Why the CMA`s Learning Outcome Statements Matter
There is a wide variety and volume of tasks that a Certified Management Accountant (CMA®) can be asked to complete in their day-to-day work. To ensure today’s CMAs are fully prepared for the challenge, Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) has designed the CMA Program curriculum to be as comprehensive as possible.
Ensuring Professional Integrity
Financial planning, analysis, control, and decision support are skills that are critical to the success of finance teams. IMA regularly reviews the content of the CMA exam to ensure that the content domains align with the knowledge, skills, and abilities that an accountant or finance professional in business uses on the job.
To do this, the organization has used a robust outline of Learning Outcome Statements, or LOSs. These LOSs detail precise accounting concepts that competent CMAs must master and reliably demonstrate.
Avoid Wasting Study Time
Per the organization’s latest update, there are currently 650 LOSs within the CMA program curriculum. While this may seem like a huge amount of information, like the CPA Exam, the curriculum covers the broad spectrum of management accounting but is not terribly deep on specific areas.
You won’t have to know absolutely everything to pass the CMA exam, of course, but aligning your studying with the program curriculum and LOSs ensures you don’t waste time on concepts that aren’t heavily tested.
Part 1 Curriculum Overview
- External Financial Reporting Decisions 15%
- Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting 20%
- Performance Management 20%
- Cost Management 15%
- Internal Controls 15%
- Technology and Analytics 15%
Part 2 Curriculum Overview
- Financial Statement Analysis 20%
- Corporate Finance 20%
- Business Decision Analysis 25%
- Enterprise Risk Management 10%
- Capital Investment Decisions 10%
- Professional Ethics 15%
You can review all of the LOSs for the current CMA Program here.
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