CMA Exam Exemption on Requirements at a Glance

By Stephanie Ng
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If you’re looking for a CMA exam exemption, be warned. After all, the CMA exam requirements are pretty simple: A bachelor’s degree in any discipline.

Most candidates in the US can meet this CMA requirement. But in places where university degrees are less prevalent, the IMA offers a CMA exam exemption and partial recognition of local professional qualifications. In this way, the IMA makes meeting the CMA education requirements a little easier.

Here is a list of major countries and their associated professional accounting qualifications for your reference. Please refer to the complete list in the link at the bottom of this post.

CMA Exam Requirement Exemptions

Holders of these certifications either don’t require a bachelor’s degree to take the CMA exam or have alternate paths to meet the education requirement:

Australia

Chartered Accountant (CA), Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA), Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants

Bangladesh

Associate (ACMA), Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh
Fellow (FCMA), Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh

Canada

Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

France

DCG, le diplôme de comptabilité et de gestion (Diploma of Accounting and Management)

Germany

Geprüfter Bilanzbuchhalter / Geprüfte Bilanzbuchhalterin

India

Associate or Fellow, Institute of Cost Accountants of India
Chartered Accountant (CA), Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Intermediate, and Final levels
Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Executive and Professional levels

Ireland

Chartered Accountant (CA), The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland

Japan

Certified Public Accountant (CPA), The Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Certified Public Tax Accountant, The Japan Federation of Certified Public Tax Accountants
Association Securities Analyst, Chartered Member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan

Kenya

Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK)

Pakistan

Associate or Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
Associate or Fellow (ACMA or FCMA), Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan

People’s Republic of China

Certified Public Accountant (CPA), The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Qualified Accountant (QA) or Senior Qualified Accountant (SQA), The National Accountant Assessment & Certification Center (Semi-Senior and Senior levels only)

Saudi Arabia

Fellowship, Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants

Scotland

Chartered Accountant (CA), The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

Sri Lanka

Associate or Fellow (ACMA or FCMA), CMA Sri Lanka

Switzerland

Diplomierte Expertin/ Experte in Rechnungslegung und Controlling

Taiwan

Certified Public Accountant (CPA), The Securities and Futures Bureau of Financial Supervisory Commission

United Kingdom

Associate or Fellow (ACCA or FCCA), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Chartered Accountant (CA), Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales
Chartered Member, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Chartered Public Finance Accountant (CPFA), Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)

United States

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), CFA Institute
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Institute of Internal Auditors
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), Association of Financial Professionals

Are There Ways to Waive One Part of the CMA Exam?

No, not that I know of. Since there are only two parts in the current version of the CMA exam, it is hard to expect waivers.

For Your Further Reading

About the Author Stephanie Ng

I am the author of How to Pass The CPA Exam (published by Wiley) and the publisher of this and several accounting professional exam prep sites.

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