Why we prescribe CMA (US) as the best qualification in Finance ??

Why we prescribe CMA (US) as the best qualification in Finance  ??

While respecting that CA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA are parallel certification that provide same body of knowledge and good MBA(Fin) graduates also have adequate knowledge in areas other than financial controllership areas, we promote Certified Management Accountant (CMA) of IMA (US) for employment in the areas of financial controllership line in companies, banking and financial markets, consulting organizations and academics. IPFC promotes independent CMA course for the following reasons:  Cost :  An average private B-school MBA costs Rs 5-10 lakhs wherein a CMA(US) program can be completed within Rs 1 lakh. A typical professional accounting program in India will cost around Rs 1.5 lakhs. These cost structure involves cost of classroom tuition required by average students and assumes average repeat exam taking. NOT taking a CMA exam can have an associated opportunity cost of lost earning as below:

Professional Average years Cost of the Program Time Saved in Earnings lost in studentship Courses required to pass including good pvt tuition, years if you do the @Rs 30000 pmx 12 x years   in our opinion payable to institutions international CMA   Engineering 4 500000 3 1080000 MBA 2 500000 1 360000 Engineering +MBA 6 1000000 5 1800000 CA/ICWA/CS 6 150000 5 1800000 CMA(US) 1 135000 0 0

Disclaimer: The above table is as per our research data. It is advised that the prospective student takes an independent expert’s opinion before making a choice.

Time:  The minimum theoretical time taken for the ICWAI and CA (including article ship) courses are 2 years and 4 years, respectively, assuming the rare student passes in first attempt. However, an average ICWAI/CA student takes 5-7 years to pass their exams. Most CA/ICWA/CS students drop out after some years. An average CMA (US) student can pass the exam within 1 year. This is because the 2-paper CMA exam encapsulates the 14-16 papers of equivalent ICWAI, CA, ACCA, CIMA programs. Each CMA paper looks heavy when taken but you have to take the load twice only, successfully. The US CPA 4-paper exam is also passable in a year time but it cannot be taken in India. The cost for CPA exam is also very high including the cost of staying in US. The US CMA or CPA exam that are passable within 9 months to 1 year time, does not mean that the exams are easy. The time saving is just due to the fact that exams are available throughout the year (except Saturday, Sunday and American holidays) at Prometric centre at Kolkata and other metros in India and abroad. A candidate takes the exam only when (s)he is ready and if (s)he fails, can take the exam whenever she is ready for the next appearance. Thus, the CMA candidate gets many opportunities to take repeat exam during a year whereas a CA, CS, ICWA candidate gets only two chances to sit for the exam during the year. Time is money, time saved is money saved. Go for CMA!

Higher Pass Rate: The pass rate of the Indian Professional Accounting exams are very low compared to foreign exams as can be seen from the following table:

Examination Details Period Pass Rates     Reported           CA Final Group I/II Avg November 2009 8.70% ICWA Final Group I/II Avg Undisclosed Less than CA, CS CS Final Average Undisclosed 10-15% CMA(US) All paper average June 2009 53.75% CPA(US) All paper average Cumulative 2009 49.10% CIMA(UK) 11 Paper average Nov 2009 Press Release 53.36% ACCA(UK) 16 paper average Dec 2009 Professional 47.50%

Note: ICWA and ICSI don’t disclose the pass rate. The figures are arrived from internet research. Students are advised to seek expert’s opinion before making a choice.

The above does not mean that Indian Exams are tougher than the foreign exams. After analyzing a lot, we opine that CMA/CPA/ACCA/CIMA students are international students from well-to-do and informed classes from America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Pakistan, India and China. They are economically strong lot with very strong achievement orientation and give their best for the exams. The socio-economic situation in India pose a heterogenus student profile to ICAI, ICWAI and ICSI with the many students coming from villages, mufsil towns that do not have the right academic infrastructure and strong peer reference groups. Also the academic culture of India took most talented students in Engineering and Medicine and Science disciplines leaving only a small percentage of academic achievers in the stream of commerce. All these have contributed to a low pass rate for the CA, ICWA and CS exams. The US exams are scientific and significant part of the CMA or CPA exam are objective. Objectivity helps in pass rate because the student is not left out to the whim of the examiner as the computer sees all students as equal. There is no discrimination made to the person who is found deficient in English but has the knowledge of the subject. Finance career is all about application of technical skills and NOT verbal or written communication skills or looks that may be required for MBA (Marketing or HR) jobs.

You can see that the CMA exam can save significant time from your precious short lifespan. By the time your friends become an Indian Professional Accountant, you may have already risen to a very high level in a multinational company.

International Employment:  CMA (US) is a strong certification internationally in the area of management accounting, especially in the US, Canada and entire North America block, Russia and Eastern Europe, the entire gulf countries and China. Since, American companies are everywhere, a CMA certification has by default, lot of MNC recruiters. With the MoU agreement of ICWAI, it has now become handy for CMAs to obtain an ICWA certification by exercising either of the reciprocity options. Additionally, the CMA (US) certification has high respect among Indian CAs and ICWAIs.

Ease in immigration:  Lot of Indian professionals are opting for popular immigration destinations like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and opting for jobs in US, particularly the Indian girls getting married to IT professionals working in US. Accounting profession has always remained high in the Occupation in Demand llist in Australia and Canada and an international certification like CMA (US) will pave the way for easy and early immigration to the aspiring immigration candidates.