ICWA (CMA) Course 2024-25: Full Form, Admission, Eligibility, Syllabus, Scope, and More!

The full form of the ICWA course is the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India and has been remodeled into the CMA course, i.e. Cost Management Accounting course offered by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI). The minimum total duration of the ICWA CMA course is 36 months and a CMA professional can earn around 3 Lakhs to 4 Lakhs per annum. The ICWA CMA dates are now announced for the June session. Read this blog to know more about ICWA CMA course details, duration, dates, fees, eligibility, scope, and more!

Course	ICWA CMA Course
Full-Form	The Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India – Cost Management Accounting course
Conducted By	Institute of Cost Accountants of India
Duration	Foundation: Minimum 8 months Intermediate: Minimum 10 Months Final: Minimum 18 Months
Website	https://icmai.in/
Fee	Foundation: 4,000 INR Intermediate (With Instalment): 20,000 INR Intermediate: (Without Instalment): 12,000 INR (1st Instalment); 8,000 INR (2nd Instalment) Final: 17,000 INR
ICWA CMA Salary	INR 5 -6 LPA

What is an ICWA?

The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWA) offers a minimum three-year education that is divided into three stages: foundation, intermediate, and final. Students who want to become cost management accountants take this course. The institute aids in the development of professional credentials in its students and provides them with the knowledge they need to succeed as cost management accountants across the world.

ICWAI CMA Dates 2024-25

The official website has not released any official dates for ICWAI CMA. We will be updating the dates as soon as the notification is released.

ICWA CMA Course Details

ICWA course is almost a three-year program that is offered by the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India in the field of Accountancy. It consists of three levels- Foundation, Intermediate, and Final. The course is a pathway for acquiring one of the most reputable jobs in India as that of a Cost Management Accountant. Each level has to be qualified by the applicant in order to earn the accreditation as a CMA. Here are the important deadlines and other relevant information related to the CMA/ICWAI course that prospective candidates must abide by before applying:

Foundation ICWAI Course: Admissions are open throughout the year.

• Those intending to sit for the June term examination must apply before January 31st of the same year
• Those intending to sit for the December term examination must apply before July 31st of the same year.

Intermediate ICWAI Course: Registration is open throughout the year.

• If you are planning to appear for the June term examination, then you must fill out the applications before January 31st of the same year.
• For those intending to sit for the December term examination, they must apply before July 31st of the same year.

Candidates need to submit their completed Postal Application Form which must be duly enclosed with required documents and remittances and must be sent/submitted at their provided Regional Councils/Chapters only.

ICWA CMA Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility conditions for the ICWA course differ with respect to the Foundation or Intermediate program. Take a look at the below-given table which lists the specific requirements.

ICWA CMA Foundation	1. Must have qualified Class Xth or equivalent from an accredited board/college/university 2. Must have qualified Senior Secondary Examination as per the 10+2 pattern from an accredited Board,  OR Passed an examination recognized under the Central Government as equivalent OR Qualified National Diploma in Commerce Examination conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education [AICTE] or a State Board of Technical Education under AICTE  OR Completed a Diploma in Rural Service Examination conducted under the authority of the National Council for Higher Education.  Note: Candidates awaiting final exam results are also eligible for admission.
ICWA CMA Intermediate	Completed their 10+2 senior secondary examination as well as the Foundation program provided by the ICAI OR Attained a bachelor’s degree in any subject or discipline except for Fine Arts or Foundation (Entry Level-Part I) of either the ICAI’s CAT exam or the Part I exam as well as the competency level, i.e. Part II of ICAI’s CAT.
ICWA CMA Final	Applicant should have passed 10+2 Must hold a graduation degree in any field except Fine Arts Must have cleared all the papers of the intermediate course

ICWA CMA Course Duration 

To help you get a better understanding of the ICWAI CMA course, we have stated below the average duration of the particular course levels-

• ICWA Foundation: Minimum 8 months
• ICWA Intermediate: Minimum 10 months
• ICWA Final: Minimum 18 months

ICWA CMA Syllabus 

Tabulated below are the level-wise syllabus/ papers that you will have to qualify to complete the ICWAI CMA Course-

ICWA Syllabus: Foundation

Paper Number	Subject
Paper 1	Fundamentals of Economics
Paper 2	Fundamentals of Accounting
Paper 3	Fundamentals of Law and Ethics
Paper 4	Business Mathematics and Statistics: Fundamentals

