper is worth 100 marks and is of 3 hours duration. It is a pen and paper exam. You can choose to appear for one or both groups. But when registering, you will have to register for both groups. The papers are numbered from 5 to 12 as a continuation of the numbering scheme from CMA Foundation where the papers are numbered from 1 to 4. The groups of papers are as follows:

Group – 1

Paper 5: Financial Accounting

Paper 6: Laws & Ethics

Paper 7: Direct Taxation

Paper 8: Cost Accounting

Group – 2

Paper 9: Operations Management & Strategic Management

Paper 10: Cost & Management Accounting and Financial Management

Paper 11: Indirect Taxation

Paper 12: Company Accounts & Audit

CMA Intermediate Exam Passing Requirements

To understand the passing requirements, you should be aware that you can choose to appear for one or both groups of papers.

If you appear for a single group, the passing requirements are as follows:

  1. you obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper of the group and
  2. you obtain a minimum of 50% marks in the aggregate of all papers of the group taken together.

If you choose to appear for both groups, the passing requirements are:

  1. you meet the minimum requirements to clear a group individually or
  2. you obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper of both the groups, and a minimum of 50% marks in the aggregate of all papers of both groups taken together.

It is a fairly common question for students as to which option they should choose. In our opinion, it is best to appear for both groups if you have studied well. This is because, as you can see above, the passing requirements are less stringent.

Paper-wise exemptions

In addition to this, you can get paper-wise exemptions in case you are unable to clear one or more groups of the exam. If you secure 60% or more in any paper or papers, you shall be exempted in that paper(s) from appearing in the immediately successive three terms of examination. Also, qualification based exemptions are available and outlined on the ICMAI website.

If you want more details about these papers, passing requirements, exemptions, etc., check out our post on “What’s in the CMA Intermediate Exam?“

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The CMA Final Exam

The last step to become a successful CMA, as far as academics go is the CMA Final Course and in order to be eligible:

The documents you require for your registration are:

  • Passport Photo
  • Your Signature Specimen
  • Age Proof (Aadhaar card, Birth Certificate, Voter ID)
  • 10th Pass Mark sheet
  • 12th Pass Mark sheet
  • CMA Intermediate Pass (both Group-I & Group-II) Mark sheet/Certificate

The registration process is exactly the same as in the case for the CMA Intermediate exam. We won’t go into much detail here. But if you are interested, you can read our post on “How to register and appear for the CMA Final Exam.”

Papers of the CMA Final Exam

The CMA Final Exam consists of 2 groups of 4 papers each. Each paper is worth 100 marks and is of 3 hours duration. It is a pen and paper exam. You can choose to appear for one or both groups. But when registering, you will have to register for both groups. The papers are numbered from 13 to 20 as a continuation of the numbering scheme from CMA Intermediate where the papers are numbered from 5 to 12. The groups of papers are numbered 3 and 4 for much the same reason:

Group 3 –

  • Paper 13: Corporate Laws and Compliance
  • Paper 14: Advanced Financial Management
  • Paper 15: Strategic Cost Management – Decision Making
  • Paper 16: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation

Group 4 –

  • Paper 17: Corporate Financial Reporting
  • Paper 18: Indirect Tax Laws and Practice
  • Paper 19: Cost and Management Audit
  • Paper 20: Strategic Performance Management and Business Valuation
CMA Final Exam Passing Requirements

To understand the passing requirements, you should be aware that you can choose to appear for one or both groups of papers.

If you appear for a single group, the passing requirements are as follows:

  1. you obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper of the group and
  2. you obtain a minimum of 50% marks in the aggregate of all papers of the group taken together.

If you choose to appear for both groups, the passing requirements are:

  1. you meet the minimum requirements to clear a group individually or
  2. you obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper of both the groups, and a minimum of 50% marks in the aggregate of all papers of both groups taken together.

It is a fairly common question for students as to which option they should choose. In our opinion, it is best to appear for both groups if you have studied well. This is because, as you can see above, the passing requirements are less stringent.

Paper-wise exemptions

In addition to this, you can get paper-wise exemptions in case you are unable to clear one or more groups of the exam. If you secure 60% or more in any paper or papers, you shall be exempted in that paper(s) from appearing in the immediately successive three terms of examination. Also, qualification based exemptions are available and outlined on the CMA website.

If you want more details about these papers, passing requirements, exemptions, etc., check out our post on “What’s in the CMA Final Exam?“

Looking for study material that will help you become a CMA? Sign up on our website now!

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Training During the CMA Course

During your CMA Intermediate and Final courses, you will also be required to take different training sessions online in Computers, Soft Skills, and Practical Training among other things. These are mandatory unless you qualify for exemptions based on your past experience and qualifications.

For the CMA Intermediate Course, the training is as follows:

During the CMA Final Course, the training is as follows:

By the way, if you want a look at the training requirements and the syllabu

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