Becoming a Certified Management Accountant opens more doors to career growth and higher earning potential. If you'd like to better understand how to become a CMA, we're breaking down the steps you need to take. We're also answering questions about how long it takes and how much it costs to earn your certification, so you have a clear picture of what to expect.
How to Become a CMA: A Quick Overview
Becoming a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) comes down to six steps: join the IMA, meet the education requirement, meet the two-year experience requirement, prepare for the exam, pass both parts of the CMA Exam, and submit your final application for certification. There's no separate "CMA school" to enroll in. Instead, most candidates pair their existing accounting or finance background with a dedicated CMA review course to prepare for the exam itself.
What Is a "CMA School?" (Here's What CMA Programs Actually Mean)
If you've searched for "CMA schools" or "CMA programs," it's worth clearing up a common misconception first: there is no accredited university or standalone school that grants the CMA credential. The CMA is a professional certification issued by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) through its certifying body, the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA). You don't attend a "CMA school" the way you'd attend nursing school or law school.
What people typically mean by "CMA program" or "CMA training" is one of two things:
- The IMA's CMA Program: The official certification track you enroll in once you become an IMA member, which includes your entrance fee, your exam registration, and the credential review process.
- A CMA exam review course: a third-party prep provider (like Becker) that teaches the exam content, walks you through practice questions, and helps you build a study plan. This is the "training" most candidates are referring to when they talk about CMA study programs.
Your undergraduate degree gives you the accounting and finance foundation the exam assumes you already have. The review course is what translates that foundation, plus the IMA's official Learning Outcome Statements, into an actual study plan for the exam. Neither one is optional if you want to sit for the CMA Exam with a real shot at passing on your first attempt, since the CMA Exam pass rate hovers around 45 percent per part.
How to Become a CMA in Six Steps
Step 1: Join the IMA and Understand the CMA Requirements
Before you can register for the CMA Exam, you need to become a member of the IMA. Membership is available at student, academic, and professional rates, and it's a prerequisite for entering the CMA Program and paying your entrance fee.
The full eligibility picture includes five components: IMA membership, the entrance fee and CMA Program enrollment, the education requirement, the two-year relevant experience requirement, and passing both parts of the exam. We cover each of these in detail, including the accepted alternative credentials to a bachelor's degree and exactly what counts toward your professional experience, in our CMA Exam requirements guide.
Step 2: Meet the Education Requirement
To earn your CMA, you'll need a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, or an IMA-approved professional certification in place of one. You don't have to complete this requirement before you sit for the exam. In fact, many candidates take the CMA Exam while still finishing their degree or gathering documentation, since the IMA gives you up to seven years after passing the exam to submit proof of education.
If your degree came from a school outside the standard US accreditation system, the IMA may require an independent evaluation of your transcript before it counts. It's worth checking this early, since evaluation services can take time to process.
Step 3: Meet the Experience Requirement
You'll also need two continuous years of professional experience in management accounting or financial management. This can be completed before the exam, during your exam prep, or within seven years after you pass, whichever fits your career timeline best.
A few details trip candidates up here:
- Part-time work counts: If you're working roughly 20 hours a week, you'll accrue one year of qualifying experience for every two years of part-time employment.
- Internships and entry-level clerical roles don't qualify: The experience needs to involve real responsibility in areas like budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, internal controls, or similar management accounting functions.
- Teaching can count: Relevant college-level teaching in accounting or finance is accepted toward the requirement in many cases.
Because this requirement can run in parallel with your exam prep rather than after it, it's one of the biggest levers you have for shortening your overall timeline.
Step 4: Prepare for the Exam (Online Study Options)
This is where CMA "training" and "programs" actually happen. Since there's no in-person CMA school requirement, the overwhelming majority of candidates prepare through online CMA courses that combine video lectures, textbooks, practice questions, and simulated exams.
When you're comparing CMA study programs, look for a course that offers:
- Full coverage of the ICMA Learning Outcome Statements
- Practice with the current question formats, including case-based questions (CBQs)
- A structured study plan
- Support beyond video lectures
The IMA recommends roughly 150 to 170 study hours per exam part, which is a helpful anchor point regardless of which review course you choose. Becker's CMA Exam Review is built around 100 percent coverage of the current Learning Outcome Statements, adaptive practice technology, and case-based question practice aligned to the 2026 exam format, and it's backed by a Pass Guarantee for students who become Exam Day ReadySM.
Step 5: Pass the Two-Part CMA Exam
The CMA Exam is made up of two parts: Part 1 (Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics) and Part 2 (Strategic Financial Management). You can take them in either order, but you must pass both to complete the exam requirement.
