CMA Syllabus

Certified Management Accounting (CMA) course is a globally recognised credential, which is offered by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) which provides certifications in financial accounting and strategic management. CMA course is designed in a comprehensive way focusing on varied aspects of corporate finance and management accounting. If you aspire to build your career in the field of management accounting, pursuing a CMA certification course is a step in the right direction. Here is a detailed blog that will walk you through the key aspects of CMA syllabus and its structure that you must familiarise yourself with in order to ace this exam.

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Full Form	CMA (Cost Management Accounting)
Levels	3 (Foundation, Intermediate, Final)
Duration	6 months to 4 years
Basic Eligibility	Basic qualification of 10+2 (Varies as per level)
Number of Papers	Level 1: Paper 1 – 4 Level 2: Paper 5 – 12 Level 3: Paper 13- 20
Career Profiles	Financial Analyst, Corporate Controller, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), etc
Average Salary	INR 10-50 Lakh

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CMA: Important Dates 2023

Before understanding the CMA syllabus and its components, it is important to know about the latest notifications for this exam. The last dates for registration fall at least 4 months before the date of the examination. Given below are the important dates of the CMA course exam:

Testing Window	Dates	Deadline of Registration
January/February 2023	January 1, 2023, to February 28, 2023	January 31, 2023
May/June 2023	May 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023	To be announced
September/October 2023	September 1, 2023 to October 31, 2023	To be announced

Skills Gained Through the CMA Course

Once you have completed the popular course of CMA and have studied the entire CMA syllabus, below listed are some of the skills you may gain through the course-

• Planning and Budgeting
• Investment Decision
• External Financial Reporting
• Profitability Analysis
• Cost Management
• Strategic Management
• Expertise in Management Accounting
• Expertise in Financial Accounting
• Performance Management
• Internal Controls

CMA Syllabus & Structure

To begin with, there are 3 levels of exam of CMA- Foundation, Intermediate and Final level, clearing all the three-level exams, students are provided with the certification. The following paragraphs elaborate on the CMA syllabus of the Foundation level, Inter level, and Final level in further detail:

CMA Foundation Level

There are four papers in the CMA foundation level. As the beginning level of the CMA syllabus, take a look at the following table which elucidates a list of CMA Foundation-level papers:

Papers	CMA Foundation Syllabus
1	Fundamentals of Economics & Management
2	Fundamentals of Accounting
3	Fundamentals of Laws and Ethics
4	Fundamentals of Business Mathematics & Statistics

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Weightage of CMA Foundation level 

In the new CMA syllabus (Foundation level), there is a percentage indicated for the weight a particular subject carries. Below is a detailed bifurcation of this level:

Paper 1: Fundamentals of Economics & Management	A. Fundamentals of Economics (50%) B. Fundamentals of Management (50%)
Paper 2: Fundamentals of Accounting	A. Fundamentals of Financial Accounting (80%) B. Fundamentals of Cost & Management Accounting (20%)
Paper 3: Fundamentals of Laws and Ethics	A. Fundamentals of Commercial Laws (70%) B. Fundamentals of Ethics (30%)
Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics & Statistics	A. Fundamentals of Business Mathematics (40%) B. Fundamentals of Business Statistics (60%)

Detailed CMA Syllabus (Foundation level)

Every paper in the CMA syllabus for the foundation level has a multitude of topics that the aspirants need to cover. The following paragraphs give a rundown of the varied concepts you must add to your preparation guide: 

Paper 1: Fundamentals of Economics & Management

Fundamentals of Economics: Topics covered under this unit of the Level 1 of CMA syllabus include Basic Concepts of Economics, Forms of Markets, National Income, Money and Banking.

Fundamentals of Management- This segment is constituted of the Evolution of Management Thoughts, Management Process, Group Dynamics and Organizational conflicts, and Decision-making.

Paper 2: Fundamentals of Accounting

Fundamentals of Financial Accounting: The concepts you need to study for this section are the Accounting Process, Banking Reconciliation Statement, Accounting for Depreciation, Preparation of Final Accounts, and Accounting for special transactions.

