Online Certified Management Accountant (CMA) Exam Preparation

The Certified Management Accountant designation is a valuable credential for anyone looking to advance their management career. CMAs are professionals trained to apply their finance and accounting skills to the process of critical thinking and strategic decision-making within an organization. The demand for well-trained management professionals is growing as financial reporting requirements for organizations become increasingly complex. A February 2005 salary survey of 2,500 accounting professionals conducted by Smartpros.com showed that CMA-certified professionals earned 89% more than non-certified accountants and 19% more than those with only a CPA.

Boston University’s instructor facilitated Online CMA Exam Preparation Program will prepare students to successfully complete the Institute of Management Accountant’s (IMA) CMA exams, thus enabling them to earn the CMA designation. For more information about the IMA or the CMA designation, visit the IMA's website or the website for the Boston Chapter.

The Online CMA Exam Preparation Program consists of four instructor facilitated exam prep courses, which correspond to Parts 1 through 4 of the CMA exams. Courses 1 through 3 can be taken in any order, but course 4 must be taken last (CMA exams parts 1 through 3 must be taken and passed before students sit for CMA exam part 4). On the CMA exams, students must demonstrate their knowledge of the required content areas by using six key skills: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The content areas covered by each CMA exam are as follows:

Part 1: Business Economics, Global Business, Internal Controls, Quantitative Methods and Financial Statement Analysis

Part 2: Budget Preparation, Cost Management, Information Management, Performance Measurement and External Financial Reporting

Part 3: Strategic Planning, Strategic Marketing, Corporate Finance, Decision Analysis and Investment Decisions

Part 4: All topics covered in Parts 1, 2 and 3, Organizational Management, Organizational Communication, Behavioral Issues and Ethical Considerations

The goal of Boston University’s instructor facilitated Online CMA Exam Preparation Program is to provide students with an understanding of the material covered by the CMA Examinations, as well as the nature of the exams themselves. To that end, the courses include numerous tools to assist the learning process including:

• In-depth explanations of the topics covered in the CMA Exams, including examples and practical applications
  
• Course facilitation by an instructor who has earned the CMA designation
  
• Interactive graphs, charts and exercises
  
• Practice problems and interactive games
  
• CMA-style multiple choice questions to prepare you for the actual exams
  
• Discussion areas for posting questions and/or comments, enabling interaction with the instructor and other students
  
• Links to other web resources

Students will have access to each of BU’s Online CMA Preparation Program courses for a total of 9 weeks – 8 weeks to complete the course work and one additional week for review prior to taking the corresponding CMA exam. Upon logging onto the course, students will have 3 days to withdraw for a full refund. After that, no refunds will be given. Students who take a BU Online CMA preparation course and pass the corresponding CMA exam will receive a $50 credit toward their next BU Online CMA course.

Online CMA Exam Preparation
Code	Course Title	Tuition
OL-CMA01	Online CMA Part 1: Business Analysis	$845
OL-CMA02	Online CMA Part 2: Management Accounting & Reporting	$845
OL-CMA03	Online CMA Part 3: Strategic Management	$845
OL-CMA04	Online CMA Part 4: Business Applications	$845

Upcoming Course Start / End Dates

Start / End Date	Courses Starting
April 28 – June 29, 2008	CMA01–04
July 14 – September 14, 2008	CMA01–04
September 29 – November 30, 2008	CMA01–04
December 15 – February 15, 2009	CMA01–04

Download the CMA brochure.

Boston University's Metropolitan College Masters Degree Course Waivers
Students who have successfully earned the CMA designation are eligible for two course waivers in the Master of Science in Banking and Financial Services Management (MSBFM) degree. This program, offered by Boston University's Metropolitan College, is a 12-course, online program. For more information, please visit http://www.bu.edu/met/corporate/cma/.