[Anonymous]

For those who have taken the CMA:
What study materials do you recommend?
How many hours did you study compared to CPA?

[KSingh85]

Hi, Helen. I’m also considering either the CMA or Law School. I want to see what the responses are like.

I just want to say BAE BAE to Becker!

[Anonymous]

bump

[Anonymous]

I used Gleim and felt that the material was both comprehensive and straightforward (without much filler). In terms of studying hours, I did not keep track of them (nor did it with the cpa exam), but if I were to compare my studying time with the cpa exam vs. the cma exam in terms of percentage, I would say the cma exam took more or less like 80% of the studying time (ballpark figure). Overall, I felt it was considerably easier, but I almost ran out of time the two times I sat for the exam. The MCQs that require calculations can be very time-consuming.

[ohiocpacma]

I used CPE University for part 1 (gave me CPE credit for CPA) and Gliem for part 2. I also probably spent 70-80% of study time compared to the CPA exam. I don't know if that's because it was easier or that my familiarity with the material since I've spent my career in management accounting/corporate finance (instead of audit or tax). I felt that the CMA exam had more computations though.

We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man. 

[Anonymous]

I used GLEIM for CMA and CPA and passed all 6 tests on the first attempt. As mentioned above, the material is comprehensive and straight forward. I found that an individual CMA exam is more difficult than an individual CPA exam, but since CPA has 4 exams the CPA process is more strenuous as a whole. The calculations can be significantly more in depth and time consuming than anything I saw on any of the CPA exams.

[Anonymous]

I am currently studying for Part 2 with Gleim. I am schedule for Jan to take the exam. @AF @ohiocpacma and @cortes123 how did you use Gleim? I am currently reading a subunit everyday and watching a lecture. I started to study in Sept and hope to be done with book in November. Once I am done with book, I will probable to 20-30 MCQs a day for the month of December. I had a real tough time with chapter 3 with all the ratios. I was not the best test taker in college. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[jcornelio116]

Hi what did you think of CPE University CMA review? If you had the a choice would CPE university or Gliem?. I am undecided not sure which one. Wiley is way to expensive… Thanks

[Eric]

Hock International – hands down the best in my opinion. I wasn't able to finish studying for the exams because I had a job/career change, but while I was hitting the books, Hock had it down path.

Btw, I have Gleim too. I sent them a nasty note about how I thought their materials were garbage, but it's been 6-7 years since. My hock materials are still up to date 🙂

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - NINJA in Training
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - NINJA in Training

FAR: Oct 18
REG: Late Nov 18
AUD: Early Jan 19
BEC: Late Jan 19
Using: Roger Elite Program, Ninja REG

[ohiocpacma]

@Jcornelio116 CPE University was fine. It was in a video format and you could interact with the instructor. The area it lacked was the amount of practice questions available compared to Gleim. It did not matter to me as much on part 1 because I had more experience with the material compared to part 2.

We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man. 

[OnmywaytoCPA]

I passed Part 1 with a 360 using Gleim, but I still had a lot of concepts that were still fresh in my head from FAR. I used Gleim for Part 2 but I failed with a 350. I am supplementing Gleim with the Hock Lectures to help me understand the material a little better. Gleim's Part 2 lectures/materials are not that detailed.

AUD - 83
BEC - 79
FAR - 77
REG - 90

CMA Part 1 - 360 (Barely made it but I made it)
CMA Part 2 - 360 (Made it by the skin of my teeth)

[Anonymous]

@anthony.barry43 I read a chapter then do a bunch of MCQs and move on. Trying to limit it to 40-60 MCQs. No lectures (waste of time). Once done do 1k-1.5k MCQ. There are a bunch of long MCQs that are good substitutes for the SIM/Essay portion. It's a good idea to practice some of the essays with calculations, since unlike the CPA exam you will be asked to show your work and/or explain what you did. You should be comfortable doing that. Generally though, MCQs are by far and away the most efficient use of your time.

For each test I also created a formula sheet that I wrote out repeatedly until memorized and wrote it on my scratch book as soon as the exam started.