Fundamentals of Cost and Management Accounting: The list of topics covered under this facet of the CMA syllabus for Level 1 includes Fundamentals of Cost Accounting and Fundamental of Management Accounting.

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Paper 3: Fundamentals of Laws and Ethics

Fundamentals of Commercial Law: Topics covered under this section include Fundamentals of Commercial and Industrial Law and Fundamentals of Ethics.

Fundamentals of Ethics: It includes Ethics and Business which comprises 30% of the paper 3 of CMA syllabus under foundation level.

Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics & Statistics

Fundamentals of Business Mathematics: Arithmetic (Ratios and Proportions, Simple and Compound Interest and Progression mean), Algebra (Set Theory, Variation, Indices, Logarithms, Permutation and Combinations, Quadratic Equations and Determinants and Matrices), and Calculus(Constant and variables, Functions, Limit & Continuity, Differentiability & Differentiation, Partial Differentiation, Definite and Indefinite Integrals) are the topics covered under this section of CMA syllabus.

Fundamentals of Statistics: It comprises Statistical Representation of Data, Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion, Correlation and Regression, Index Number, Time and Series Analysis, Probability and Theoretical Distributions.

CMA Inter Level

There are 8 papers in the CMA Inter level (Group 1 and Group 2). Take a look at the list of CMA Inter level papers given in the following table:

Papers	CMA Inter Level Syllabus
5	Financial Accounting
6	Laws, Ethics and Governance
7	Direct Taxation
8	Cost accounting and financial management
9	Operation Management Information System
10	Cost and Management Accounting
11	Indirect Taxation
12	Company Accounts & Audit

Weightage of CMA Inter level

The following table depicts the weightage of the two groups and their prospective units of the CMA syllabus at the inter level.

CMA Intermediate Group 1

Paper 5: Financial Accounting	A. Accounting- Basics (25%) B. Preparation of Financial Statements (40%)  C. Self Balancing Ledgers, Royalties, Hire Purchase & Installment System, Branch & Departmental Accounts (20%) D. Accounting in Computerised Environment and Accounting Standards (15%)
Paper 6: Laws, Ethics and Governance	A. Commercial Laws (30%) B. Industrial Laws (25%) C. Corporate Law (35%) D. Ethics (10%)
Paper 7: Direct Taxation	A. Income Tax Act Basis (10%) B. Heads of Income and Computation of Total Income and Tax Liability (70%) C. Tax management, administrative procedures and ICDS (20%)
Paper 8: Cost Accounting	A. Introduction of Cost Accounting (40%) B. Methods of Costing (30%) C. Cost Accounting Techniques (30%)

CMA Intermediate Level 2

Paper 9: Operations and Strategic Management	A. Operations Management (70%) B. Strategic Management (30%)
Paper 10: Cost and Management Accounting and Financial Management	A. Cost & Management Accounting and Financial Management (50%)  B. Financial Management (50%)
Paper 11: Indirect Taxation	A. Canons of Taxations – Indirect Tax GST (80%) B. Customs law (20%)
Paper 12: Company Accounts and Audits	A. Accounts of Joint Stock Companies (50%) B. Auditing (50%)

Detailed CMA Syllabus for Intermediate level [CMA Level 2]

To help you further in your research, we have elaborated the topics under each section of the CMA syllabus of Intermediate level exam in the following pointers:

Paper 5: Financial Accounting

Accounting-Basics: This segment covers varied concepts such as Fundamentals of Accounting (Accounting-Meaning, Scope and Significance of Accounting, Accounting Principles, Concepts and Conventions, Capital and Revenue Transactions, etc.), and Accounting for Special Transactions.

Preparation of Financial Statements: The topics which are covered under this section are Preparation of Final Accounts of Profit Oriented Organizations, Non-Profit Organizations and from Incomplete Records and Partnership Accounts.

Self Balancing Ledgers, Royalties, Hire Purchase & Installment System, Branch & Departmental Accounts: List of topics encompassed under section C of the CMA syllabus at Inter level are Self-Balancing Ledger, Royalty Accounts, Hire Purchase and Installment System and Branch and Departmental Accounts.

