CMA 2010 CURRICULUM AND FORMAT

CONTENT SPECIFICATION OVERVIEW

(Effective May 1, 2010)
The percentages below show the relative weight range given to each topic in each part.
The level designations indicate the depth and breadth of topic coverage in each part. A
detailed content specification outline can be downloaded from our website in the
certification section. Effective May 1, 2010

Content Specification Outlines

Certified Management Accountant (CMA) Examinations

The content specification outlines presented below represent the body of knowledge that
will be covered on the CMA examinations. The outlines may be changed in the future
when new subject matter becomes part of the common body of knowledge.

Candidates for the CMA designation are required to take and pass Parts 1 and 2.

Candidates are responsible for being informed on the most recent developments in the
areas covered in the outlines. This includes understanding of public pronouncements
issued by accounting organizations as well as being up-to-date on recent developments
reported in current accounting, financial and business periodicals.

The content specification outlines serve several purposes. The outlines are intended to:

• Establish the foundation from which each examination will be developed.

• Provide a basis for consistent coverage on each examination.

• Communicate to interested parties more detail as to the content of each

examination part.

• Assist candidates in their preparation for each examination.

• Provide information to those who offer courses designed to aid candidates in

preparing for the examinations.

Important additional information about the content specification outlines and the
examinations is listed below.

1. The coverage percentage given for each major topic within each examination part
represents the relative weight given to that topic in an examination part. The
number of questions presented in each major topic area approximates this
percentage.

2. Each examination will sample from the subject areas contained within each major
topic area to meet the relative weight specifications. No relative weights have
 been assigned to the subject areas within each major topic. No inference should be
made from the order in which the subject areas are listed or from the number of
subject areas as to the relative weight or importance of any of the subjects.

3. Each major topic within each examination part has been assigned a coverage level
designating the depth and breadth of topic coverage, ranging from an introductory
knowledge of a subject area (Level A) to a thorough understanding of and ability
to apply the essentials of a subject area (Level C). Detailed explanations of the
coverage levels and the skills expected of candidates are presented below.

4. The topics for Parts 1 and 2 have been selected to minimize the overlapping of
subject areas among the examination parts. The topics within an examination part
and the subject areas within topics may be combined in individual questions.

5. With regard to U.S. Federal income taxation issues, candidates will be expected to
understand the impact of income taxes when reporting and analyzing financial
results. In addition, the tax code provisions that impact decisions (e.g.,
depreciation, interest, etc.) will be tested.

6. Candidates for the CMA designation are assumed to have knowledge of the
following: preparation of financial statements, business economics, time-value
of money concepts, statistics and probability.

7. Parts 1 and 2 are four-hour exams and each contains 100 multiple-choice
questions and 2 essay questions. Candidates will have three hours to complete
the multiple-choice questions and one hour to complete the essay section. A
small number of the multiple-choice questions on each exam are being
validated for future use and will not count in the final score.

8. For the essay questions, both written and quantitative responses will be required.
Candidates will be expected to present written answers that are responsive to the
question asked, presented in a logical manner, and demonstrate an appropriate
understanding of the subject matter. It should be noted that candidates are
expected to have working knowledge in the use of word processing and electronic
spreadsheets.

9. Ethical issues and considerations are tested in both Parts 1 and 2. In Part 1, ethics
will be tested from the perspective of the individual and in Part 2, from the
perspective of the organization.
In order to more clearly define the topical knowledge required by a candidate, varying
levels of coverage for the treatment of major topics of the content specification outlines
have been identified and defined. The cognitive skills that a successful candidate should
possess and that should be tested on the examinations can be defined as follows:

Knowledge: Ability to remember previously learned material such as

specific facts, criteria, techniques, principles, and procedures
(i.e., identify, define, list).

Comprehension: Ability to grasp and interpret the meaning of material (i.e.,

classify, explain, distinguish between).

Application: Ability to use learned material in new and concrete situations

(i.e., demonstrate, predict, solve, modify, relate).

Analysis: Ability to break down material into its component parts so that
its organizational structure can be understood; ability to
recognize causal relationships, discriminate between behaviors,
and identify elements that are relevant to the validation of a
judgment (i.e., differentiate, estimate, order).

Synthesis: Ability to put parts together to form a new whole or proposed

set of operations; ability to relate ideas and formulate
hypotheses (i.e. combine, formulate, revise).

Evaluation: Ability to judge the value of material for a given purpose on

the basis of consistency, logical accuracy, and comparison to
standards; ability to appraise judgments involved in the
selection of a course of action (i.e., criticize, justify, conclude).

The three levels of coverage can be defined as follows:

Level A: Requiring the skill levels of knowledge and comprehension.