[mtaylo24]

Still chipping away. I took Pt. 1 with Hock Q1 this year and didn't pass. I did buy Gleim and I like it much better, but still probably won't take it until Q1. I have been too busy with other things to focus on the CMA, but I need to take it since I paid for the materials and paid all of the IMA fees.

CPA (2017)

REG:  75

BEC:  76

FAR:  77

AUD: 78

 

CMA (2019)

P1: 380

P2: 360

[Anonymous]

@AF thanks so much for the advice. It is extremely helpful. By doing1k-1.k MCQs do you mean doing 1,000 to 1,500 MCQs from the Gleim test bank?

[mtaylo24]

Just found out that I passed part 1 with a 380! So glad that I don't have to take that one again!

CPA (2017)

REG:  75

BEC:  76

FAR:  77

AUD: 78

 

CMA (2019)

P1: 380

P2: 360

[Jimmy Dugan]

For anyone that's passed CMA, did it add to the body of knowledge you picked up with the CPA exam? I have looked into it some and there is significant overlap in most of what I've read. My employer will pay for prep and I'm just wondering how worthwhile it is for someone who has already passed the CPA exams.

AUD - 95
BEC - 87
FAR - 84
REG - 90

You're killing me Smalls

 

[mtaylo24]

Got my score yesterday. Passed Part 2 with the minimum score (360). Feels good to be done with both CPA & CMA certifications!

CPA (2017)

REG:  75

BEC:  76

FAR:  77

AUD: 78

 

CMA (2019)

P1: 380

P2: 360

[OnmywaytoCPA]

Congratulations @Mtaylo24!!! That is awesome news!!! That's the motivation I needed to push through this study material! We started working on the CMA certification around the same time. I got to go ahead and knock Part 2 out! Super proud of you!

AUD - 83
BEC - 79
FAR - 77
REG - 90

CMA Part 1 - 360 (Barely made it but I made it)
CMA Part 2 - 360 (Made it by the skin of my teeth)

[jenpen]

Congratulations @Mtaylo24!!! That is wonderful news!

AUD - 85
BEC - 84
FAR - 82
REG - 78

Ethics - 95
Licensed in IL & MO

[mtaylo24]

Thank you both! The test wasn't easy but the hardest part was the 6 week wait for scores.

@OnmywaytoCPA Go ahead and knock it out homie. Part 2 was tricky, but nothing you can't handle! Be sure to give yourself plenty of prep time so you nail everything they throw at you. You gotta make it through that 100 question gauntlet as fast as possible!

CPA (2017)

REG:  75

BEC:  76

FAR:  77

AUD: 78

 

CMA (2019)

P1: 380

P2: 360

[Helen]

Finally getting around to starting the CMA. Do you think 100 hrs of studying is sufficient for part 1?

AUD - 86
BEC - 87
FAR - 75
REG - 78

CMA PART 1 - 410
CMA PART 2 - 430

[B4BeanCounter]

I've been studying for Part 1 since July while working long hours (Big 4), and am scheduled to take it in less than 3 weeks. Some of the materials are familiar while some are not. Based on my experience with studying for both CPA and CMA, I can tell you that CMA MCQs may not be as difficult as the CPA MCQs, but each MCQ definitely requires more time to get through. I have been using Wiley CMA (used Becker for CPA), and I hope to knock this first part on the first attempt. Let's get it done!

AUD - 86
BEC - 87
FAR - 87
REG - 84

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want badly enough." - Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture.

[CPT_CPA]

CMA takes less time if you have business experience. I'm studying for BEC now and I was getting 80s on the practice exam without opening the book. Likely because of my CMA studying experience. I recommend Wiley. I studied for about 75 hours each section and passed with a 410 on both.

AUD - 82
BEC - 92
FAR - 88
REG - 83

Esse quam videri

20-25 hours per week per section, 7 days per week.

NINJA method, hundreds of MCQs, and flash cards.

[NoName]

I am taking CMA Part 1 in about 5 weeks.

