CMA (Dec) 2025: Foundation Result (on Jan 8), Jun 2026 Dates, Pattern, Syllabus, Centres

There is no difference between ICWA and CMA. The Institute of Cost and Accounting, commonly known as ICMAI, was earlier known as the Institute of Cost and Work Accountant of India (ICWAI). The institute with the name ICWAI, offered the course terming it as ICWA. With change in the name of the institute to ICMAI, the course name has been changed to CMA. 

Thus, there is no difference between CWA and CMA. Both are the same courses, only the name has been changed in the previous years. Similarly, ICWAI and ICMAI are the same institute with changes in names over the years. Besides the nomenclature, there is no change in the literal meaning.

There are 3 stages in CMA course, including the Foundation, Inter and Final courses. Candidates who wish to become a certified Cost and Management Accountant in India must complete all three levels of the CMA course.

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, also known as ICMAI, conducts the CMA exam twice in one year. The two terms of the CMA exam are conducted in December and June sessions. CMA students need to fill the exam form until a specified date to participate in the examination process under a particular exam session.

Candidates who need a new admission in CMA course must fill the regisatration form to enrol themselves to the course. Candidates must enrol themselves until January 31 to appear for CMA exam in June session. On the contrary, to appear for CMA December term exams, candidates need to complete the admission process until July 31. The registration deadlines for the CMA enrolment may or may not extend in a particular exam session.

ICMAI does not allow candidates to apply for re-evaluation of the CMA exam. However, candidates can apply for verification of the answer sheets. The verification of answer sheets will help scoring the answers in case there is a totalling error or omission to examine any answer. Additionally, the institute does not supply any details of the question-wise marks to the students. Candidates can apply for the verification of answer sheets within 30 days of release of the results. CMA students need to pay INR 250 for each subject for which they need to apply for verification of answer sheets.

ICMAI conducts CMA exam in June and December. Candidates can apply for ICMAI CMA based on the cutoff date for each exam term.

Candidates need to visit the ICMAI website to check CMA results. Students need to provide the identification number to access the CMA result login.

Ths institute of Cost Accountants of India, commonly known as ICMAI, releases the CMA results in two to three months of the exam dates for Intermediare and Final courses. CMA Foundation results are released comparatively early. Owing to a MCQ based question pattern in CMA Foundation exam, the results for CMA foundation are typically released within a month of the exam date.

CMA Intermediate results and CMA Final results are released on a  same date. However, the link to check the CMA Intermediate results and CMA Final results are hosted on the separate windows.

No. CMA results are released within 3 months of the exam date. as per the CMA test structure, the CMA Foundation exam is held as an OMR based test. Therefore, candidates are evaluated only after they have submitted their OMR based answer sheets. On the contrary, CMA exams for Intermediate and Final courses have subjective questions. Therefore, evaluating the performance of each candidate can be done via a subject matter expert.

Therefore, candidates cannot check the CMA results immediately after the submitting their answer sheets.

ICMAI conducts CMA exam in June and December. Candidates can apply for ICMAI CMA based on the cutoff date for each exam term.

The link to download ICMAI CMA Inter admit card is available under the resepective student login on official website of ICMAI. ICMAI releases a link to download the CMA exam admit card soon after the exam form window is closed. Candidates will need to login to the website using their login credentials, including the registration number to downlaod the CMA exam admit card. ICMAI CMA Inter admit card is released separately for both June and December exam terms.

ICMAI issues the CMA admit card to all the candidates who fill and submit the exam form before the deadline. CMA admit card includes the candidate's full name, photograph, signature, and registration number. These help verify the identity of the test taker at the exam centre.

The informantion mentioned in the CMA admit card will match the details that were entered during exam form fillup. In case candidates find any incorrect detail mentioned on the CMA admit card, they must contact ICMAI as soon as possible to avoid problems on exam day.

