Many candidates would like to know if they can get exemptions in other professional qualifications if they become a Certified Management Accountant.
We understand that you won’t get any for the US CPA, but you will definitely get quite a bit of waivers for ACCA.
How Many Papers Can I Get Exempted As A CMA?
ACCA has an impressive database that shows the level of exemptions from thousands of schools and institutions around the world.
If you type in “management accountants” and “USA” in the institution and country input boxes respectively, you will be able to see the following:
Which shows that you get exemptions of 7 papers out of a total 14 as a CMA.
Did You Know… The ACCA IMA Partnership
In June 2012 ACCA and IMA jointly announced a strategic partnership. I see this as a counter-action of the recent AICPA-ICMA alliance but in any case it is good news for CMA and ACCA candidates.
January 2013 Update:
ACCA members now can have their bachelor’s degree requirement waived when they seek the CMA certification. In other words, ACCA members are automatically qualified to take the part 1 and part 2 of the exam. They still need to fulfill the rest of the requirement e.g. the 2 years of relevant working experience to get the CMA title.
For full details of this IMA-ACCA alliance, please refer to this press release.
Any Questions?
For more information on the CMA exam as well as tips on study tactics, please consider signing up to my e-course which is completely free. You can learn about the mini e-course here or sign up directly below.
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
IMA already declared through their magazine ” Strategic Management” about giving professional recognition credit to qualified ACCAs. So all ACCAs will be eligible for CMA certification.
Yes but you still need to take the CMA exam and fulfill the experience requirement in order to get the CMA title. It is not a direct reciprocal agreement, like the one between CMA and ICWAI.
i want to take admission in CMA but the fee of exam and tuition fee is very high and i can,t pay. I can pay low fee when you. Help me please
Hi Kamran, unfortunately I am not the administrator of CMA so I have absolutely no say on the fees. Just take it later then when you are all prepared? Stephanie
so will i be able to use my ACCA student status to apply for the CMA exams? Will i in this case be able to to hav a student IMA membership instead of professional membership?
But then again, i find it very disturbing that CMA does not hav a comprehensive pdf documentation that explains all these
Hi Arhin,
No you will still need to apply for the CMA exam separately and go through the necessary exam and requirement to become a CMA. But as a CMA you can get exempted from some ACCA requirements. I can see your frustration that it is quite complicated. Hope this helps! Stephanie
how many paper of cma is exempted after doing acca ?
Hi aamir,
I am not 100% sure, but since there are only two parts in the CMA exam, I doubt if they will give you any exemptions from any designation. For this US CMA exam candidates do not need to take any “courses” so it is also hard for them to grant exemption based on waiver of courses.
FYI, IMA used to grant exemption to US CPA holders on Part 1 of the old exam (when they had 4 parts of the exam vs 2 parts now) but is not longer the case.
Stephanie
Hi Everyone,
I currently reside in Uk and I have recently gained ACCA membership. I am in process of immigrating to States in near future. I was delighted to hear about global strategic partnership between ACCA and IMA. I understand that it is quite tough to get exemptions for CPA but I see CMA as an alternative to get into finance qualification in USA.
I have read previous articles/comments about CPA vs ACCA and it really frustrates me that ACCA is not widely accepted in USA for the purpose of CPA. This is why I am considering applying for CMA instead of wasting time looking for CPA exemptions.
I have 4 years experience of working in both financial and management accounts department for a transport company which also has operations in USA and I also hold BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University.
I would be grateful if anyone can guide me with the following questions;
1- If I get equivalence certificate of my qualification and experience would I be eligible to apply for CPA examination or I could apply in California (apparently they may accept ACCA) and sit for my exam in New Jersey?
2- If it is not possible for me to get into CPA, can I still apply for CMA exams and does CMA operates on individual states basis likewise CPA or it has one central exam body.
3- Any further news on exemptions for ACCA individual who want to study CMA?
I would really appreciate if anyone could guide me or share any suggestion which you may think would be more appropriate considering my situation.
Thanks & Regards,
Mueez
Hi stephanie,can I get exempted from some of ACCA papers after sucessfully finish the CMA exams but not yet done with work experience requirement?
Hi Bahati, this is a good question… I don’t know the answer but I will send an inquiry to ACCA (students@accaglobal.com). Will get back to you via this comment section. Stephanie
what about the exemption in ACCA by doing CMA(USA).. this exemption is given after three years practical experience or just by clearing the CMA exams?????
Hi Shani,
It says “completion of the CMA program” so I assume it means the completion of the 2 years of experience when you can actually use the CMA title, but then, please double check with ACCA to make sure. Stephanie
Hi Shani,
Pleaes make a note that IMA ( Institute of Management Accountants) will issue CMA credential after verifying you Graduation program and 2 years experience.
Upon receiving this certificate, scan and mail to ACCA paying appropriate FEE. You will be notified about exemptions in couple of weeks.
Best,
Srinivas Reddy.
Thanks for helping out Srinivas! Stephanie
Hi, I have done CPA (certified, not a licenced one and I still have to give ethics exam) I was thinking of taking up CMA. My question is do I get any expemtion since I have cleared CPA?
Hi Anisha,
A CPA does not get any exempitons from CMA as we have only 2 paper in CMA.
Best,
SRINIVAS REDDY
Hi Stephanie,
I am Srinivas. People and my students call me as Letslearn Srinivas. I teach CMA credentials. I have been into CMA teaching for the last 4 years.
In your Blog you mentioned a CMA gets 9 exemptions from ACCA. Please correct it, as we get 7 exemptions from ACCA.
Best,
Srinivas Reddy.
CMA,CFE,LLB,MBA,M.Com,ICWA
I thought I did say 7 papers being exempted (also, as shown in the screen shot of the ACCA website above), but it is possible that I made a mistake somewhere on this site. In this is the case please let me know. Thanks a lot for your help. Stephanie
Dear Stephanie,
I have completed first level of ACCA except F8 – Audit and Assurance,
can you tell me am I eligible to take admission in CMA based on this qualification.
Thanks,
Syed
Hi Syed,
Are you looking to get a waiver using ACCA? I believe you need to become a full ACCA member in order to get qualified. Stephanie
With the CMA qualification (and a 3 years’ bachelors degree in accounting), how possible is it to do the CPA program?Will the credit hours achieved amount to 120 or 150?
Hi Lapbuin, I am afraid nowadays the US CPA exam does not consider any exemptions from professional examinations. It only gives exemptions to members of the statutory accounting bodies in the countries that have signed reciprocal agreement in the US. You can get more info here:
http://ipassthecpaexam.com/cpa-exam-international-sites/
With a 3-year bachelor degree you’ll need to get an extra year (preferably two years) from another degree, e.g. a master’s degree in relevant field. Even in the US the candidates need to study for 5 years in university in order to take the CPA exam.
Stephanie