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US CMA Part 1 Syllabus 2025 - Exam Pattern, Topic-wise Syllabus
The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) prescribes the US CMA syllabus for both Part 1 and Part 2 on its official website. The syllabus for US CMA Part 1 is designed to give the candidates a better understanding of financial planning, performance, and analysis. It covers key topics like budgeting, cost management, and financial statement analysis. These are essential in equipping candidates for a career as management accountants. While the US CMA Part 2 syllabus is designed to provide candidates with the skills needed to analyse financial performance and strategy in a business environment.
The US CMA certification is recognised in over 150 countries. There are three testing windows for US CMA - January/February, May/June, and September/October. It is recommended to allocate at least 3-6 months of preparation per part. For better preparations aspirants are suggested to go through the US CMA exam pattern, alongside the syllabus. Knowing the exam pattern will provide insight into the structure, types of questions, and time management, allowing for comprehensive preparation.
US CMA 2025 Exam Pattern
Candidates preparing for the US CMA 2025 should also familiarise themselves with the exam pattern. The in-depth exam pattern of the US CMA is provided below.
US CMA Exam Pattern 2025
Subject Name | Part 1: Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics Part 2: Strategic Financial Management |
Number of Questions | 102: Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics |
Type of Questions | 100 MCQs and 2 essays (30 minutes) |
Exam Duration | Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics: 4 Hours |
US CMA Part 1 Syllabus 2025
The detailed Part 1 CMA USA Syllabus Part 1 has been given below:
A. External Financial Reporting Decisions (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Financial statements
a. Balance sheet
b. Income statement
c. Statement of changes in equity
d. Statement of cash flows
e. Integrated reporting
2. Recognition, measurement, valuation, and disclosure
a. Asset valuation
b. Valuation of liabilities
c. Equity transactions
d. Revenue recognition
e. Income measurement
f. Major differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS
B. Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Strategic planning
a. Analysis of external and internal factors affecting strategy
b. Long-term mission and goals
c. Alignment of tactics with long-term strategic goals
d. Strategic planning models and analytical techniques
e. Characteristics of a successful strategic planning process
2. Budgeting concepts
a. Operations and performance goals
b. Characteristics of a successful budget process
c. Resource allocation
d. Other budgeting concepts
3. Forecasting techniques
a. Regression analysis
b. Learning curve analysis
c. Expected value
4. Budgeting methodologies
a. Annual business plans (master budgets)
b. Project budgeting
c. Activity-based budgeting
d. Zero-based budgeting
e. Continuous (rolling) budgets
f. Flexible budgeting
5. Annual profit plan and supporting schedules
a. Operational budgets
b. Financial budgets
c. Capital budgets
6. Top-level planning and analysis
a. Pro forma income
b. Financial statement projections
c. Cash flow projections
C. Performance Management (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Cost and variance measures
a. Comparison of actual to planned results
b. Use of flexible budgets to analyse performance
c. Management by exception
d. Use of standard cost systems
e. Analysis of variation from standard cost expectations
2. Responsibility centers and reporting segments
a. Types of responsibility centers
b. Transfer pricing
c. Reporting of organizational segments
3. Performance measures
a. Product profitability analysis
b. Business unit profitability analysis
c. Customer profitability analysis
d. Return on investment
e. Residual income
f. Investment base issues
g. Key performance indicators (KPIs)
h. Balanced scorecard
D. Cost Management (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Measurement concepts
a. Cost behavior and cost objects
b. Actual and normal costs
c. Standard costs
d. Absorption (full) costing
e. Variable (direct) costing
f. Joint and by-product costing
2. Costing systems
a. Job order costing
b. Process costing
c. Activity-based costing
d. Life-cycle costing
3. Overhead costs
a. Fixed and variable overhead expenses
b. Plant-wide vs. departmental overhead
c. Determination of allocation base
d. Allocation of service department costs
4. Supply chain management
a. Lean resource management techniques
b. Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
c. Theory of Constraints
d. Capacity management and analysis
5. Business process improvement
a. Value chain analysis
b. Value-added concepts
c. Process analysis, redesign, and standardization
d. Activity-based management
e. Continuous improvement concepts
f. Best practice analysis
g. Cost of quality analysis
h. Efficient accounting processes
E. Internal Controls (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Governance, risk, and compliance
a. Internal control structure and management philosophy
b. Internal control policies for safeguarding and assurance
c. Internal control risk
d. Corporate governance
e. External audit requirements
F. Technology and Analytics (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Information systems
a. Accounting information systems
b. Enterprise resource planning systems
c. Enterprise performance management systems
2. Data governance
a. Data policies and procedures
b. Life cycle of data
c. Controls against security breaches
3. Technology-enabled finance transformation
a. System development life cycle
b. Process automation
c. Innovative applications
4. Data analytics
a. Business intelligence
b. Data mining
c. Analytic tools
d. Data visualization
Also Check,
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: How many months should I allocate for Part 1 of the US CMA exam?
A:
Candidates are recommended to allocate at least 3-6 months of preparation per part.
Q: How many countries recognise the US CMA examination.
A:
The US CMA certification is recognised in over 150 countries
Q: How many questions are asked in the Part 1 syllabus of US CMA exam?
A:
A total of 102 questions are asked in the US CMA Part 1 syllabus.
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