Starting January 1, 2020, the CMA exam will undergo substantial changes to ensure that the certification is current, relevant, and valid for accountants seeking to work in management accounting. The Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA) decided on these changes after performing a thorough job analysis.
Both parts of the exam will feature changes to their names and their content. As of January 1, 2020, Part 1 will be called Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics. This section will include content sections for Technology and Analytics and Integrated Reporting, and it will no longer feature content relating to Internal Auditing. Part 2 will be renamed Strategic Financial Management, with new content on Business Ethics and Sustainability and Social Responsibility. Part 2 will not longer contain content on Off-Balance Sheet Financing, Bankruptcy, or Tax Implications of Transfer Pricing. The new topic breakdowns are:
Part 1: Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics
15% External Financial Reporting Decisions
20% Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting
20% Performance Management
15% Cost Management
15% Internal Controls
15% Technology and Analytics
Part 2: Strategic Financial Management
20% Financial Statement Analysis
20% Corporate Finance
25% Decision Analysis
10% Risk Management
10% Investment Decisions
15% Professional Ethics
Though any exam section that you’ve already passed will still count toward the CMA certification, if you do not pass both sections before the end of the September and October 2019 testing window, you will have to sit for the updated 2020 CMA exam starting in January. So, if you don’t think you will be able to pass both CMA exam sections prior to the end of the September and October 2019 testing window, you won’t want to be caught unaware of these changes.
Fortunately, Surgent CMA Review already has the content you need to pass the 2020 CMA exam, but that doesn’t mean that the 2019 materials have disappeared! When logging in to the software, it is possible to choose which version of the exam you want to study. Just follow these four easy steps:
1. Click on “Profile” under the Welcome tab at the top right of the screen.
2. Once at your profile, click on Settings.
3. Click on the three dots to the far right of the row for the exam part that you wish to change to a different exam outline. A menu will pop up with a few settings – click on Switch Course Outline. You will then see a progress bar load and be taken back to the Account tab.
4. To check that the course outline has been changed, go back to the Settings tab. The Current Outline column should say whether you’re set to study according to the 2015 CMA exam outline – which the exam is currently based on – or the new 2020 CMA exam outline.