Yes, the ICMAI CMA admit card will clearly mention the date and time of each exam paper. If the candidate is appearing for Group I or Group II, the specific subjects and schedule is listed on the admit card. Candidates must cross check the exam date against the group subject with the exam date released by ICMAI. Additionally, candidates must go through the hall ticket of CMA exam carefully and plan their time and travel accordingly. Missing the exam due to confusion in timing, or exam centre address will lead candidates to appear for the exam in the next term.

 

No. ICMAI CMA admit card is only obtainable online. Candidates will not be issued CMA admit card offline at ICMAI office, or via post/email. Candidates can use login credentials to download ICMAI CMA admit card.

Yes, you can certainly join CMA. In fact, a graduate is directly eligible for the intermediate level. Here are the eligibility criteria for intermediate CMA: 1. A candidate should have passed Senior Secondary School Examination (10+2) and Foundation Course of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India. 2. Graduation in any discipline other than Fine Arts. 3. Foundation (Entry Level) Part I Examination of CAT of the Institute. 4. Foundation (Entry Level) Part I Examination and Competency Level Part II Examination of CAT of the Institute.

There is no age limit to study. If you want to do CMA at the age of 40, then you can do it and you will directly get admission for Intermediate exam, and after that, you need to clear final exam. However it do have eligibility criteria for foundation exams which requires you to have a class 12th degree from a recognised board. Moreover if you have already completed the graduation then, you can directly get admission into the Intermediate level. For more information kindly visit the official website of icmai. Thank you.

No, you need not to apply and pursue the CMA Foundation course. Completing a graduate degree course marks the candidates eligibility for direct entry to CMA Intermediate. The space below mentions the cases where a candidate is marked eligible for the direct admission to CMA Intermediate course:

• Passed a degree exam of any recognised University or equivalent
• Passed a degree (honours) exam of anyrecognised University;
• Pursuing Engineering course (having completed Semester IV/equivalent) or are qualified engineers;
• Passed a Master degree exam from a recognised University or any of the IIMs;
• Passed an Engineering degree exam from any recognised University or any of the IITs or IISc;
• Passed the Final exam of the any of the following
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or England and Wales, or Scotland 
    or Ireland
  • Final exam of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, London,
  • Final exam of the ICSI;
  • Final exam of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, U.K.
• Passed the Foundation course exam of this ICMAI;
• Completed the entry Level-Part I exam of Certificate in Accounting Technicians (CAT) course of ICMAI;
• Completed the entry Level-Part I exam and Competency Level Part II exam of Certificate in Accounting Technicians (CAT) course of ICMAI can seek admission to Intermediate course of ICMAI;

Besides the above mentioned eligibility conditions, there are some other criteria to obtain direct admission to the ICMAI course.

Yes, candidates who enrol to the ICMAI's CMA Final course on or before January 31 are eligible for the upcoming June term as well as December term. According to ICMAI, the admission cutoff date is set for those who wish to appear for the upcoming term. Candidates applying for admission on or before January 31 are eligible for the June term as well as the December term exams. Those applying after January 31, are not eliigble for the upcoming June term, however, can fill the exam form for December term.

ICMAI guidelines state that those who complete admission by the cutoff date (January 31) qualify to appear for the upcoming June term, but they are not restricted to it. If a candidate feels unprepared for the June exams, they can choose to appear in the December term instead. Exam participation is confirmed after candidates submit the exam form. CMA exam forms are released soon after the notification for the exam term is released.

Candidates are allowed to fill the CMA exam form. While filling the exam form, candidates need to choose desired exam city under the ICMAI regional chapter. ICMAI will try and allot a test centre in the city selected by the candidate. ICMAI may allot a the nearest test city if any exam centre does not have enough test takers.

Candidates can choose CMA test centre preference while filling the online exam form. ICMAI CMA exam centre will be published in the exam admit card.

The exact facilities may vary from centre to centre. Typically, ICMAI exam centres provide:

• Adequate seating arrangements
• Drinking water facilities
• Necessary invigilation and security measures

The official website to download the CMA Final admit card is the ICMAI student portal. Candidates need to visit the website and navigate to the CMA Students tab. From there, they can access the admit card download link listed on the student dashboard or sidebar. Admit cards for the CMA Final course are released separately for each exam term. ICMAI provides separate links to download admit cards for Foundation, Intermediate, and Final levels.

