[OhioCPGay]

I’ve recently completed the CPA exam and I’m now thinking about starting the CMA process. Does anyone out there have experience with this? Is it worth it career-wise?

[jjm1181]

I'd also be interested in hearing from people who have the CMA certification. I also plan to get the certification after completing the CPA, BUT I will do so in a much less obsessed fashion. The IMA, the organization that regulates the CMA certification, has statistical information that shows both certifications, CPA and CMA, do enhance salary potential, but the CPA could be the reason for that.

B 79
A 75
R 78
F 85

[senbi575]

I have the CMA and if you are planning on going into private (i.e. non CPA firm) I would highly recommend getting the certification. From my perspective and experience the CPA has more name recognition (although I think the CMA is gaining ground in this department) and it definetly is the “gold standard” in terms of accounting certs. However, from a practical basis (in private) the CMA is more valuable. I consistently find myself using the skills and techniques tested on the CMA in my everyday work and during/after studying for it I found myself being able to speak more intelligently to my bosses, which boosted my confidence, and also made studying for the exam more enjoyable than the CPA. In a nut shell, anyone serious about a career in accounting should be get the CPA but having the CMA will only add to your skill set and make you much more employable.

[flyfrg]

senbi575- how did you study for the CMA? I have been looking for a “Becker” type of course for the CMA but none exist and it seems the best is Gleim which is sort of disjointed and more of a cliff note review than an in-depth course– can anyone advise what study materials to use?

Thx

FAR - 93
REG - 89
AUD - 87
BEC - 81

[jjm1181]

I thought the IMA offerred it's own study course for the exam.

B 79
A 75
R 78
F 85

[Zizoty]

@senbi…. What's your take on the difficulty between the two exams?

AUD - 83 Feb11
REG - 75 May11
BEC - 73 July11 84 Oct11
FAR - 63 Aug11 76 Feb12 I'M DONE!!!!!

[senbi575]

I actually took the exams under the old 4 part method, the questions and the simulation-type questions (part 4 was only simulation type questions) were similar in structure and difficutly to the CPA exam, and I am sure they are comparable to the 2-part exam. The best comparison I can make is that the CMA exam was like BEC on steroids. The content is similar to BEC but they throw in more advanced topics and they are tested in more detail. Think of BEC like your intro college accounting class, you get a nice overview of all the topics and the CMA would be like your intermediate/advanced accounting classes, where you would go into more detail and application of the topics from the intro. For study materials, I used Gliem software and just drilled the multiple questions, similar to my CPA exam approach and it worked well for me. I haven't used the IMA study guides.

[Author]

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