The syllabus introduced in the year 2016 has changed. The syllabus and question paper pattern propels the changes. The syllabus was modelled as per the International Federation of accountants, international educational guidelines and IAESB. Business laws and ethics, financial accounting, direct and indirect taxation, and cost-accounting are the subjects in CMA group one. CMA intermediate group two subjects are operations management and strategic management, corporate accounting and auditing, financial management and business data, and management accounting. During the CMA final level, students learn about corporate and economic laws, strategic financial management, direct tax laws and international taxation, strategic cost management, cost and management audit, corporate financial reporting, and indirect tax laws and practices. The syllabus weightage and model questions help the students with organised preparation. We shed light on the CMA syllabus with some valuable insights. Technological advancement is the baseline for the changes in the other areas of decision-making. Business ethics and social responsibility is changing in the business world.
Syllabus Overview:
The old syllabus and new syllabus have common subjects with the same weightage. The new subjects are incorporated to handle the challenging business scenarios. The weightage in financial accounting is the preparation of financial statements with 40 marks, accounting basics with 25 marks, self-balancing ledger, royalties, hire purchase and instalment system, branch and departmental accounts with 20 marks, accounting in a computerised environment and accounting standards with 15 marks. The syllabus weightage and subject are the same as in 2016. Laws and ethics study dispersion go as commercial laws with 30 marks, industrial laws with 25 marks, corporate laws with 35 marks, and ethics with ten marks. Direct taxation subject weightage is income tax act basics with 10 marks, heads of income and computation of total income, tax liability with 70 marks, tax management, administrative procedure and ICDS with 20 marks. Students learn international taxation along with direct tax. The subject Introduction to cost accounting gets 40 marks weightage, methods of costing gets30 marks, and cost accounting techniques get 30 marks.
The operations management and strategic management subject were divided with seventy per cent for operations management and thirty per cent for strategic management in the 2016 syllabus. The 2022 syllabus coverage is also the same with a sub-division of 15 marks for operations management and planning, 35 marks for designing operational systems and control, production planning and control, production management and quality management, 20 marks for project management and economics of maintenance and spares management. Strategic management introduction, strategic analysis and strategic planning and formulation and implementation of the strategy are the divisions in the strategic management subject. The division with cost and management accounting is fifty for cost and management accounting and fifty for financial management. The indirect tax structure is 80 per cent for canons of taxations – indirect tax GST and twenty per cent for customs laws. Indirect tax subject requires comprehension, knowledge, application and analysis. The division is fifty and fifty for company accounts and auditing.
Paper seven in the old syllabus is direct taxation. In the new syllabus, students learn about direct and indirect taxation. The subject operation management information system is now named operations management and strategic management. Paper eleven of the new syllabus is financial management and business data analytics. This is a new subject. The students learn management accounting instead of company accounts and audits subject. The reading space of the subject corporate laws and compliance is now replaced. Students read new subjects corporate and economic laws. Instead of business strategy and cost management subjects, students learn strategic cost management. Instead of tax management and practice, students learn about direct tax laws and international taxation.
The student learns about elective subject’s strategic performance management and business valuation, risk management in banking and insurance, and entrepreneurship and start-up towards the end. The change is deferred and implemented in June 2023 because of the pandemic. Business communication, decision making, quantitative techniques, data analytics, strategic management, risk management in the finance sector and knowledge about start-up companies are the elements added to the syllabus. Operations management and strategic management, financial management and business data analytics, management accounting, corporate and economic laws, strategic cost management, direct tax laws and international taxation are the additional subjects added this year.
Model questions:
The 2022 CMA intermediate and final level examination is expected as a computer-based test from the centre. The duration of the exam is three hours. Each paper gets 100 marks. The foundation-level students write the home-based and online examination patterns. It is a remote-proctored test. Here are some questions and topics. This is written in a generic view. This is a glimpse of the knowledge quest to understand intensively.
Operations management and strategic management:
Which resources of the business are misused or wasted by the employees?
Inventory, overproduction, fault with production, waiting period, over processing, transport, and time are the resources that employees tend to waste during the operation.
How operations management is related to productivity?
Operations management increases the quality and profits and also reduces the cost.
Financial management and business data analytics:
What are the activities mentioned in the cash flow statement?
The three main categories of cash flow statements are investing activities, operating activities, and financing activities.
What is the difference between a balance sheet and a profit and loss account?
The assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity are the information on the balance sheet. The costs, revenues and expenses are the information on the profit and loss statement. The details and time frame are the difference between the two.
Corporate and economic laws:
Corporate and economic laws subject has case study and scenario-based questions. Chartered accountancy students have this subject in the CA final level examination.
Strategic cost management:
What are the pricing decisions followed by the international companies?
Cost-oriented pricing policy, competition-oriented pricing policy, price bundling, value-based pricing, affordability-based pricing, prestige pricing, sealed bid pricing, breakeven point pricing, and customer demand-oriented pricing policy are the pricing methods followed in the international market.
What are the examples of abnormal costs?
Unforeseen events, statutory bodies, access constraints, data issues, technical issues and listed buildings are examples of abnormal costs. These costs are irregular. It happens due to an abnormal situation or operation.
Direct tax laws and international taxation:
Direct tax and international taxation are like an ocean with changing amendments. A difficult and important chapter on this subject is transfer pricing, charitable trust, TDS, and PGBP.
Final words:
The new subjects train the students in business processes and management techniques of all domains. The students need to plan effective learning strategies and take coaching from eminent professors to understand the new topics.
