Business, Legal & Accounting Glossary
An accredited professional who handles all aspects of management accounting. Management accounting includes cost analysis, economic forecasting, and quality control.
The title Certified Management Accountant is a professional designation awarded by various professional bodies around the world. The CMA designation is a post-nominal award issued to individuals who have achieved peer-based criteria of professional competency in the field of Management Accounting. Management accounting qualifications differ from those such as the ACA or CPA “Chartered” or “Public” accounting qualifications in a number of ways, but primarily management accountants are focused on internal cost measures and accounting for management review, whereas ACA/CPA specialists are focused on reporting of financial results to external bodies such as tax departments, capital markets, investors and others.
The CMA qualification is offered in Australia, Canada, the United States, and many other developed countries. CMA is a granted certificate from a professional body like the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA), and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), provided that the candidate passed a rigorous examination, and met educational and practical experience requirements. Due to the non-statutory status in the United States, a CMA generally provides its services directly to their employers rather than to the public. A CMA may also provide services to the public, but to a much lesser extent than a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
The CMA credentials differ significantly from the CPA designation. More than 80% of accounting professionals in the U.S. work within organizations, building quality financial practices into the organization through decision support, planning, and control over the organization’s value-creating operations. For these managerial finance and accounting professionals, the CMA may be more appropriate as the best selection. Many professional accountants hold both CPA and CMA designations.
The profession of accounting in Canada also includes Certified Management Accountants (CMAs), who belong to the Society of Management Accountants of Canada. A similar title of Chartered Management Accountant exists in the United Kingdom and is awarded to members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Other professional organizations which specialize in management accounting include the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan.
In order to earn the CMA designation in Canada, Australia, and United States, an accountant must have mastered a comprehensive body of knowledge by demonstrating six key skill levels — knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation — in the following areas:
CMA
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This glossary post was last updated: 11th August, 2022 | 0 Views.