Membership of ICMA is awarded based on multiple criteria at the sole discretion of the membership committee of ICMA. For more details, please see the link.

Certified Management Accountant (CMA) grade membership is usually awarded after candidates follow the 2-subject ‘CMA certification program’ with a required attendance record and successfully complete all examinations, assignments, and other assessments required. In such cases, a Membership Certificate AND a transcript showing the assessment grades obtained in the subjects is issued to the candidate by ICMA.

If you are a qualified accountant and have over 20 years of relevant experience, you will be exempted from having to sit for exams (under ICMA’s 20-year rule) if you attend and follow the CMA course via face-to-face mode or via Zoom. Those having less than 10 years of relevant experience have a choice of sitting the 2-paper exams OR writing two 3,000-word assignments (one for each subject). Those having between 10-20 years of relevant experience have a choice of sitting the 2-paper exams OR writing one 3,000-word assignment. Those undertaking the program via face-to-face or Zoom and having 10-20 relevant experience need to write only one assignment covering both subjects. Those undertaking the program in Online or in Distance Education mode, must do two assignments (one for each subject) irrespective of the years of experience.

Those undertaking the program in Online or in Distance Education mode must submit their assignments only after 3 months of enrolling in the CMA course and within 6 months of enrolling. For those undertaking the program via face-to-face or Zoom, there is a one-month study period after attending the course before participants are allowed to submit assignments or sit for exams. Assignments must be submitted within 3 months of completion of the program. Deferment of the assessment is permitted up to a maximum of 2 years from completing the CMA course if the student has been prevented from completing an assessment through illness or exceptional circumstances.

In special circumstances, CMA membership is granted to senior executives and/or academics without any assessments. In such cases, ONLY a Membership Certificate is issued. Transcripts are only issued to those undertaking assessments (exams or assignments).

Sometimes, those who have obtained CMA membership under the 20-year rule (i.e. without assessments) request a transcript for purposes of further studies or due to a request from their employers. In such cases, please contact [email protected] to be directed to how best to do the assignments. If they have undertaken the CMA program prior to the time of a syllabus change, they may need to undertake the CMA program again.

FAQs regarding Assignments

1. Regarding the submission process, should I email my completed assignment directly to you, or is there a specific submission portal I should use?

Your assignment as a Word document and your CV as a PDF should be emailed to your course coordinator.

2. Could you please confirm my specific deadline based on my program completion date?

It is One Month after the completion of the CMA program and a Maximum of Three Months from the date of completion of the program attended.

3. What level of detail is expected in the CV that must accompany my submission?

A student must provide a current CV showing the current organisation they work for. If using a previous company or a company in which a consultancy was carried out, this must show on the CV. The CV must show educational achievements.

4. If my organization has confidentiality policies, what is your recommended approach for handling sensitive information while still providing meaningful analysis?

You can use a fictitious company name. If the student uses a fictitious company name, they must submit a separate document (to their assignment report) as to what the actual name of the company is and the student’s relationship to it. Any detailed or confidential information must be averaged or modified in order to remove sensitivity.

5. Is the Harvard Anglia 2008 style of referencing acceptable for this assignment?

The Harvard Style is widely used, but it has numerous variations. Consistency is important, so choose one version of Harvard and make sure that you apply it consistently. If you are unsure of which version of the Harvard Citation Style to use, then use the examples given in the assignment guidelines, i.e.:

Author surname, initial. (Year) “Article title” Journal Name, Volume (Issue), pp. page range.

6. What is your process for verifying my employment with the company I’ll be analysing?

Employment is verified via various sources if there is concern as to its veracity.

7. Could you clarify the procedure for requesting an extension in case of exceptional circumstances?

Please email your course coordinator in the first instance with any issues.

8. When and how will feedback be provided on the assignment?

No feedback is provided in professional body assignments. You will get a grade at the end of the marking process, without any explanation or reason given.
The assignments must be strictly the students own work. If students are found to be using templates developed by instructors, past students, or professional firms, as these will breach the plagiarism rules, they will be graded as a fail.

With more and more students using AI platforms, referencing and plagiarism rules given in the assignment guidelines will be strictly enforced, with students automatically failing if these are breached.

See also: https://cmaaustralia.edu.au/education/policies/results-policy/

9. Do you use specific tools to detect AI-generated content, and are there any additional guidelines beyond those mentioned in the document regarding AI usage?

Yes, specific tools are used to detect AI-generated content, so it’s best that you strictly adhere to the referencing and plagiarism rules given in the assignment guidelines.
ICMA(ANZ) is certifying the person (and not the AI platform) as a Certified Management Accountant.