SMU-ICMA Certified Management Accountants Programme (CMA)
- Innovation & Business Improvement
This programme is conducted online.
Please refer to respective modules for dates.
Synchronous E-Learning
Who Should Attend
PREREQUISITES
- A Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance or Commerce; or
- A professional qualification in accounting; or
- An MBA from a reputable University
Overview
A management accountant applies his or her professional knowledge and skill in the preparation and presentation of financial and other decision-oriented information in such a way as to assist management in the formulation of policies and in the planning and control of the operation of the undertaking.
Management Accountants are seen as the "value-creators" amongst the accountants. They are much more interested in forward-looking and taking decisions that will affect the future of the organisation, than in the historical recording and compliance (scorekeeping) aspects of the profession.
Management accounting knowledge and experience can therefore be obtained from varied fields and functions within an organisation, such as data analytics, information management, treasury, strategic auditing, governance, marketing, valuation, pricing, and logistics, and other business areas.
The CMA Programme consists of two post-graduate level modules (7 days), namely:
- Strategic Cost Management (SCM) – 3 Day
- Strategic Business Analysis (SBA) – 4 Day
The Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA) is an Australian organisation focused on management accounting, it differs from other Australian Accounting societies: CPA Australia, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia, Institute of Public Accountants, due to this focus.
The Institute of Certified Management Accountants is committed to excellence in financial governance. We make a positive impact on society and the economy through strategic financial education, management accounting development and advocacy.
Learning Objectives
The aim of this programme is to further develop skills of analysis, evaluation and synthesis in the areas of cost and management accounting, and, in the process, create an awareness of some current developments in the profession.
The Certified Management Accountant programme is not designed as one in which highly structured methods and rules are applied to various topics in order to find one "correct" solution or answer for problems or issues. Rather, it is more a possibilities quest, in which various controversial conceptual and practical issues will be reviewed and analysed, with due recognition to the reality of alternative value judgements. Given the history of recent developments in the profession and business practices, this approach to the study of the subject of management accounting is considered feasible and warranted.
Furthermore, evidence is available that in managerial accounting, procedures continue to evolve and develop. Much of this dynamic activity is in response to changing business practices and policies and the complexity of modern firms.
Topic/Structure
The SMU-ICMA Certified Management Accountants Programme (CMA) consists of two modules:
Strategic Cost Management
Strategic Cost Management identifies the basic conventions and doctrines of managerial and cost accounting and other generally accepted principles which may be applied in the contemporary cost management models. It also identifies major contemporary issues that have emerged in managerial accounting. There will be a discussion on a number of issues relating to the design and implementation of cost management models in modern firms.
Strategic Business Analysis
Strategic Business Analysis seeks to provide specialisation-level knowledge to accountants and financially motivated general managers in the interface areas between accounting and the other business functions. The subject is an advanced level course that enables students to apply the basic conventions and doctrines of managerial and cost accounting and other generally accepted managerial principles, in order to strategically analyse business situations across the various functions of a business organisation. A number of cost and management accounting issues relating to the design and implementation of strategic, marketing, value analysis and other management models in modern firms are discussed, and major contemporary issues that have emerged in business accounting in recent years are identified. This subject provides an advanced study of the interface between modern managerial accounting and the business functions of strategic planning, marketing, manufacturing and human resource management. The accountant’s role in the marketing decision areas is specifically considered.
The above 2 subjects have been assessed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority as being equivalent to Level 9 (Master’s Degree).
Assessment
There is a compulsory assessment consisting of 25 MCQ questions at the end of each module. Those who wish to obtain the CMA grade of membership, there is an assignment in the form of a strategic corporate report for each module (3,000 words, including bibliography, notes, figures and tables) conducted by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants. The assignment must be submitted after one-month and within three-months of the end of each module.
(w.e.f 1 Jul 2025)
Calculate Programme Fee
Fee Table
| COMPANY-SPONSORED | |||
|
PARTICIPANT PROFILE |
SELF-SPONSORED |
SME |
NON-SME |
|
Singapore Citizen < 40 years old Permanent Resident LTVP+
|
$2,289 (After SSG Funding 70%) |
$889 (After SSG Funding 70% |
$2,289 (After SSG Funding 70%) |
|
Singapore Citizen ≥ 40 years old |
$889 (After SSG Funding 70% |
$889 (After SSG Funding 70% |
$889 (After SSG Funding 70% |
|
International Participant |
$7,630 (No Funding) |
$7,630 (No Funding) |
$7,630 (No Funding) |
All prices include 9% GST
Please note that the programme fees are subject to change without prior notice.
