If the student wants to taste success, then he needs to prepare for a series of requirements. Do an aptitude test to know the course that is ideal for you. The role of cost accountants require complex ideas, overcome difficulties, learn from experience, and adapt to the changing new type of environment. Check the reading comprehension, conceptual understanding, mathematical reasoning, inductive reasoning, and spatial awareness to know the emotional intelligence of the cost accountant job role. An aptitude test is helpful for the students to understand the anti-cheating features related to learning. The 12th standard is the right age to do the aptitude test and ascertain the skills. In the job of CMA and CA, the candidates share different responsibilities. Cost accountants determine prices, help for decision making, help for financial planning, help for cost audit, and record the cost accounting transactions. A chartered accountant handles the monthly reports and audits. The manufacturing companies with a turnover of more than Rs100 crores must submit their accounts to the cost accountant for cost audit.
Students with the aspiration to complete CMA have three levels of examination. They are the foundation, inter and final. The exam happens in June and December. If you want to study CMA after completing the 12th standard, then you need to complete the CMA foundation first. Decide for enrolment in January and July. When doing the registration for the exams, it is mandatory to do registration for two groups. But, when writing the exams, it can be either two groups or one group. Like CA and ACS CMA exam does not have an open book exam, yet it has MCQ questions. For essay type questions, frame questions from the subjects, get answers to the questions, read about important points of the answers, and review answers for betterment. This process of learning with conceptual understanding will help students to gain comprehensive knowledge. The essay questions give the students a straight forward approach and an approach with navigation.
Eligibility for CMA course
For a direct route, CMA demands graduation. If the entry is after the 10th standard or 12th standard, then it requires a CMA foundation certificate. Important dates from the calendar to plan the exam registrations are as follows: Admission for foundation happens in January and July, registration to inter or final happens in January or July, re-registration for inter or final in March or September, exam application for inter or final comes in April or October, and finally the result is expected in August or February.
How difficult is the CMA exam?
The rate of difficulty in passing the CMA exam is high. In the case of part one and part two, the pass percentage is 45 percent. The structure of the question paper is the same for the two types of the question paper. The exam goes for four hours. Students get a hundred multiple-choice questions, and two essays type questions. MCQ questions require a fifty percent pass percentage. The question paper is set by the professors using a random method. So, each student gets a different question paper. CIMA and CGMA are courses with an equal value like CMA. The question paper structure of CIMA consists of varied styles like multiple-response, multiple-choice, number entry, drag and drop, and hotspot. In the case of CMA, the question paper structure is with two types such as objective type question paper and subjective type question paper.
Why CMA is popular?
In the niche of finance, CMA is perceived as one of the largest certifications. In developing countries such as the Middle East and China, CMA is growing. The statistics on the salary of CMA graduates move up and down. But the demand shows that there will be a steady increase in the future. Cost accountants work with broader knowledge about industries, but auditors work with in-depth knowledge about business and tax planning. That is the difference between auditors and public accountants.
CMA professionals are suitable for traditional roles and specialized roles. As per the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the financial manager’s demand will reach an increase of 16 percent from 2028. So, the opportunities expected tend to be more for CMA professionals. If the professional life is to be enjoyable, then plan professional qualification like CMA. Risk management is a specialized role that demands the skills of a cost accountant. The skills of the cost accountant are to make decisions with individual judgment, use accounting software, and convince the management with budgets and suggest better production methods. The production of the company, demand and supply controllers, performance monitors, cost wizards, and ops evaluators is the area of operation of the CMA professionals. CMA professionals get 62 percent higher salaries than normal graduates. In today’s business, the quality of leadership creates strategic moves.
Final words
As there is an expectation of compliances in the manufacturing sectors, the CMA course is highly valuable. The cost accountants integrate management practices, strategies, and accounting. Modern technologies like AI, IoT, cyber-physical systems, and cloud computing, and big data analytics change the business processes. So, the new term called industry 4.0 introduces with the restructuring of the process and minimization of cost. This new concept of cost accounting changes the manufacturers to speed up innovation and faster the design processes.
CMA graduates can go for Indian jobs in organizations like multinational companies, financial consulting companies, and financial services. USA, UK, Middle East, Canada, and China are countries that have an international job for CMA professionals. The MNC companies conduct campus interviews in the Cost accounting institutes. Job roles of CMA candidates are popular with positions as a financial analyst, finance manager, Chief financial officer, financial risk manager, cost manager, financial controller, relationship manager, and cost accountant.