Accounting in Computerised Environment and Accounting Standards: This sub-unit includes, Computerized Accounting System – Features, Significance, Grouping of Accounts, Ledger hierarchy, Accounting Packages and their selection criteria, and Accounting Standards (AS-1, AS-2, AS-6, AS-7, AS-9, AS-10) are the topics covered under this section.

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Paper 6: Laws, Ethics and Governance

Commercial Laws: The topics under this section of the CMA syllabus at the Inter level include Indian Contract Act, 1872, Sale of Goods Act, 1930, Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, Indian Partnership Act, 1932, and Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008.

Industrial Laws: The list of topics, under section B of Paper 6, includes the Factories Act, 1948, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, Employees Provident Fund Act, 1952, Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

Corporate Law: This section is based on Companies Act, 2013, which includes topics such as Company types, promotion, formation and related procedures i.e, Sec 1 to Sec 122 of Companies Act, 2013, Director-Role, Responsibilities, Qualification, disqualification, appointment, retirement, resignation, etc.

Ethics: List of topics under this section comprise of the meaning, importance, nature and relevance of Ethics to business, the Values and attitudes of professional accountants, Seven principles of public life-selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership, and Ethics in Business.

Paper 7: Direct Taxation

Income Tax Act Basis: Topics covered under section A of Paper 7 under CMA syllabus for Inter Level are Introduction to Income Tax Act, 1961 (Basic Concepts and definitions, Background, concepts, definitions, Capital and revenue – receipts, expenditures, etc), and Incomes which do not form part of Total Income [Sec.10, 11 to 13A].

Heads of Income and Computation of Total Income and Tax Liability: List of topics covered under this segment are Clubbing Provisions, Set off and Carry forward of Losses, Deductions, Assessment of Income of different persons, Corporate Taxation, and TDS, TCS and Advance Tax.

Tax management, administrative procedures and ICDS- Administrative Procedures, and Income computation and disclosure standards are the different basic concepts covered under this portion of CMA syllabus at Inter Level.

Paper 8: Cost Accounting

Introduction of Cost Accounting: Topics under this section include Introduction To Cost Accounting( Definition, Scope, objectives and significance of cost accounting, Cost Objects, Cost centres and cost units, Classification of costs, Cost Ascertainment- Material Costs, Employee Costs, Direct Expenses and Overheads), Cost Accounting Standards (Basic Understanding only) (CAS 1 to CAS 24), and Cost Book Keeping.

Methods of Costing: This segment of CMA syllabus for Inter Level are Job Costing, Batch Costing, Contract Costing, Process Costing and Operating Costing or Service Costing.

Cost Accounting Techniques: Topics covered under this segment aim to test the candidate’s basic understanding of Cost Accounting techniques such as Marginal Costing, Standard Costing & Variance Analysis, and Budget and Budgetary Control.

Paper 9: Operations and Strategic Management

Operations Management: This portion of CMA syllabus for the Inter Level includes Introduction to Operations Management, Operations Planning, Designing of Operational Systems and Control, Production Planning and Control, Productivity Management and Quality Management, Project Management, and Economics of Maintenance and Spares Management.

Strategic Management: Introduction to Strategic Management, Strategic Analysis and Strategic Planning, and Formulation and Implementation of Strategy are the topics covered under this head.

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Paper 10: Cost and Management Accounting and Financial Management

Cost and Management Accounting: Topics covered under this part of CMA syllabus for Inter level are Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting, Decision-Making Tools, Budgeting and Budgetary Control, Standard Costing & Variance Analysis and Learning Curve.

Financial Management: Introduction to Financial Management, Tools for Financial Analysis and Planning, Working Capital Management, Cost of Capital, Capital Structure Theories, Dividend Decisions and Leverage Analysis, and Capital Budgeting – Investment Decisions.

Paper 11: Indirect Taxation

Canons of Taxations – Indirect Tax GST: This section of CMA syllabus includes Introduction to GST, Levy and Collection of Tax, Time, Value and Place of Supply, Input Tax Credit, Registration under GST Law, etc.

