CMA Exam 2024 Syllabus Breakdown and Important Topics to Focus On

Last updated on October 8th, 2024 at 12:36 pm

The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) course is an essential credential in the finance and management sector. Once you've cleared this exam, your expertise and credibility in the field will be benchmarked. Its rigorous curriculum will prepare you with the most sought-after skills in the industry and enhance your career prospects.

As of December 2021, only 11.82% of the total applicants could pass both groups of the intermediate examination. For the final exam, the percentage dropped to 6.58% in both groups combined. So, it's understandable that this exam might not be a cakewalk.

If you’re a CMA exam aspirant, knowing the CMA exam syllabus 2024 beforehand is a stepping stone to success. It gives you more preparation time and makes you an enthusiastic learner. In this guide, you will find the most important CMA topics 2024, details of the CMA syllabus, and much more. 

CMA Exam Syllabus 2024: Know What to Study

Before your CMA exam preparation, you must be aware of the CMA syllabus. Here's a section explaining the CMA exam syllabus 2024:

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, or ICAI, conducts the annual Cost and Management Accountant, or CMA, exam. This exam is conducted for three courses: CMA foundation, intermediate, and final. Each course has its exam pattern.

CMA syllabus: The foundation course

The CMA foundation course has four papers of two sections each. Each paper is worth 100 marks.

Paper number	Paper name	Sections
1	Fundamentals Of Business Laws and Business Communication (FBLC)	Section A: Fundamentals of Business Laws Section B: Fundamentals of Ethics
2	Fundamentals Of Financial and Cost Accounting (FFCA)	Section A: Fundamentals of Financial Accounting Section B: Fundamentals of Cost Accounting
3	Fundamentals Of Business Mathematics and Statistics (FBMS)	Section A: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics Section B: Fundamentals of Business Statistics
4	Fundamentals Of Business Economics and Management (FBEM)	Section A - Fundamentals of Business Economics Section B: Fundamentals of Management

CMA syllabus: The intermediate course

In the intermediate course, you will move on to the next papers. This course has two groups of four papers each. Each paper is worth 100 marks.

Group	Paper number	Paper name
1	5	Business Laws and Ethics (BLE)
	6	Financial Accounting (FA)
	7	Direct and Indirect Taxation (DITX)
	8	Cost Accounting (CA)
2	9	Operations Management and Strategic Management (OMSM)
	10	Corporate Accounting and Auditing (CAA)
	11	Financial Management and Business Data Analytics (FMDA)
	12	Management Accounting (MA)

CMA syllabus: The final course

The CMA final course exam pattern is very similar to the intermediate groups, which also have two groups. Within this, group 4 has only elective papers. The papers in this course are a continuation of the intermediate level and carry 100 marks each.

Group	Paper number	Paper name
3	13	Corporate and Economic Laws (CEL)
	14	Strategic Financial Management (SFM)
	15	Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation (DIT)
	16	Strategic Cost Management (SCM)
	17	Cost and Management Audit (CMAD)
	18	Corporate Financial Reporting (CFR)
	19	Indirect Tax Laws and Practice (ITLP)
4	20A	Strategic Performance Management and Business Valuation (SPMBV)
	20B	Risk Management in Banking and Insurance (RMBI)
	20C	Entrepreneurship and Start-Up (ENTS)

Learn About the Important CMA Topics 2024

Within the CMA syllabus, you will find various topics to cover. Starting with the most important topics helps you be more confident about the exam and motivates you to keep up the hard work. Here are a few important topics for your CMA exam preparation which you cannot afford to miss:

Paper number	Important topics to be covered
1	Indian Contracts Act of 1872 Sales of Goods Act, 1930 Processes and types of business communication
2	Accounting frameworks Cost accounting Special transactions
3	Arithmetic Algebra Calculus Measures of central tendency Probability
4	Forms of market Money and banking Stewardship theory
5	Commercial laws Business laws Business ethics Corporate laws
6	Accounting principles, concepts Accounting cycle Bills of exchange, consignment Partnership accounting
7	Basics of income tax GST Custom Act and rules
8	Cost bookkeeping Cost accounting standards
9	Operations planning Productivity management Quality management Strategic analysis and strategic planning Digital strategy
10	Shares and debentures Cash flow statement Auditing concepts, types
11	Capital budgeting Data processing Data presentation, analysis
12	Marginal cost Transfer pricing Decision theory
13	The Companies Act, 2013 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 SEBI regulations
14	Investment decisions Leasing decisions Equity, mutual funds. Risks in financial markets
15	Tax management Grievances Redressal Black Money Act, 2015
16	Quality cost management Decision-making techniques Linear programming Game theory
17	Cost auditing Management auditing Forensic audit
18	Indian accounting standards Recent developments in financial reporting
19	Input tax E-way bill GST refunds Duty drawback

CMA USA Course Paper Pattern

"Is US CMA better than Indian CMA?" If this question is bothering you, then let's answer that first. The two examinations differ from each other mainly in their recognition. US CMA is a globally recognised credential, while the Indian CMA is more suitable for the Indian finance market and is recognised by the Indian government. The duration for US CMA is also shorter. You can complete it in one year, while the Indian CMA will take three to four years.

The CMA USA examination has two parts. Here are the details:

CMA Part I (Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics)
Syllabus	Weightage
Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting	20%
Performance Management	20%
External Financial Reporting Decisions	15%
Cost Management	15%
Internal Controls	15%
Technology and Analytics	15%

CMA Part II (Strategic Finance Management)
Syllabus	Weightage
Decision Analysis	25%
Financial Statement Analysis	20%
Corporate Finance	20%
Professional Ethics	15%
Risk Management	10%
Investment Decisions	10%

The qualifying marks for each paper are 360 out of 500, and you can choose which part to opt for first.

Conclusion

The CMA examination is significant for multiple reasons. Earning this credential gives you professional credibility in the management and accounting field. This degree also assures professional advancement because it is often a prerequisite for high-level positions in the finance sector.

With this degree, you can enjoy higher salaries than your non-certified peers. Furthermore, you can interact with people from multiple other spheres, learn new skills daily, attend events, and tap into resources that will help your career growth. 

The Certified Management Accountant credential offered by Imarticus Learning can be essential for your journey to becoming a top finance leader. With guidance from the top leaders in the industry, Imarticus Learning assures that you’ll pass with flying colours. The course comes with a pre-placement boot camp, which will help you in resume-building, cracking interviews and much more.