Each part has historically included 100 multiple-choice questions plus two essay-style scenarios. Starting in 2026, that's changing. The IMA is replacing the essay portion with case-based questions (CBQs): a short business scenario, typically around 250 words, followed by six or seven application questions in formats like numerical entry, drag-and-drop, and select-from-a-list. The underlying topics and exam weighting aren't changing, only how your application of that knowledge gets tested. The rollout is happening in phases across the 2026 testing windows, with CBQs becoming the standard format for English-language exams in most regions by the September/October 2026 window.
One practical upside of the new format: because CBQs are scored more objectively than handwritten essays, score release times are expected to shrink from roughly six weeks down to as little as one to two weeks. For a full breakdown of what's changing, what isn't, and how to prepare for CBQs specifically, see our guide to the 2026 CMA Exam changes and our complete CMA Exam overview.
Step 6: Submit for Certification and Maintain It
Once you've passed both exam parts and satisfied the education and experience requirements, you'll submit your documentation through your IMA account to receive your CMA certification. From there, maintaining the credential requires ongoing IMA membership, a small annual renewal fee, and 30 hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) each year, including a required ethics component.
How Long Does It Take to Become a CMA?
The short answer is that it takes most people 12 to 18 months, but there's no single answer here. Your timeline depends on three variables: how much relevant experience you already have, how much time you can dedicate to studying each week, and how familiar the exam content already is to you.
An experienced management accountant who already has years of qualifying work experience might move through review and be ready to test within one to two months. Someone earlier in their career, working full-time while studying part-time, more commonly spends six months to a year preparing for both exam parts, and then continues accumulating the two-year experience requirement afterward if they haven't completed it yet.
You'll also need to plan around the CMA Exam's three annual testing windows:
- January/February
- May/June
- September/October
Missing a window means waiting for the next one, so building your study plan around these dates matters. For a detailed timeline framework you can adapt to your own situation, see how long it takes to become a CMA.
How Much Does It Cost to Become a CMA?
Becoming a CMA costs just under $1,700 for working professionals when you account for IMA membership, the entrance fee, and both exam parts, assuming you pass on the first attempt. Costs are lower for students and academics.
| Steps to certification | Student | Academic | Professional |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMA membership (annual) | $49 | $160 | $295 |
| CMA Program entrance fee | $225 | $225 | $300 |
| CMA Exam fee (per part) | $407 | $407 | $545 |
| Total (no retakes) | $1,088 | $1,199 | $1,685 |
On top of these IMA fees, most candidates also invest in a review course, which typically runs between $1,000 and $2,000 depending on the level of support included. It's an added cost, but with a per-part pass rate around 45 percent, a structured review course is usually what stands between a single attempt and paying exam fees twice. For the full fee breakdown, including how retakes and lapsed entrance fees affect your total, see our CMA certification cost guide.
CMA Salary: Is It Worth the Investment?
For most candidates, the return on that investment comes down to earning potential. CMAs in the US report an average annual salary of $105,943, with meaningful variation by region, industry, and years of experience. Certification holders also tend to move into leadership-track roles like FP&A manager, controller, and finance director more consistently than non-certified peers in similar starting positions.
Salary also climbs steadily with experience: CMAs with 0 to 9 years of experience report notably lower average pay than those with 10 to 19 years, and the gap widens further for CMAs with two or three decades in the field. For a full regional and experience-based breakdown, see how much CMAs make.
Ready to Start Your CMA Journey?
Once you know the pathway, the biggest variable left is exam prep. Becker's CMA Exam Review is built around 100 percent coverage of the ICMA Learning Outcome Statements with a customizable study plan, personalized practice questions, and Newt™, our AI-powered study tool. Start a free 14-day trial and see what a structured study plan looks like before you commit.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to attend a CMA school or program to get certified? No. The CMA is a certification from the IMA, not a degree from a school. You'll need a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution (or an approved alternative certification), and most candidates use an online CMA exam review course to prepare for the exam itself. There's no in-person "CMA school" requirement.
Can I become a CMA online? Yes. The education and experience requirements aren't tied to any specific delivery format, and the exam itself is administered at Prometric testing centers, not online. However, virtually all CMA exam preparation, including video lectures, practice questions, and simulated exams, happens through online review courses.
Can I start CMA exam prep before I finish my degree or my experience requirement? Yes. You can begin studying and even sit for the exam before finishing your education or experience requirements, as long as you complete both within the IMA's stated windows after passing.
Is the CMA exam getting harder in 2026? The topics, exam length, and pass requirements aren't changing. What's changing is the format: essay questions are being replaced with case-based questions (CBQs) that use formats like numerical entry and drag-and-drop instead of written responses. Many candidates find CBQs more approachable than essays, particularly non-native English speakers, since they don't require long-form writing.
How many times can I retake a CMA exam part? There's no cap on retakes, but you'll need to pay the exam fee again each time, and you must pass both parts within three years of paying your entrance fee or you'll need to re-enroll and pay it again.
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