 The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) credential is the gold standard certification for accountants and financial professionals in business. Achieving the CMA designation demonstrates your mastery of financial planning, analysis, control, and decision support as well as professional ethics. The program offers an excellent return on your investment with certified professionals earning on average $22,000 higher compensation then their non-certified peers. Additionally Portland IMA has scholarship opportunities available for those who successfully pass the CMA exams.
Click here for additional information about the CMA.
In order to obtain the credential you must complete the following:
- Membership in IMA
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or an equivalent degree as determined by an independent evaluation agency
- Two continuous years of professional experience in management accounting or financial management
- Entrance into the CMA program
- Completion of CMA Exam Part 1 – Financial Planning, Performance and Control
- Completion of CMA Exam Part 2 – Financial Decision Making
There a variety a methods candidates use to prepare for the exams ranging from self study with purchased exam preparation materials to classroom instruction. For additional information on the various exam preparation materials click here.
What Local CMAs Are Saying About Being Certified
“The CMA helped my career by emphasizing that it is as important to know the story of the numbers in finance and accounting as it is to have them recorded by accounting principles. The CMA helped me to be a liaison between finance/accounting and operations and to understand how to balance efficiency and effectiveness.”
Elena L. Blaga, CMA
Controller, Willamette Dental
“The CMA certification is a catalyst for any accountant's career. The CPA provides the technical accounting and auditing background, but that alone does not fulfill the internal needs that organizations seek from their internal management accountants. Presentations showing variable costing versus fixed costing, management reports that isolate and best illustrate issues, and flexible budget formats presenting budget-to-actual results rather than just standard budget formats prescribed by the AICPA are just a few examples of how a CMA background can benefit someone's career.
The better we present issues in ways that decision makers can understand, the more value we add. The more value we add, the more successful our career becomes. If the CPA motto is "understanding the value", the CMA motto should be "illustrate the value".
Richard W. Seals, CPA CMA CFM CFE
Chief Financial Officer/Finance Director
City of West Linn/City of Milwaukie
“The return on investment from earning the CMA credential was almost immediate for me. Within five months of becoming certified I accepted a position which had an overall compensation nearly 30% higher than my prior job. Because of my certification I had the confidence that I would bring increased value to the organization and I believe that was apparent to my future employer.”
Justin Carlton, CMA
Financial Analyst, Tualatin Valley Water District
“As an educator the CMA credential helped establish credibility with my students in that I knew what the CMA exam was all about and I could help advise students in their career decisions. The CMA was a great compliment to my CPA license in that it helped me advise students on which career direction they may want to choose. For many students the CMA exam makes more sense because they do not need five years of college to sit for the CMA exam like the CPA exam requires in the states of Oregon and Washington.”
Mike Lawrence, CMA CPA
Accounting Instructor, Portland Community College |
