Submission of CMA Certification Documents

Joan is our blogger from the Philippines, currently living in Dubai.

First of all, I wish you and your family a happy and prosperous new year.  The previous year ended swiftly, didn’t it? Was it a great year? I hope it was.  Personally, last year was by far the most challenging; it was a year of wisdom and success, and indeed a memorable one, for what it’s worth.

Anyhow, after a long hibernation, I am back and delighted to re-confirm with you all that I am now officially a Certified Management Accountant.  I received my certification on the 19^th of December, 2016, less than two weeks after the release of exam results that were announced on the 8^th of December, 2016.

I want to take this opportunity to remind you of the IMA requirements for CMA certification documents to complete the CMA certification.  Many of us, including myself, are guilty of not reading the fine print and hate following instructions. Therefore, I am re-iterating some parts of the process that I found important.

1. Submit Your Education Certificates/Transcripts/Diploma

To start, ensure you have sent the IMA copies of your degree certificates, diploma, and/or transcripts for the educational requirement part. (I almost forgot to do that myself!) It’s important to stay on top of these CMA certification documents!

The instructions say that you may submit a notarized copy of your educational certificates to the IMA address if your university can’t be bothered to send the authenticated copies on your behalf.  I assume most of us will do or did the latter.

I sent mine via email.  Yes, scanned copies were accepted! I sent scanned copies of my certifications straight to the department responsible for members’ education certificates. My educational degree was updated on the same day as the receipt of my scanned documents. Fast, isn’t it?

Note:  As for the word “notarized,” which I find confusing, I had my certificates “authenticated” by a government body in the Philippines – red ribboned, as we call it.

2. Send the Signed CMA Experience Requirement Form

I prepared mine right after I finished my Part 2 exam.  Actually, I scanned the form and saved it in my draft emails, ready to send in case I passed the last exam part.  After all, I had to do that because I knew I would be on vacation, and accessing a scanner or the internet would be difficult.

Luckily enough, I made use of that draft email and was able to send my signed experience requirement form to the IMA on the 9^th of December. Plus, I got confirmation that they received my email and verified the details the next day.

In addition, I have had a few communications with IMA both via phone and email. And to be honest, I have not been disappointed by how professional and efficient they are in attending to their member’s concerns.

Basically, I received responses to my questions within a day or two, and most of the time, only in a matter of hours!  Pretty impressive–this is not the same way business is handled in some parts of the world, I promise. I encourage every one of you not to hesitate to contact the IMA for any questions you may have. They are really helpful.

And last but definitely not least, be reminded of the saying, “TIME IS GOLD.”  Do not delay what you perceive to be important, like your CMA designation.  Because of my lack of motivation and urgency, I lost the opportunity of getting my CMA certification a lot earlier. And as a result, I now have to take 11 exams instead of only 6 for my ACCA certification.

Note from Stephanie about CMA Certification Documents

Joan, congrats again! It’s a great accomplishment, especially when you have work + family + a young daughter to take care of.

The step-by-step guide on what to do after taking the exam is very useful. The scanned transcript is a big tip! I didn’t know it was this easy 😉

Another great tip is how you were prepared with the draft email ready to be sent out as soon as you got the CMA exam results. This is something we can do during that six weeks of agonizing wait.

Lastly, on the timing, yeah, a bit unfortunate, isn’t it? (For those who don’t know what we are talking about, starting in 2016, the ACCA reduced its exemptions to CMA certificate holders.)

It’s ok, Joan — I mean, it’s not like you are lazy! You have your hands full all the time! But for those who have the time, listen to Joan, and get this CMA done! You reap more benefits by getting this certification early.

Joan, thanks again for documenting your journey here and sharing your thoughts, tips, and advice. All the best to you, and please come back to say hello!

• Next Post: Summary of Joan’s CMA exam journey