Customs Law: Introduction Definitions Circumstances of Levy, Types of Duties, Valuation under Customs, Import and Export Procedure, and Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Rules, 2017.

Paper 12: Company Accounts and Audits

Accounts of Joint Stock Companies: Topics under this section of CMA syllabus are Accounting of Shares and Debentures, Presentation of Financial Statements, Cash Flow Statement (AS-3), Accounts of Banking, Electricity and Insurance Companies, and Accounting Standards (AS-11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19).

Auditing: Auditing Concepts, and Provision relating to Audit under Companies Act.

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CMA Final Level

After clearing the CMA Intermediate level exam, students have to appear for the CMA Final level exam to get designated as Certified Management Accountants. There are 8 papers in the CMA Final level (Group 3 and Group 4). Given below in the tabular form is a list of these units and their prescribed CMA syllabus (Final level) provided by ICMAI:

Papers	List of CMA Final level Papers
13	Corporate Laws and Compliance
14	Strategic Financial Management
15	Strategic Cost Management- Decision Making
16	Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation
17	Corporate Financial Reporting
18	Cost and Management Audit
19	Strategic Performance Management
20	Strategic Performance Management & Business Valuation

Weightage of CMA Final level

CMA Final Group 3

Paper 13: Corporate Laws and Compliance	A. Companies Act (60%) B. Other Corporate Laws (25%) C. Corporate Governance (15%)
Paper 14: Strategic Financial Management	A. Investment Decisions (25%) B. Financial Markets and Institutions (20%) C. Security Analysis and Portfolio Management (25%) D. Financial Risk Management (30%)
Paper 15: Strategic Cost Management- Decision Making	A. Cost Management (20%) B. Strategic Cost Management Tools and Techniques (30%) C. Strategic Cost Management –Application of Statistical Techniques in Business Decisions (30%)
Paper 16: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation	A. Advance Direct Tax Laws (50%) B. International Taxation (30%) C. Case Study Analysis (20%)

CMA Final Group 4

Paper 17: Corporate Financial Reporting	A. GAAP and Accounting Standards (20%) B. Accounting of Business Combinations & Restructuring (20%) C. Consolidated Financial Statements (20%) D. Developments in Financial Reporting (25%) E. Government Accounting in India (15%)
Paper 18: Indirect Tax Laws and Practice	A. Advanced Indirect Tax and Practice (80%) B. Tax Practice and Procedures (20%)
Paper 19: Cost and Management Audit	A. Cost Audit (35%) B. Management Audit (15%) C. Internal Audit, Operational Audit and other related issues (25%) D. Case Study on Performance Analysis (25%)
Paper 20: Strategic Performance Management & Business Valuation	A. Strategic Performance Management (50%) B. Business Valuation (50%)

Paper 13: Corporate Laws and Compliance

Companies Act: Topics covered under this head of CMA syllabus at Final Level are Company Formation and Conversion, Investment and loans, Dividends, Accounts and Audit, Board Meetings and Procedures, etc.

Other Corporate Laws: SEBI Laws and Regulations, The Competition Act, 2002, Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, Laws related to Banking Sector, and Laws related to Insurance Sector.

Corporate Governance: Two broad headings which are covered under this section are Corporate Governance, and Social, Environment, and Economic Responsibilities of Business.

Paper 14: Strategic Financial Management

Investment Decisions: There are three topics covered under this section of CMA syllabus for Final Level, i.e. Investment Decision, Project Planning and Control, Evaluation of Risky Proposal for Investment decisions, and Leasing Decisions.

Financial Markets and Institutions: Institutions in Financial Markets, Instruments in Financial Markets, Capital Markets, and Commodity Exchange are the topics covered under this head.
Security Analysis and Portfolio Management: This section of CMA final course covers only one topic which is security analysis and portfolio management covering 25% weightage.

Financial Risk Management: There are three topics under this section constituting of Financial Risks, Financial Derivatives- Instruments of Risk Management, and Financial Risk Management in International Operations.

