What is the passing score for the CMA exam?

The passing score for all three levels of the CMA course levels is the same. Candidates securing a minimum of 40 per cent in all test papers and 50 per cent aggregate score pass the CMA exam. Candidates securing less marks even in one of the subjects will fail the entire group or course level for ICMAI CMA.

How many times is CMA exam conducted in one year?

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.

When will CMA June 2026 Foundation exam be conducted?

The CMA June 2026 exam for Foundation course will be conducted for all four papers on June 14, 2026 (Sunday). According to official notice, ICMAI will conduct this exam through offline OMR centre based.

What are the test papers for CMA Intermediate course level?

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)

What are the test papers included in CMA Final course level?

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)

Has ICMAI released CMA June 2026 exam dates?

Yes, ICMAI has released exam dates for CMA June exam 2026. The CMA June 2026 Inter and Final exams will be conducted between June 11 and June 18, 2026. CMA June 2026 Foundation exam will be held on June 14.

What are the maximum marks in CMA exam?

Maximum marks in the CMA exam is similar irrespective of the course level. Papers under all three course levels have a maximum of 100 marks. Candidates answering all the questions correctly will get 100 marks. In the CMA Foundation eaxam, each exam paper has 50 multiple choice questions. Each question fetches two marks. Whereas, the CMA Intermediate and CMA Final have different marking scheme with descriptive and objective type questions. Marks for each question of Intermediate or Final exam paper ranges from seven marks to 15 marks.

How many papers are there in CMA exam?

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.

What are the test papers included in CMA Final course level?

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)

What are the types of questions in the CMA exam?

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.

How many questions are there in the CMA exam?

CMA foundation course has four papers. All four papers of CMA Foundation exam will have 50 multiple choice questions of two marks each. CMA Intermediate course have two groups with four papers each. Each paper of CMA Intermediate has eight questions. Out of these questions, the first question is compulsory, while candidates have to attempt any five questions from the remaining seven questions. While some papers have five questions, first question is compulsory, and out of remaining four questions, three are mandatory. Similarly, CMA Final course have different question numbers in different test papers.

What is the mode of CMA exam?

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 )

CMA Pattern 2026: Know Marking Scheme & Exam Duration

CMA June 2026 Inter & Final Exam

11 Jun '26 - 18 Jun '26

Updated on Apr 28, 2026 12:38 IST

By Nupur Jain, Senior Executive - Editorial

Overview

CMA 2026 Exam Pattern: The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI) has released the exam pattern of CMA 2026 for December and June sessions on the official website, icmai.in. ICMAI will be conducting the exam as offline centre-based test for all three courses. Last year, CMA exam for Foundation course was conducted as remote proctored exam, while exam for the Intermediate and Final courses was conducted as online test from centre.

Scroll down for complete information on CMA 2026 exam pattern for Foundation, Intermediate and Final courses.

Table of contents

CMA 2026 Course Levels
CMA Exam Pattern 2026 for Foundation Course
CMA Exam Pattern 2026 for Intermediate and Final Courses
CMA Exam Pattern 2026: Course Papers
FAQs on CMA Exam

CMA 2026 Course Levels

ICMAI conducts CMA exam at three course levels. Candidates have to clear one course level of CMA to enrol into the second course level. However, there are several exceptions to get exempted from the first course level. The space below mentions the CMA course levels:

CMA Foundation
CMA Intermediate
CMA Final

CMA Exam Pattern 2026 for Foundation Course

The space below mentions the CMA 2026 exam pattern for foundation courses:

Exam Features	CMA Exam Details
Mode of CMA Foundation exam	Offline Centre-Based Test
Type of questions in CMA Foundation exam	Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
Total marks in each subject paper	100
Duration of CMA Foundation exam	120 minutes
Number of subject papers	4

CMA Exam Pattern 2026 for Intermediate and Final Courses

The space below mentions the exam pattern for CMA intermediate 2026 and final courses:

Exam Features	CMA Exam Details
Mode of CMA Intermediate and Final exams	Offline test from centre
Type of questions in CMA Intermediate and Final exams	Descriptive
Total marks in each subject paper	100
Duration of CMA Intermediate and Final exam	180 minutes

CMA Exam Pattern 2026: Course Papers

Check out course papers in CMA Foundation, Intermediate and Final.

