CMA vs CA: Scope, Salary, Difficulty Level, Pass Percentage
This article throws light upon the difference between CA and CMA. Cost and Management Accountant and Chartered Accountant are among the most sought after options for a career in Finance and Accounting. Read below to know more details.
CA or CMA, Which is better? Get answers here!
CA vs CMA: Choosing between Chartered Accountancy (CA) and Cost and Management Accounting (CMA) is a critical decision for students pursuing careers in finance and accounting. CA, offered by the ICAI, focuses primarily on taxation, auditing, and accounting. In contrast, CMA, regulated by the ICMAI, emphasises cost management, financial analysis, and managerial decision-making. A significant legal distinction noted in the sources is that currently, only CAs are authorised to perform tax audits in India. While CA is generally considered more difficult to acquire and often offers higher initial pay, CMA provides specialised expertise for cost control and is recognised for higher studies in foreign management institutes. Both professional certifications lead to lucrative roles such as auditors, analysts, and managers. Scroll down to know more about CA vs CMA.
Also Read: CMA vs CPA
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If the preparation is right, CMA is not as hard as students complaint about the same. If the pass percentages is compared with ICAI CA exam, CMA pass percentage is comparatively less. However, the number of candidates appearing in CA Final if compared with CMA Final course is huge. The pass percentage of CMA Final course in one of the past session was 17.77% for candidates who only appeared for Group IV exam.
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)
- Chartered Accountancy (CA)
- Cost and Management Accounting (CMA)
- CMA vs CA: Pass Percentage
- Differences between CMA and CA
Chartered Accountancy (CA)
CA is one of the most in-demand certification courses in India which guarantees a well-paying career. A CA-certification holder has been trained and imparted knowledge in taxation, accounting and auditing.
Eligibility and details of CA certification course
The course of CA certification contains three stages:
- Common proficiency test (CPT): Candidates who have passed their Class XII boards are eligible for the CPT. This exam is held twice every year and can be attended only after the candidate has applied for CPT registration 60 days before the exam. If they clear the exam, they will be eligible for the one-year correspondence course where the candidate will be taught basic knowledge of Accounting, Mathematics, Mercantile Law, Statistics and Economics.
- Professional Competence Course (Theoretical): After passing the CPT and completing the one-year correspondence course, a candidate will become eligible for the Professional Competence Course. A candidate has to pass Class XII exams and correspondence course before becoming eligible for the 18-month Professional Competence Course.
- Final Course: A candidate would be eligible for the final stage exam after they have completed their graduation and passed the professional competence course. The pass marks in the Final Course examination along with relevant work experience is important and essential for getting ICAI membership. This confirms their CA certification.
The total course of CA is a minimum of four and a half years of examinations and training after which a student gets the ICAI certification of CA.
Here is a list of CA colleges across India.
Cost and Management Accounting (CMA)
Due to the amalgamation of the world economies, there has been a steep rise in the demands of cost management professionals. The profession of Cost Accountancy is controlled, developed, promoted and regulated by the ICWAI (Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of India). The degree of Cost Accountant provided by the ICWA provides candidate with the knowledge of assimilation, collection, collation and analysis of financial information of an organization. In simpler terms, they help to manage the finances of any organization and provide a managerial decision within the available assets.
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Eligibility and details of the CMA Course
The CMA course is also divided into three levels. CMA course levels include:
- Foundation Course: The foundation course is the entry-level correspondence course essential for entering the next level of the CMA degree. It can be taken up just after passing your 10 board and requires six months.
- Intermediate Course: The intermediate course exam has to be passed after the foundation course. It takes 12 months to complete and involves correspondence mode or Oral coaching mode.
- Final Course: This is the final stage of the course where the student received the ICWA degree which involves 36 months of practical training and 12 months of correspondence or oral mode of coaching before the ICWA exam.
After completion of the final course, the student would be eligible for the Cost and Works Accountant certified by the ICWAI. The job prospects are good as every company requires a cost accountant and with further experience and training, one can hold top management positions in companies as cost controller, chief internal auditor and many more.
CMA vs CA: Pass Percentage
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.
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)
PCC or IPC is the first stage of the Chartered Accountancy course curriculum wherein only working knowledge of core and allied subjects is covered.
The objective of the PCC course is to lay a strong foundation for Chartered Accountants in the preparation and presentation of financial statements. In PCC, candidates also learn the computerized accounting system. The course curriculum includes the following subjects:
- Advanced Accounting (100 Marks)
- Auditing and Assurance (100 Marks)
- Law, Ethics, and Communication (100 Marks)
- Cost Accounting and Financial Management (100 Marks)
- Taxation (100 Marks)
- Information Technology and Strategic Management (100 Marks)
Typically, CA has a better pass percentage as compared with CMA India. However, a key point to be noted here is that CA has a greater audience than CMA. In the previous sessions, CMA pass percentage has constantly been below 20 per cent. On the other hand CA pass percentage for Inter and Final courses marginally exceeds 20 per cent.
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Differences between CMA and CA
The table below mentions the key differences between CMA and CA:
| CA |
ICWA |
|---|---|
| The CA is equipped with thorough knowledge of Taxation, Accounting and Auditing. |
The Cost and Works Accountant is generally involved in collating, Collecting, assimilating and analysing the financial information of an organisation. |
| It can be attended only after passing Class XII board and completed after graduation from any university. |
The Foundation course can be completed after X board but the Intermediate and Final examination requires completion of Class XII and foundation courses of CMA/CAT/ICSI orb Graduation in any discipline other than fine arts. |
| The membership of ICAI requires you to complete the final examination and required work experience along with it. It is very hard to acquire as the exam is more tough than ICWA |
There is no prescribed requirement for membership. It is comparatively easier to acquire than CA. |
| The CA has a broader horizon in terms of job profile and gets paid more than ICWA initially |
The job profile is limited to cost and financial management for the Cost and Works Accountant and gets paid little less than CA. |
| The certification of CA doesn’t allow higher study in management institutes. |
The degree of ICWA allows acquiring higher education in foreign institutes. |
Abhishek is a content writer and editor with 7+ years of experience in education journalism. He completed his graduation from University of Delhi with a BA Degree. At Shiksha.com, he handles content for MBA, BBA, an
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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.