ICWA Syllabus: Intermediate

Paper Number	Group 1	Paper Number	Group 2
Paper 5	Financial Accounting	Paper 9	OMSM: Operations and Strategic Management
Paper 6	Law & Ethics	Paper 10	Cost & Management Accounting/Financial Management
Paper 7	Direct Taxation	Paper 11	Indirect Taxation
Paper 8	Cost Accounting	Paper 12	CAA: Company Accounts & Audit

ICWA Syllabus: Final

Paper Number	Group 3	Paper Number	Group 4
Paper 13	Corporate Law & Compliance	Paper 17	Corporate Financial Reporting
Paper 14	SFM: Strategic Financial Management	Paper 18	Indirect Tax Laws, Practice
Paper 15	SCMD: Strategic Cost Mgt: Decision Making	Paper 19	Cost & Management Audit
Paper 16	Direct Tax Laws; International Taxation	Paper 20	SFP: Strategic Performance Mgt & Business Valuation

Top ICWA Exams

There are no other exams than the ICWA test because the course is run by the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India. Students are expected to take an examination after successfully completing the course in order to assess their abilities and the education received during the course. The ICWA primarily administers two tests, which are as follows:

ICWA Intermediate Entrance examination

The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India conducts the ICWA intermediate test to examine the credentials of students who have completed the foundation course. Students are needed to enroll in the intermediate course after passing the admission exam.

ICWA final examination

The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India administers the ICWA final test to determine the integrity of students’ knowledge received across all three courses.

ICWA Results

To be eligible for the ICWA examinations, a candidate must get at least 40% in each subject and a total of 50% or higher.

How to Check ICWA Results?

ICWA results are published on the institute’s website and may be seen by following the steps outlined below:

• Visit the official website for more information.
• Select the “Examination” tab.
• From the dropdown menu, select the result option.
• Select the exam for which you had registered.
• Click “see the result” after entering the identification number.
• The outcome will be displayed on the screen.

The following is the pass percentage for the previous attempt at the ICWA exams:

Examination	Pass Percentage (%)
Foundation	75.88
Intermediate Group I	40.76
Intermediate Group II	65.24
Intermediate (Passed in either one of the groups)	13.82
Intermediate (Passed in both groups)	51.63
Final Group III	34.02
Final Group IV	57.13
Final (Passed in either one of the groups)	31.90
Final (Passed in both groups)	38.45

Advantages of ICWA

A cost management accountant is in charge of gathering and examining financial data from every division of the company. The course can be taken either through correspondence or an accredited university’s online platform.

Candidates who successfully complete this course not only acquire the knowledge and credentials needed for the position but are also given access to a variety of opportunities in the financial sector. This course is ideal for candidates if they have a keen interest in handling the accounts of the organization’s several departments.

Types of ICWA

The course is suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Candidates who have finished their high school studies from an Indian-recognized board are eligible to enroll in the foundation course. Aspirants who have finished their undergraduate studies seek the intermediate level. Candidates follow the final level of the course in order to develop advanced abilities in cost management accounting.

The ICWA foundation level is the course’s first and most important step. Students are exposed to the fundamentals of cost management strategies and whereabouts in the financial industry during this foundation stage. The course is expected to take at least eight months to finish.

The intermediate stage of the ICWA course is the second stage. Students must pass the intermediate course after successfully completing the foundation level. Students in intermediate courses study in-depth financial accounting and are introduced to a variety of financial topics such as direct and indirect taxation, cost accounting, and more. The course is thought to be a little more difficult than the previous one.

The ICWA final stage is the course’s last stage. The third level, which is considered the most difficult of all three courses, provides insight into the administration of many financial issues such as strategic financial management and particular regulations linked to various taxation.

Admission Process for ICWA CMA Course

Admission into the ICWA Course is implemented under two routes namely, Direct Entry and Foundation Course. The following paragraphs shed more light on the procedure of each entry route.

Through Direct Entry

For direct entry into the ICWA Course, candidates must fulfill the following conditions:

• Graduation in any discipline other than Fine Arts
• Qualified CAT of CMA/ICSI Foundation/ ICAI Intermediate
• Refer to the “Register to Intermediate Course [Oral/Postal]” on the website for subsequent steps.

