CMA Syllabus 2025: Download Latest Syllabus PDF

CMA course is divided into three-course levels, namely Foundation, Intermediate, and Final. The CMA Foundation course has four different test papers. Candidates need to appear for all four test papers and pass the same to be marked eligible for the CMA Intermediate course. Four test papers included in the CMA Foundation course are as follows:

1. Paper 1: Fundamentals of Business Lawns and Business Communication (FBLC)
2. Paper 2: Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting (FFCA)
3. Paper 3: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics and Statistics (FBMS)
4. Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management (FBEM)

CMA 2022 syllabus is being followed for the June 2024 exams. Old CMA students who enrolled into the course before the CMA 2022 syllabus came into existence were allowed to appear for the exam with CMA 2016 syllabus. However, now the CMA students will have to prepare for the exam using the CMA 2022 syllabus.

The CMA 2016 syllabus has now been discontinued after December 2023 exam session. Candidates planning to take the CMA exam in the sessions after December 2023 have to prepare as per the CMA 2022 syllabus.

CMA Intermediate course level has two different groups. Candidates can either take the test papers for both groups or a single group. The test papers included in the CMA Intermediate course level are as follows:

CMA Intermediate Course Group - I

• PAPER 5: Business Lawns and Ethics (BLE)
• PAPER 6: Financial Accounting (FA)
• PAPER 7: Direct and Indirect Taxation (DITX)
• PAPER 8: Cost Accounting (CA)

CMA Intermediate Course Group - II

• PAPER 9: Operations Management and Strategic Management (OMSM) 
• PAPER 10: Corporate Accounting and Auditing (CAA)
• PAPER 11: Financial Management and Business Data Analytics (FMDA) 
• PAPER 12: Management Accounting (MA)

CMA Final exam has two-course groups. Candidates can either appear for a single course group or both course groups in one session. The space below mention the test papers for both the course groups of the CMA Final exam:

Final Course Group - III

• PAPER 13: Corporate and Economic Lawns (CEL)
• PAPER 14: Strategic Financial Management (SFM)
• PAPER 15: Direct Tax Lawns and International Taxation (DIT)
• PAPER 16: Strategic Cost Management (SCM)

Final Course Group - IV

• PAPER 17: Cost and Management Audit (CMAD)
• PAPER 18: Corporate Financial Reporting (CFR) 
• PAPER 19: Indirect Tax Lawns and Practice (ITLP)
• PAPER 20: One of the following subjects
  
  • PAPER 20A: Strategic Performance Management and Business Evaluation (SPMBV)
  • PAPER 20B: Risk Management in Banking and Insurance (RMBI) 
  • PAPER 20C: Entrepreneurship and Start Up (ENTS)

The difficulty level cannot be measured as it is very subjective. Though the course content of CMA is huge, CA has a very different and difficult question pattern. CMA modules more or less guide you properly as to what kind of questions are asked in the exams but the same is not true when it comes to CA. So, if your criteria of judging difficulty is whether you will be able to pass the exam or not, I guess you got your answer, which is it is really uncertain. Whose scope is better? Well, CAs undoubtedly have a huge market opened for them, the same is not true for a CMA. But again, if you are interested in the course structure of CMA more than that of CA, it is advisable to take up the former.

No, CMA syllabus does not change every year. CMA syllabus was changed in 2016 after 2012. The Institute of Cost Accountants, also known as ICMAI, has recently changed the CMA syllabus in 2022. CMA syllabus goes through a change after every four to five years to move forward with the market trends. For example, GST was not included in the CMA syllabus 2012; however, it is included under inderect taxation of CMA 2022 syllabus.

CMA students need to prepare using the new CMA syllabus prescribed by the ICMAI.

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, the agency that conducts and regulates CMA courses in the country, prescribes the CMA syllabus for all three levels, namely Foundation, Intermediate and Final. The institute, comnmonly known as ICMAI is the sole authority in India for deciding the CMA syllabus, pedagogy, exam, eligibility, fees and CMA certification. When candidates complete the Foundation, Intermediate and Final courses, then the ICMAI offers CMA certification. Only ICMAI certification is considered valid CMA certification in India for practice.