Post Secondary Education Account (PSEA)
PSEA can be utilised for subsidised programmes eligible for SkillsFuture Credit support. Click here to find out more.
Self Sponsored
SkillsFuture Credit
Singapore Citizens aged 25 and above may use their SkillsFuture Credits to pay for the course fees. The credits may be used on top of existing course fee funding.
This is only applicable to self-sponsored participants. Application to utilise SkillsFuture Credits can be submitted when making payment for the course via the SMU Academy TMS Portal, and can only be made within 60 days of course start date.
Please click here for more information on the SkillsFuture Credit. For help in submitting an SFC claim, you may wish to refer to our step-by-step guide on claiming SkillsFuture Credits (Individual).Workfare Skills Support Scheme
From 1 July 2023, the Workfare Skills Support (WSS) scheme has been enhanced. Please click here for more details.
Company Sponsored
Enhanced Training Support for SMEs (ETSS)
- Organisation must be registered or incorporated in Singapore
- Employment size of not more than 200 or with annual sales turnover of not more than $100 million
- Trainees must be hired in accordance with the Employment Act and fully sponsored by their employers for the course
- Trainees must be Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents
- Trainees must not be a full-time national serviceman
- Trainees are eligible for ETSS funding only if their company's SME status is approved prior to the course commencement date. To verify your SME's status, please click here.
Please click here for more information on ETSS.
Absentee Payroll
Companies who sponsor their employees for the course may apply for Absentee Payroll here. For more information, please refer to:
AP Guide (Non-SME Companies)
Declaration Guide (SME Companies)
Loading schedule information...
FAQs
The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) professional qualification is awarded by ICMA only after participants complete the 3-days Strategic Cost Management module and 4-days Strategic Business Analysis module. Participants need to pass their assignments for both modules and apply for membership by filling up the application forms and paying fees. Please click here.
The qualification is accredited by Institute of Certified Management Accountants in Australia and you may use the post nominal CMA, upon successful passing of all the requirements, and the payment of the joining and membership fees.
The Institute of Certified Management Accountants (Australia) is an independent Australian body. Its patrons are Bill Dix, formerly the Chairman of Qantas and Ford, and Professor John Miller, formally Director of Consumer Affairs and President of CPA Australia.
The ICMA is accredited by the Commonwealth of Nations under the category of Civic Organisations.
The Institute distributes the world-class "On Target”, published by the ICMA to all its members. The ICMA's research journal, the 'Journal of Applied Accounting Research (JAMAR)' is co-edited by Prof Garry Marchant of Charles Sturt University and Professor Janek Ratnatunga the CEO of ICMA.
It is not linked to any other professional body like IMA (USA), CIMA (UK), CPA (Canada), etc., although as a post-graduate level professional body, it recognises the certified/chartered membership of such bodies as entry pathways to its CMA advanced professional qualification.
It is a charter member of the International Management Accounting Collaborative (IMAC) that consists of member CMA organisations in Asia, Australia, Europe and the Middle East.
It has chosen not to seek membership of IFAC, which is now primarily an advocacy body for the financial accounting profession.
For the CMA grade of membership, the format of the examination will be as below:
Synchronous E-Learning mode: A research assignment in the form of a strategic corporate report for each module (3,000 words, including bibliography, notes, figures and tables) conducted by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants. Instructions will be sent to participants within 7 working days after completion of the module. The assignment must be submitted after one-month and within three-months of the end of each module.
All participants eligible to do the research assignment will get the same assignment question, but answers are different as they will be based on their company.
(w.e.f 1 Jul 2025)
No re-assessment opportunity will be provided to any student; all unsuccessful students will therefore be required to re-enrol into the subjects and re-attempt the assignments.
No, part of the fees paid to SMU will cover the research assignment.
Participants are encouraged to do it immediately as Module 2 is a follow-up and pre-requisite from Module 1. Spacing it out for a year may mean catching up on the previous module and adapting to new classmates again.
Participants who are unsure if their experience fulfils the experience criteria can send their resumes to SMU Academy, who will contact ICMA for an assessment of any cases that may require further evaluation. Please see ICMA website for experience requirements of lower-grade professional qualifications. Students can join at these levels and gain further experience before applying for the CMA professional qualification.
There will be A$99 Application Fee and A$198 Joining fee.
At present, the yearly membership fee for CMA is A$220 per year.
Registration will normally close when the class is full. But typically, registration will close 2 weeks before class starts.