I have completed over 90% of the Gleim MCQ questions and am trending at about 78% correct (first pass on questions with no reattempts). If I compare this to FAR or REG I am doing pretty well as it was demoralizing (especially REG).

Disclaimer*** I previously had went through all questions about a year back (prior to doing the CPA).

The MCQ questions definitely take much longer compared to CPA MCQ (this is comparing Gleim CMA to Gleim CPA).

REG - 93 90% Gleim MCQ/book + 10% Wiley MCQ

BEC - 79 100% Wiley MCQ/book

FAR - 88 100% Gleim MCQ/book + Ninja Audios

AUD - 85 100% Wiley MCQ/book + Ninja Audios

Licensed CPA as of 2019

CMA Pt 1  400  100% Gleim MCQ/book

CMA Pt 2  Pending Score

[LeeT]

i finished the CMA a little over a year ago, got decent results (410 and 390 i think). i used gleim, and i'm using roger for CPA. i liked gleim, i thought they covered everything i needed pretty well. their test bank was mostly tougher than the actual CMA exam which was nice. they also hammered certain topics in the test banks, but they weren't that heavily tested (maybe i was just unlucky? doesn't matter, still passed).

i would say for me, i put similar amounts of hours for each section of each exam. part 1 CMA around 120 or so, probably the same with REG, FAR, and cma part 2. some of the MCQ for the CMA do take awhile, and longer than the average CPA question, and 100 straight questions can be brutal. their version of SIMs were good for me, since a lot depended on the style of your writing, grammar, professionalism ect. the WORST part about the cma exam for me was not being able to have a bathroom break. by the end of both exams, i was squirming in my seat. the break you get for the cpa exam was such a relief.

i would just say don't walk into it thinking it's a joke because the cpa exam is considered “tougher” than the cma. approach it with discipline. each test covers topics from just about all 4 cpa exams, along with some other stuff, but isn't nearly as wide as each cpa exam.

AUD - NEXT UP
BEC - TBD
FAR - 84 - 08/26/19
REG - 79 - 06/10/19

[B4BeanCounter]

So I took Part 1 last Saturday, and I thought the difficulty of the MCQs was comparable to the CPA exam MCQs, but the essay portion was not as difficult as what you would see on the CPA SIMs.

For those of you who have taken this exam recently, I didn't receive anything from the prometric test center or ICMA stating that I have taken Part 1. Are we supposed to get something from either of them that indicates that we took the exam afterward like the CPA exam? I'm confused as to how this process goes.

AUD - 86
BEC - 87
FAR - 87
REG - 84

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want badly enough." - Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture.

[Tahoe]

It takes around 42 days from the time you took your exam to receive your scores from Prometric and/or the IMA. This is your indication. If you fail, you will get a feedback report roughly two weeks after your exam score is released. I took Part 1 June 29th and received my passing score August 12th.

[NoName]

I took part 1 recently and definitely have respect for the test. The difficulty level feels comparable to a CPA exam.

@ Bean Counter

I also failed to get any kind of confirmation of attendance after completing the exam. Prometric confirmed they don't provide it in the case of the CMA (I specifically asked).

REG - 93 90% Gleim MCQ/book + 10% Wiley MCQ

BEC - 79 100% Wiley MCQ/book

FAR - 88 100% Gleim MCQ/book + Ninja Audios

AUD - 85 100% Wiley MCQ/book + Ninja Audios

Licensed CPA as of 2019

CMA Pt 1  400  100% Gleim MCQ/book

CMA Pt 2  Pending Score

[B4BeanCounter]

@Phil – Ok. That sounds good. I should find out my score for Part 1 I took in August in about a couple weeks. Fingers crossed!

AUD - 86
BEC - 87
FAR - 87
REG - 84

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want badly enough." - Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture.

[Helen]

Took part 1 this past weekend. Structure of the CMA seems a bit easier than CPA just because of no TBS. Having to wait 6 weeks for results though kinda sucks. Did you all start studying for the next part right away or wait for the results to come in?

AUD - 86
BEC - 87
FAR - 75
REG - 78

CMA PART 1 - 410
CMA PART 2 - 430

[Author]

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