Certified Management Accountant Certification Requirements

To be certified by the IMA as a Certified Management Accountant or a Certified Financial Manager, candidates must meet an experience requirement and a education requirement.

CMA Educational Requirement

The IMA requires verification of any one of the following to meet the educational requirement:

1. Bachelors Degree from an accredited college or university.  Any area of curriculum. 
2. A Score in the 50th percentile or higher on either the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) or the GRE (Graduation Record Examination) test.
3. Professional qualification comparable to the CPA, CMA, CFM, etc.

CMA Experience Requirement

Candidates must possess at least two continuous years of professional experience in management accounting or financial management.  This may be attained prior to the candidates application or within seven years after passing the examination.

In order for the experience to be accepted under the requirements, the experience must consist of positions requiring judgments regularly made employing the principles of management accounting and financial management.  Such principles must include financial analysis, budget preparation, management information systems, management accounting, financial management, and auditing in the industries of finance, management consulting, government, auditing in public accounting, research, teaching or consulting related to management accounting or financial management.

Experience gained in positions requiring the occasional application of management accounting principles will not be considered in meeting the experience requirement.

Additional information on the CMA and CFM exams can be found on the website of The Institute of Certified Management Accountants located at:http://www.imanet.org/