Through Foundation Course

Candidates need to follow certain steps when applying for the ICWA Course through the Foundation route. These have been tabulated below:

Passed Class X-Eligible for Admission in Foundation Course

Passed Class XII-Eligible to Appear in Exam

Qualify Foundation Exam

Register to Intermediate Course [Oral/Postal]

1. Complete Communication & Soft Skill (CCS) Training- 3 days 2. Complete Computer Training-100 hours

Eligible to appear in Intermediate Exam (Both Groups)

Qualify Intermediate Exam

1. Complete Industry Oriented Training Programme (IOTP)-7 Days 2. Complete Practical Training-3 years (6 months mandatory)

Eligible to Appear in Final Exam (Both Groups)

Complete Modular Training-15 days Complete Practical Training-3 years

Apply and Become a Member of the Institute

ICWA CMA Fees Structure 2024

The ICWA course fee is different for each exam level and ICMAI also avails students the chance of providing the course fees for the intermediate level in advance. Here are the course fee amounts for ICWA Foundation, Intermediate, and Final.

Level	Fees
Foundation	4,000 INR
Intermediate (With Instalment)	20,000 INR
Intermediate (Without Instalment)	12,000 INR (1st Instalment) 8,000 INR (2nd Instalment)
Final	17,000 INR

Career Scope

Completing the ICWA course, you can explore a wide range of opportunities in consultancy firms, training and research institutions, financial institutions, stock exchanges, the public utility sector, government regulatory bodies, etc. Here are the major career profiles you can explore after successfully concluding the ICWA course:

• Cost Accountant
• Finance Director
• Chief Internal Auditor
• Managing Director
• Financial Consultant
• Cost Controller
• Accountant
• Financial Controller

ICWAI Salary

As a Fresher, your starting salary can be anywhere between INR 4,00,000- 5,00,000. Whereas, the senior level CMAs with adequate experience tend to earn INR 10,00,000- 12,00,000.

Top Recruiters

• Vedanta
• GAIL
• ONGC
• Nestle
• Micro Inks Limited
• Reliance Industries Limited
• ITC Limited
• Saint-Gobain
• Yes Bank
• Inext Infotech Services
• Zexus Air Services Pvt Ltd
• Government and Private Institutions
• ALTRET Industries Pvt. Ltd
• Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited
• Berger Paints
• JK Paper Limited
• Aparna Carbons Private Limited
• Prism Cement 

ICWAI Study Material

Here is a list of books that you may need to complete your ICWAI course-

• Scanner ICWA Stage I by Dr. Arun Kumar
• Cost Accounting Text and Problems for CS/ICWA Examinations by N. K. Agarwal
• Direct Tax by Girish Ahuja
• Cost and Management Accounting (for All India) by S.P. Jain & K.L. Narang
• Essentials of Cost and Management Accounting (for ICWA Inter, Stage 1) by V.K. Saxena & C.D. Vashist
• Advanced Cost and Management Accounting – Problems and Solutions by V.K.Saxena & C.D.Vashist
• Modern Cost and Management Accounting by M Hanif
• Advanced Management Accounting (Cost Management and Operations Research) by Dr. J.B. Gupta

How to Study for the ICWAI CMA Course?

Mentioned below are some of the options for studying ICWA course:

ICWAI Online Classes

ICWA offers its own online classes as an Open Education Resource. You can directly access these videos that are available on YouTube and the ICWA website. These E-Learning resources are available for all the sections of the exam from the Foundation to the Final Exam. 

ICWAI offers online classes on several topics. You can access all the Online Class Videos on the ICMAI Website. 

ICWA CMA vs CA

The courses CA and ICWA are both for commerce students who wish to plan their careers in the field of accounting. However, there are crucial differences between the two that you must know before choosing any of these to practice:

Criteria	CA	ICWAI CMA
For	Chartered Accountancy	Cost Management Accountancy
Course for	knowledge of taxation, auditing, and accounting.	How to manage finances
Eligibility	Class 12th	Class 10th
Job Profile	Includes work in Accountancy	Includes Cost of Financial Transaction

CMA USA vs CMA India

Here are the differences between CMA in USA and India:

Details	CMA USA	CMA India
Competent Body	Institute of Management Accountants	Institute of Cost Accountants of India
Duration	1 Year	3 Years
Prerequisites	Graduate + Work Experience	10+2 Pass
Exam Structure	2 Parts (1 Level)	3 Levels – 20 Papers
Articleship	–	6 Months

Relevant Blogs

XLRI PGDM	How to pursue CA after Graduation?
PGDM in Finance	Humber College Courses
Cost and Management Accounting	CA Subjects

FAQs

Thus, we hope that this blog has helped you understand the major details about the ICWA course which has been modified into the CMA course. If you are planning to pursue a professional course in Commerce or any other related field, reach out to our experts and mentors at Leverage Edu and we’ll help you find a suitable program and university that fits your interests and aspirations and can equip you with the required knowledge and exposure to advance in your career.