What is a CMA and What Do They Do?

Hey there! Welcome back again. In this blog, we will be discussing what is CMA, which is one of the most frequently asked questions. Without any further ado, let us quickly get started and understand what do they exactly do.

After a tiring day at work, slogging almost ten hours, five days a week, most professionals tend to ask themselves, “What am I doing this for? Do I even like what I am doing and am I making enough to compensate for the efforts I’m putting in?” If either of these questions draws up the answer as ‘no’, then it’s time for a career introspection. 

For accounts and finance professionals, there’s a way to turn the answer to these insightful questions into ‘yes’ through a CMA certification.

What is a CMA? It is an add-on certification that will accelerate your career at a global level. For anyone who is in the field of management, business, or finance, CMA is your passport to worldwide recognition and acknowledgment as a financial expert, which makes you stand out from other candidates, and ultimately to the money you draw in as a professional.

Let us deep dive and understand CMA in detail: 

• Corporate Finance and Management Accounting are two major areas where accounting professionals focus on. 
• That’s where the major USP of CMA comes in because it is a globally recognized credential that provides expertise in financial accounting and strategic management where the focus in on corporate finance and management accounting.
• The certification is offered by theInstitute of Management Accountants (IMA). For those in this field, this name would not be an unknown one. The IMA awards the CMA certification.
• IMA is the only institute offering the CMA course. The CMA certification has claimed a global benchmark for management accounting professions.

Divided into two parts, the CMA Exams are undertaken three times a year which are in:

• January/February
• May/June
• September/October

Let us now understand what kind of employment opportunities does a CMA have?

• Being practical thinkers, any financial and accounting expert would think of the ROI before taking any major decision.
• All the aspiring CMA professionals must be having the same doubt. So, what kind of professional opportunities does CMA certification offer? Let us find out.

• Finance is a core part of any business, the need for CMAs is equal in private as well as public organizations, and even in government agencies. The most common industries where a CMA can be employed include:
• Manufacturing
• Educational services
• Mining
• Insurance and real estate
• Medical and health services
• Transportation
• Communication and other utility services
• Construction 
• Finance

Their skills and expertise can fetch their positions such as:

• Cost accountants
• Managerial accountants
• Industrial accountants
• Private accountants
• Corporate accountants

Roles and responsibilities of a CMA include:

• Though CMAs are in demand in a wide variety of industries, a few common domains for all CMAs across every industry include:
• Cost Management
• Performance Management
• Profitability Analysis
• Investment Decisions
• Internal Controls
• Financial Reporting
• Planning and Budgeting

Under these roles, their everyday tasks and duties may comprise:

• Identifying prospects for investment management
• Acting as a counsellor and managing lower-level accountants
• Preparing financial statements like income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements
• Making presentations and presenting them to the senior management
• Creating strategies to improve and manage various internal and external risks
• Arranging funds and probable options for financing 
• Monitoring and controlling compliance

So, what value does a CMA hold?

• Having a CMA certification can open up countless opportunities in the management accounting and financial management sector, across various industries. 
• This is not only because of the global recognition that the certification holds but also because the focus is on practical learning. 
• The honing of skills in accounting and financial data analysis helps the CMA-certified professionals in making strategic business decisions.

Here are a few core features and advantages of the CMA certification: 

1. Being a gold standard in management accounting and being globally recognized across the world, the US CMA course will open doors to international mobility. 
2. Very structured and short-term program that has a total of two papers. It is regulated by the IMA (Institute of Management Accountants), which offers this prestigious designation.
3. This credential is highly valuable and most preferred by the multinational companies, Big 4’s in India and abroad, mainly in the consulting firms and US-based organizations. 
4. Provides greater flexibility in comparison to other courses. The US CMA course has three exam windows in a year. The exam window can be selected according to the timeframe and strength of knowledge. 
5. This designation also offers access to IMA’s worldwide CMA digital network providing opportunities to collaborate with fellow CMA’s that also provides insights for a better career. 

To summarize, depending on the aspirants plan and study schedule, CMA course duration would take a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 3 years to complete from the date of registration. To know more about the CMA course details, please feel free to get in touch with our counsellors, who would be more than happy to assist you. All the best and happy learning!