 

Yes. ICMAI releases the CMA model question papers for all subjects under Foundation, Intermediate and Final courses. Along with the questions, ICMAI releases the answers to all these question papers. Candidates can access the ICMAI CMA MQPs for better preparation of the relevant course. ICMAI releases the CMA MQP separately for both exam sessions, including June and December.

ICMAI facilitates two forms for CMA course levels. CMA admission form is to be filled by the candidates who are not enrolled with the institute but are interested in pursuing the CMA course. Whereas, CMA exam form is to be filled by all the candidates who are enrolled in a course and are willing to appear for the CMA exam in the upcoming session. CMA admission form is facilitated throughout the year. While the CMA exam forms are released along with the CMA exam dates. Candidates may have the CMA enrolment but may not be willing to appear for the exam in the current session. Such CMA students are not required to fill the exam form.

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, also known as ICMAI, typically releases the CMA admit card a week before the exam date. CMA students appearing for any of the three levels of the CMA course will get the admit cards on the official examination website. Downloading the CMA admit card will require the candidates to provide their registration number as the login credential. CMA admit card for Intermediate and Final course exam releases on the same date. While the CMA Foundation admit card will release on a separate date.

CMA exam is conducted at three course levels, namely Foundation, Intermediate and Final. CMA exam for all three course levels are conducted as an offline centre based exam. In the past sessions, ICMAI, the conducting body of the CMA exam, had conducted the Intermediate and Final course exams as an online centre based exam. While the CMA Foundation was conducted as a remotely proctored exam from home. However, the mismanegement in the online exams led ICMAI to shift back to the offline centre based exam.

ICMAI may change the mode of the CMA exams in the upcoming exam sessions. Stay tuned to shiksha's CMA exam pattern article for key developments in the test structure from time to time (https://www.shiksha.com/accounting-commerce/accounting/cma-exam-pattern)

ICMAI has defined the deadline to fill the CMA application form for admission. Candidates willing to appear for the CMA June exam term must complete the online registration and enrol to the course by July 31. Candidates aspiring to appear for the CMA exam in December session must be enrolled with ICMAI on or before July 31. ICMAI may or may not extend the cutoff date for enrolment; however, the institute will publish a fresh notification mentioning the extension to fill the admission form.

No, ICMAI releases the CMA exam form for all three courses via a separate window. Besides a separate login portal, ICMAI sets a separate deadline to fill the CMA Foundation exam form. While the deadline to fill and submit CMA exam form for Intermediate and Final courses has a separate deadline.

CMA Foundation students can fill and submit the exam form to appear for the test subjects under the Foundation course. Similar is the case with CMA Intermediate and Final course.

The CMA exam form releases along with the release of the exam dates. The exam form is to be submitted online, while the CMA admission form can be submitted online as well as offline.

Ths institute of Cost Accountants of India, commonly known as ICMAI, releases the CMA results in two to three months of the exam dates for Intermediare and Final courses. CMA Foundation results are released comparatively early. Owing to a MCQ based question pattern in CMA Foundation exam, the results for CMA foundation are typically released within a month of the exam date.

CMA Intermediate results and CMA Final results are released on a  same date. However, the link to check the CMA Intermediate results and CMA Final results are hosted on the separate windows.

CMA exam has three course levels, namely CMA Foundation, CMA Intermediate and CMA Final. CMA Foundation course has four test papers. Candidates need to appear for all four test papers. The Intermediate course of CMA exam have two groups. Candidates appearing for CMA Intermediate exam will have option to appear for both the groups in one exam session. Candidates planning to attempt both groups of CMA Intermediate course have to appear for eight test papers. Passing test papers in both the groups of Intermediate course is mandatory. Candidates can appear for one group in one session or both the groups in one session.

Identical to CMA Intermediate, CMA Final course also has two groups with four test papers each. Candidates can choose to appear for the test papers under both the course groups in one session. Passing all the test papers will be mandatory to get the CMA destination. 

