Answers to frequently asked questions about the CMA profession can be found on this page.
What distinguishes the CMA profession from other specialized careers in the field of management and finance?
What do employers look for in a professional accountant?
What are the major steps that lead to the CMA designation?
What is the practical work experience and how do I find one?
Can I become a CMA even though I studied abroad or in another field
than accounting?
Where do CMAs work and what do they do?
What distinguishes the CMA profession from other specialized careers in the field of management and finance?
Unlike other specialized professions, the pathway leading to the CMA profession enables future CMAs to develop an expanded and integrated vision of all the vital functions of organizations. Trained to see more than numbers, CMAs use them as indicators that will lead them to improvements and innovation, which will ultimately have a tangible effect on their organization’s performance.
Instead of focusing, as traditional accountants do, on financial information (financial statements, balance sheets, etc.), theoretical applications and auditing, CMAs try to understand and see how and why things are done the way they are. They are comfortable with going into the field to see what is happening and talking to other managers. Their openness and broader perspective make CMAs proactive rather than passive accountants.
Champions of integration, CMAs are equipped to grasp the many facets of situations experienced by organizations. Their mastery of new expertise beyond pure accounting puts them in the vanguard and makes them added-value accountants who play a key role in decision-making.
What do employers look for in a professional accountant?
Employers expect financial management professionals to be true business partners for their organization. They feel it is necessary that they not only have solid training in accounting among their qualifications, but that they have also mastered best management practices. They rely on their judgment, their integrative and analytical abilities and their communication skills. And finally, they truly value their ability to solve problems and make decisions, as well as their sense of ethics and leadership. CMA training perfectly meets all of these expectations.
What are the major steps that lead to the CMA designation?
University education
First, you must have an undergraduate university degree or the equivalent, in management, with a major in professional accounting, or accountancy, provided that candidates have taken the CMA path and successfully completed all of the relevant courses. Candidates may then register with the Order.
CMA Entrance Examination
Unless they have successfully completed a university program accredited by CMA Canada and earned a grade point average of 75%*, candidates must then pass the CMA Entrance Examination.
This exam is the gateway to the CMA Strategic Leadership Program (SLP) and earning the CMA designation. The four-hour CMA Entrance Examination is intended to assess through multiple choice questions how well candidates have assimilated knowledge mainly of financial and management accounting, taxation and finance acquired at university. They must obtain a score of at least 60% to pass.
There are two examination sessions per year, in June and October. Candidates who sit for the Examination in June and pass it will be able to begin the CMA Strategic Leadership Program (SLP) in the following fall.
At this stage, candidates may also opt for one of the five master’s programs recognized by the Order. In that case, they will complete a graduate-level program instead of the SLP, but will still have to pass the Case Examination and the Report to the Board of Directors, the final component of the SLP.
* If you have already graduated from an accredited university program or expect to do so before December 31, 2010, you are not subject to the GPA of 75% requirement.
Case Examination
All candidates must pass the Case Examination, which is taken after Phase 1 of the CMA Strategic Leadership Program (SLP), before they can begin Phase 2 of the Program. The purpose of the Case Examination is to measure the competencies of candidates in the following areas:
- strategic management
- risk management and governance
- performance management
- performance measurement
- financial management
- financial information
This four-hour examination consists of an extensive case analysis. Candidates must receive 60% to pass it. There are two examination sessions per year, in May and August.
CMA Strategic Leadership Program (SLP)
The SLP is comprised of six interactive sessions over two years (6 full weekends – Saturdays and Sundays) moderated by experienced instructors from the business world. The interactive sessions take place at approximately 8-week intervals between the fall and spring in Montreal and Quebec City. The Program also involves mandatory work, readings and on-line discussions.
The SLP is divided into two phases. In the first phase of the Program (development phase), candidates must complete case studies representative of those used in the Case Examination, which provide them with solid preparation for the Examination.
After passing the Case Examination, candidates begin the application phase of the Program (phase 2), so that they can assimilate the skills that are necessary for strategic management and financial professionals the candidates are in the process of becoming.
Finally, the Report to the Board of Directors and the process of preparing for it are the final test of how well the candidates apply the functional and enabling competencies in the CMA Competency Map. The fees for the SLP are $5,725 in 2008. The majority of employers reimburse candidates some or all of the SLP fees. The SLP must be taken at the same time as a paid practical work experience in an organization.
What is the practical work experience and how do I find one?
Parallel to the SLP, candidates to the CMA profession must complete two years of paid practical work experience in a professional setting, in the activity sector of their choice. The practical work experience makes it possible to apply their knowledge of best management and management accounting practices.
To be recognized as practical work experience, the position must be compatible with the CMA role and related to management accounting, financial accounting, management, finance, management information systems, etc.
The Order does everything it can to make it easier for candidates to find practical work experiences. Thus, twenty some major employers have signed a future CMA hiring partnership agreement with the Order. Furthermore, in the months before they finish their studies, the Order also organizes recruiting cocktails with employers in major cities in Quebec. Finally, after candidates have registered with the Order, they have access to hundreds of jobs posted every year by employers on the Order’s site. In 2007, 919 positions were posted, including 141 exclusively reserved for new graduates.
Can I become a CMA even though I studied abroad or in another field than accounting?
Of course! If you completed a university program outside Quebec or Canada, you can, depending on the case, obtain total or partial equivalence of your degree or training program.
To obtain equivalence for your degree or training program, you must first conduct a free self-evaluation of your prior learning which will give you an overview of the missing elements in your training that you will need to begin the CMA accreditation process. Second, you can submit a detailed evaluation request after paying the appropriate fee.
Where do CMAs work and what do they do?
The CMA designation leads everywhere and opens doors throughout Canada, but also in Paris, London, Mexico and New York. CMAs are elite managers who leave their mark wherever they go. In all economic activity sectors, small and large businesses, in the service sector and the manufacturing industry, public administration and teaching, CMAs are everywhere, or almost.
Whether you are a chief financial officer, controller, management systems analyst, administrative director or chief operating officer, you can still be a CMA and live according to your values and preferences. And with the ever growing demand for them by employers, there is no shortage of choices for CMAs, whose employment rate is nearly 100%!
Want to know more?
The Order’s team is there for you!
Write to us
Call us:
514 849-1155, ext. 231
1 800 263-5390, ext. 231
Visit us:
715 Square Victoria, 3rd floor
Montreal, Quebec
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
And order the information kit by clicking here.