Paper 15: Strategic Cost Management- Decision Making

Cost Management: This section only includes one topic- Cost Management (Developments in Cost Management and Cost Control and Reductions), which carries 20% weightage.

Strategic Cost Management Tools and Techniques: There are 4 topics under this portion of CMA syllabus for Final Level which are Decision-Making Techniques, Standard Costing and Profit Planning, Activity-Based Cost Management- JIT and ERP, and Cost of Quality and Total Quality Management.

Strategic Cost Management: Application of Statistical Techniques in Business Decisions- This section contains topics related to Application of Operation Research and Statistical Tools in Strategic Decision Making.

Paper 16: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation

Advanced Direct Tax Laws: This section covers 10 topics- Return of Income and Assessment Procedure, Assessment of Various Entities and Tax Planning, Clubbing of Income, Set-off and Carry forward and Set-off Losses, Deduction in Computing Total Income, Business Restructuring, Administrative Procedures under Direct Taxation, Grievance Redressal Procedure, Settlement of Cases, and Black Money Act, 2015.

International Taxation: It covers only two topics, i.e. Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements, and Transfer Pricing Issues.

Case Study Analysis: This section of CMA syllabus is reviewed every 6 months and shall be incorporated according to ICMAI.

Paper 17: Corporate Financial Reporting

GAAP and Accounting Standards: This section contains only one topic, i.e. Accounting Standards (GAAP in India, Accounting Standards, IFRS, Overview of Indian AS, etc.)

Accounting of Business Combinations & Restructuring: The topic is the same as the portion’s name and includes only its essential features.

Consolidated Financial Statements: This portion of CMA syllabus for Final Level constitutes of one broad topic, i.e. group financial statements. 

Developments in Financial Reporting: There are four topics under this section which are Recent trends in Financial Reporting, Valuation, Accounting, and Reporting of Financial Instruments and others, Reporting through XBRL and Share-based payments.

Government Accounting in India: This only includes the concepts related to Government Accounting Procedure and Standards, which carries 15% weightage.

Paper 18: Indirect Tax Laws and Practice

Advanced Indirect Tax and Practice: List of topics covered under this section are the Central Excise Act, Customs Act, Service Tax, Foreign Trade Policy, Export Promotion Schemes, Central Sales Tax and VAT Act.

Tax Practice and Procedures: This section of paper 18, is about case study related to tax practices and procedure, which is reviewed every 6 months and incorporated accordingly.

Paper 19: Cost and Management Audit

Cost Audit: Topics covered under this section are Nature, Scope, utility and Advantages, Cost Accounting Standards, Companies Rule Act, 2014, etc.

Management Audit: Contents for this portion of CMA syllabus at Final Level are Management Audit- Overview, Nature, Scope, Need of Management Audit and Reporting, Management Reporting Issues, etc.

Internal Audit, Operational Audit and Other Related Issues: The topics covered under this section are related to internal and operation audit-related issues, which carries 25% weightage.

Case Study on Performance Analysis: This section covers case study on the basis of the Companies Performance for managerial decision-making, which carries 25% weightage.

Paper 20: Strategic Performance Management & Business Valuation

Strategic Performance Management: Topics of this part are Conceptual framework of performance management, Performance Evaluation and Improvement Tools, Economic Efficiency of the firm, and Enterprise Risk Management.

Business Valuation: List of concepts in this sub-unit include, Business Valuation Basics, Valuation Models, Valuation of Assets and Liabilities, and Valuation in Merger and Acquisitions.

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Registration Fee 

Level	Registration Fee (in INR)
CMA Foundation	4,000
CMA Intermediate	20,000
CMA Final	17,000

FAQs

Thus, we hope that this blog has helped you understand the vast CMA syllabus at the Foundation level, Intermediate level and Final level. If you are aspiring to pursue a degree or a professional certification in Accounting, reach out to our experts at Leverage Edu and we will provide you the required guidance in choosing a suitable course and university that aligns with your interests and aspirations. Call us immediately at 1800 57 2000 for a free 30-minute counselling session.