Level B: Requiring the skill levels of knowledge, comprehension,

application, and analysis.

Level C: Requiring all six skill levels, knowledge, comprehension,

application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

The levels of coverage as they apply to each of the major topics of the Content
Specification Outlines are shown on the following pages with each topic listing. The
levels represent the manner in which topic areas are to be treated and represent ceilings,
i.e., a topic area designated as Level C may contain requirements at the “A,” “B,” or “C”
level, but a topic designated as Level B will not contain requirements at the “C” level.
 CMA Content Specification Overview

Part 1 Financial Planning, Performance and Control

(4 hours – 100 questions and 2 essay questions)

Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting 30% Level C

Performance Management 25% Level C
Cost Management 25% Level C
Internal Controls 15% Level C
Professional Ethics 5% Level C

Content Specification Outlines for the

Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
Examinations

Candidates for the CMA designation are assumed to have knowledge of the following:
preparation of financial statements, business economics, time-value of money concepts,
statistics and probability. Questions in both parts of the CMA exam will assume that the
successful candidate can effectively integrate and synthesize this knowledge with the
specific topics covered in the content specification outline.

Part 1
Financial Planning, Performance and Control
A. Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting
(30%) (Level C)
Planning process; budgeting concepts; annual profit plans and supporting schedules;
types of budgets, including activity-based budgeting, project budgeting, flexible
budgeting; top-level planning and analysis; and forecasting, including quantitative
methods such regression analysis and learning curves.
B. Performance Management
(25%) (Level C)
Factors to be analyzed for control and performance evaluation including revenues, costs,
profits, and investment in assets; variance analysis based on flexible budgets and standard
costs; responsibility accounting for revenue, cost, contribution and profit centers; and
balanced scorecard.
C. Cost Management
(25%) (Level C)
Cost concepts, flows and terminology; alternative cost objectives; cost measurement
concepts; cost accumulation systems including job order costing, process costing, and
activity-based costing; overhead cost allocation; operational efficiency and business
process performance topics such as JIT, MRP, theory of constraints, value chain analysis,
benchmarking, ABM, and continuous improvement.
D. Internal Controls
(15%) (Level C)
Risk assessment; internal control environment, procedures, and standards; responsibility
and authority for internal auditing; types of audits; and assessing the adequacy of the
accounting information system controls.
E. Professional Ethics
(5%) (Level C)
Ethical considerations for management accounting professionals

SUGGESTED READING LIST

(2010 CMA CURRICULUM)
PART 1: Financial Planning, Performance and Control

Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting

Blocher, Edward, J., Stout, David E., Cokins, Gary, and Chen, Kung, Cost Management:
A Strategic Emphasis, 5th edition, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 2008.
Horngren, Charles T., Foster, George M., Datar, Srikant, Rajan, Madhav, and Ittner,
Chris, Cost Management: A Managerial Emphasis, 13th edition, Prentice-Hall Inc.,Upper
Saddle River, NJ, 2009.
Anderson, David, R., Sweeney, Dennis J., Williams, Thomas A., Camm, Jeff, and
Martin, R. Kipp, Quantitative Methods of Business, 11th Edition, Mason, Ohio: South
Western, 2010.

Performance Management

Blocher, Edward, J., Stout, David E., Cokins, Gary, and Chen, Kung, Cost Management:
A Strategic Emphasis, 4th edition, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 2008.
Horngren, Charles T., Foster, George M., Datar, Srikant, Rajan, Madhav, and Ittner,
Chris, Cost Management: A Managerial Emphasis, 13th edition, Prentice-Hall Inc.,Upper
Saddle River, NJ, 2009.

Cost Management

Blocher, Edward, J., Stout, David E., Cokins, Gary, and Chen, Kung, Cost Management:
A Strategic Emphasis, 4th edition, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 2008.
Horngren, Charles T., Foster, George M., Datar, Srikant, Rajan, Madhav, and Ittner,
Chris, Cost Management: A Managerial Emphasis, 13th edition, Prentice-Hall Inc.,Upper
Saddle River, NJ, 2009.

Internal Controls

Bagranoff, Nancy A., Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems, 11th edition,
John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, 2009.
Bodnar, George, H., and Hopwood, William S., Accounting Information Systems, 10th
edition, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2010.
Sawyer, Lawrence B., Dittenhofer, Mortimer A., and Graham, Anne, eds., 2003.
Sawyer’s Internal Auditing: The Practice of Modern Internal Auditing, 5th edition, The
Institute of Internal Auditors, Altamonte Springs, FL, 2003.