CMA Foundation Course Papers

There are four papers based on accounts in the CMA foundation course. The subjects below are as per the CMA 2026 syllabus:

PAPER 1: Fundamentals Of Business Laws and Business Communication (FBLC)
PAPER 2: Fundamentals Of Financial and Cost Accounting (FFCA)
PAPER 3: Fundamentals Of Business Mathematics and Statistics (FBMS)
PAPER 4: Fundamentals Of Business Economics and Management (FBEM)

CMA Intermediate Course Papers

The course consists of two groups (Group 1 and Group 2) inclusive of 4 papers each (Papers 5-8) and (Papers 9-12)

Group I	Group II
PAPER 5: Business Laws and Ethics (BLE)	PAPER 9: Operations Management and Strategic Management (OMSM)
PAPER 6: Financial Accounting (FA)	PAPER 10: Corporate Accounting and Auditing (CAA)
PAPER 7: Direct and Indirect Taxation (DITX)	PAPER 11: Financial Management and Business Data Analytics (FMDA)
PAPER 8: Cost Accounting (CA)	PAPER 12: Management Accounting (MA)

CMA Final Course Papers

CMA Final Course will consist of two groups (Group 3 and Group 4) has 4 papers each (Papers 13-16) and (Papers 17-20)

Group III	Group IV
PAPER 13: Corporate and Economic Laws (CEL)	PAPER 17: Cost and Management Audit (CMAD)
PAPER 14: Strategic Financial Management (SFM)	PAPER 18: Corporate Financial Reporting (CFR)
PAPER 15: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation (DIT)	PAPER 19: Indirect Tax Laws and Practice (ITLP)
PAPER 16: Strategic Cost Management (SCM)	PAPER 20: One of the following subjects	PAPER 20A: Strategic Performance Management and Business Valuation (SPMBV)
		PAPER 20B: Risk Management in Banking and Insurance (RMBI)
		PAPER 20C: Entrepreneurship and Start Up (ENTS)

Read More:

FAQs on CMA Exam

Check out frequently asked questions on CMA exam pattern:

Q: Can I take CMA exam two times in a year?

CMA exam is conducted twice a year - June and December. The Institute of Cost Accountants of India allows candidates to appear for the exam twice in a year, provided they fill and submit the exam form before last date for both sessions.

Q: What is registration fee for CMA Foundation course?

The registration fee for ICMAI CMA foundation course is INR 6,000.

Q: What is registration fee for CMA Intermediate course?

The CMA Intermediate course registration fee is INR 23,100. Candidates can pay this amoung in two installments - INR 12,000 at the time of registration, and INR 11,100 before January 31 and July 31 for June and December term exams.

Q: What is registration fee for CMA Final course?

Candidates have to pay INR 25,000 as CMA Final course registration fee. ICMAI allows candidates to pay this amount in two installments as follows:

1st Installement: INR 15,000 (at the time of registration)
2nd Installment: INR 10,000 (before January 31 and July 31 for June and December term exams)

Q: Is it easy to crack CMA exam?

CMA exam is usually considered difficult to crack in one attempt. However, if a candidate is diligent with his/her preparation and practices mock exams, past papers and sample papers thoroughly before exam, their chances of passing the exam increases.

Q: How to clear CMA exam in one attempt?

To clear CMA Foundation, Inter or Final exam in first attempt, candidates must strengthen their basics, cover syllabus, practice as much as possible, stay away from distraction, attempt full-length mock tests, use smart revision techniques and evaluate their progess weekly or monthly.

Q: What is the ideal study time to pass CMA exam?

Students must give at least 8-10 hours daily for each group of CMA exam for about 3 months to prepare well of the exam.

Q: Is CMA more difficult than CA?

CA is usually considered tougher than CMA if we consider the volume of syllabus and study. Also, the pass rate for CA exam is lower than that for CMA exam.

Q: When will CMA June 2026 Inter exam be conducted?

The CMA Intermediate exam for June 2026 session will be conducted between June 11 and June 18, 2026. The exam is scheduled on each day. Check Shiksha page to get paper-wise schedule.

Q: When will CMA June 2026 Final exam be conducted?

ICMAI will administer CMA Final exam June 2026 between June 11 and June 18, 2026. The mode of examination will be offline centre based.