With the release of the CMA results for December 2022 term, as many as 1095 candidates passed the CMA Final course to get the certification. Based on the December 2022 result analysis, out of 8039 candidates who appeared for Group 3 of CMA exam, as many as 708 candidates passed, bringing the pass percentage to 8.81%. On the other hand 5025 candidates took the CMA Final group IV exam in the December 2022 term. Out of all the test takers for Group IV exam, 893 candidates passed with bought the pass percentage to 17.71%.

No, you need not to apply and pursue the CMA Foundation course. Completing a graduate degree course marks the candidates eligibility for direct entry to CMA Intermediate. The space below mentions the cases where a candidate is marked eligible for the direct admission to CMA Intermediate course:

• Passed a degree exam of any recognised University or equivalent
• Passed a degree (honours) exam of anyrecognised University;
• Pursuing Engineering course (having completed Semester IV/equivalent) or are qualified engineers;
• Passed a Master degree exam from a recognised University or any of the IIMs;
• Passed an Engineering degree exam from any recognised University or any of the IITs or IISc;
• Passed the Final exam of the any of the following
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or England and Wales, or Scotland 
    or Ireland
  • Final exam of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, London,
  • Final exam of the ICSI;
  • Final exam of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, U.K.
• Passed the Foundation course exam of this ICMAI;
• Completed the entry Level-Part I exam of Certificate in Accounting Technicians (CAT) course of ICMAI;
• Completed the entry Level-Part I exam and Competency Level Part II exam of Certificate in Accounting Technicians (CAT) course of ICMAI can seek admission to Intermediate course of ICMAI;

Besides the above mentioned eligibility conditions, there are some other criteria to obtain direct admission to the ICMAI course.

ICMAI has defined the deadline to fill the CMA application form for admission. Candidates willing to appear for the CMA June exam term must complete the online registration and enrol to the course by July 31. Candidates aspiring to appear for the CMA exam in December session must be enrolled with ICMAI on or before July 31. ICMAI may or may not extend the cutoff date for enrolment; however, the institute will publish a fresh notification mentioning the extension to fill the admission form.

The type of questions in the CMA exam varies based on the course level. The space below mentions the course-wise type of questions in the CMA exam based on the course levels:

• CMA Foundation course exams have multiple choice questions. Candidates have to answer as many as 50 MCQs with four answer options. Out of the four options only one is correct.
• CMA Intermediate course exam has both objective types questions and descriptive type questions.
• Similar to the Intermediate level exam, questions in CMA Final course exams are both objective and discriptive. 

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, also known as ICMAI, releases the CMA exam dates for all three levels, including Foundation. CMA exam is conducted across two sessions, namely June and December. ICMAI releases the CMA Foundation exam dates for June term in the month of January. Soon after the exam dates are released, ICMAI facilitates a window to fill the exam form.

All CMA students have to fill the exam form to appear for the exam as per the schedule notified.

No. There is no negative marking in the CMA exam, irrespective of the three course levels. Candidates can answer all questions without worrying about deduction of the marks. All questions in the CMA Foundation exam will fetch two marks each. While the questions in the CMA Intermediate and CMA Final course levels have different marks range. The maximum marks ranges from six marks to 15 marks per question. Candidates will not face any deduction of the marks, if the recorded answer is incorrect or the question is unattempted.

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India conducts CMA exam twice in one year. CMA students can appear for both the sessions. However, for every exam take, candidates need to fill and submit the exam form. The exam form releases along with the exam dates of a particular session. The exam fees is released along with the exam dates and form. Candidates need to pay the exam fees based on the course level and the exam centre (inland or overseas). Along with the release of the dates, candidates can find the available exam centres for the CMA test session.

Eligibility criteria for CMA foundation is that the candidate should have passed class 12th from a recognised board or college with a minimum 40% marks. He need to get registered under the foundation course by filling the registration form and paying the fees of rupees 6000 to the institute of cost management accountants of India. For the intermediate examination the candidate should have passed foundation examination or he should have completed graduation from a recognised University for the direct entry into Intermediate course without appearing in the foundation examination.