Professional Ethics
Institute of Management Accountants, 2005, Statement of Ethical Professional Practice.
< http://www.imanet.org/about_ethics_statement.asp>.

Part 2 Financial Decision Making

(4 hours – 100 questions and 2 essay questions)

Financial Statement Analysis 25% Level C

Corporate Finance 25% Level C
Decision Analysis and Risk Management 25% Level C
Investment Decisions 20% Level C
Professional Ethics 5% Level C

Part 2
Financial Decision Making

A. Financial Statement Analysis (25%) (Level C)

Principal financial statements and their purposes; limitations of financial statement

information; interpretation and analysis of financial statements including ratio analysis
and comparative analysis; market value vs. book value; fair value accounting;
international issues; major differences between IFRS and U.S. GAAP; off-balance sheet
financing; Cash Flow Statement preparation, analysis, and reconciliation; and earnings
quality.

B. Corporate Finance (25%) (Level C)

Types of risk; measures of risk; portfolio management; options and futures; capital
instruments for long-term financing; dividend policy; factors influencing the optimum
capital structure; cost of capital; raising capital; managing and financing working capital;
mergers and acquisitions; and international finance.

C. Decision Analysis and Risk Management (25%) (Level C)

Relevant data concepts; cost-volume-profit analysis; marginal analysis; make vs. buy
decisions; pricing; income tax implications for operational decision analysis; operational
risk, hazard risk, financial risk, and strategic risk; and ERM.
D. Investment Decision (20%) (Level C)

Cash flow estimates; discounted cash flow concepts; net present value; internal rate of
return; non-discounting analysis techniques; income tax implications for investment
decisions; ranking investment projects; risk analysis; real options; and valuation models.

E. Professional Ethics (5%) (Level C)

Ethical considerations for the organization

A detailed content spec is available from the ICMA or it can be downloaded from on our
website www.imanet.org/certification.

SUGGESTED READING LIST

(2010 CMA CURRICULUM)
Part 2: Financial Decision Making

Financial Statement Analysis

Epstein, Barry J., and Jemakowicz, Eva, IFRS Interpretation and Application of
International Financial Reporting Standards, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, 2009.
Gibson, Charles, Financial Reporting & Analysis, 11th edition, South-Western Cengage
Learning, Mason, OH, 2009.
Subramanyam, K.R., and Wild, John L., Financial Statement Analysis, 10th edition,
McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 2009.

Corporate Finance

Brealey, Richard, A., Allen, Franklin, and Myers, Stewart C., Principals of Corporate
Finance, 9th edition, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 2008.
Van Horn, James, C., and Wachowicz, John M. Jr., Fundamentals of Financial
Management, 13th edition, FT / Prentice Hall, Harlow, England, 2009.

Decision Analysis and Risk Management

Blocher, Edward, J., Stout, David E., Cokins, Gary, and Chen, Kung, Cost Management:
A Strategic Emphasis, 4th edition, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 2008.
Horngren, Charles T., Foster, George M., Datar, Srikant, Rajan, Madhav, and Ittner,
Chris, Cost Management: A Managerial Emphasis, 13th edition, Prentice-Hall Inc.,Upper
Saddle River, NJ, 2009.
COSO, The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission,
2004. Enterprise Risk Management – Integrated Framework. New Jersey: AICPA.
Moeller, Robert R., 2007. COSO Enterprise Risk Management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley
& Sons.
Institute of Management Accountants, 2006, Enterprise Risk Management: Frameworks,
Elements, and Integration. http://www.imanet.org/publications_statements.asp#A
Institute of Management Accountants, 2007, Enterprise Risk Management: Tools and
Techniques for Effective Implementation.
http://www.imanet.org/publications_statements.asp#A

Investment Decisions

Blocher, Edward, J., Stout, David E., Cokins, Gary, and Chen, Kung, Cost Management:
A Strategic Emphasis, 4th edition, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 2008.
Horngren, Charles T., Foster, George M., Datar, Srikant, Rajan, Madhav, and Ittner,
Chris, Cost Management: A Managerial Emphasis, 13th edition, Prentice-Hall Inc.,Upper
Saddle River, NJ, 2009.
Brealey, Richard, A., Allen, Franklin, and Myers, Stewart C., Principals of Corporate
Finance, 9th edition, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 2008.
Van Horn, James, C., and Wachowicz, John M. Jr., Fundamentals of Financial
Management, 13th edition, FT / Prentice Hall, Harlow, England, 2009.

Professional Ethics

Institute of Management Accountants, 2008, Values and Ethics: From Inception to

Practice http://www.imanet.org/publications_statements.asp#A
United States Department of Justice, Lay-person’s Guide to Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act. http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/docs/dojdocb.html