All About CMAs
A CMA can obtain employment with companies, government and non-for-profit entities. A CMA can obtain employment as a Bookkeeper, Payroll Clerk, General Accountant, Budget Analyst, Cost Accountant, Internal Auditor, or Information Technology Auditor. These CMA careers have starting salaries ranging from $28,500 to $72,500, which is much higher than the starting salary range for CPAs.
A Bookkeeper does not need to have any certification and therefore does not have to be a CMA. A Payroll Clerk must have certification called Certified Payroll Professional but does not need to be a CMA. A general accountant or budget analyst may not be required to be a CMA although many CMAs begin as a general accountant or budget analyst. A Cost accountant must be a CMA and be licensed by the relevant state agency that monitors and regulates accountancy. An Internal auditor must be a CMA and have additional certification as a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). An Information Technology Auditor must be a CMA and also have Certified Information System Auditor licensing or CISA.
The certification program to become a CMA is sponsored by the Institute of Management Accountants or IMA. The CMA certification is proof of competence in management accounting. To receive a CMA certification, you must have a college degree, two years of experience and pass a two day session of testing.
One of the key differences between a CMA and a CPA is that a CMA lacks the versatility of a CPA. Because a CMA works internally within a firm, the duties given to a CMA are comparatively routine, meaning that the CMA does typically the same work each day. On the other hand, a CPA has as much variety in type of work and work duties as the variety of his or her clients. It is due to this fact that most accountants choose to obtain a CPA certification and licensing rather than a CMA certification and licensing.
Most CMAs are cost accountants. A CMA cost accountant enters transactions into accounting records like journals and ledgers. CMA cost accountants also prepare financial statements. The financial statements that the CMA prepares are vital to the business. The financial statements that the CMA prepares are used for business decision making, investor decision making, competitive comparison and searching for industry trends. A CMA must also attempt to discover and correct any errors in the cost accounting records. This can be done in a number of ways, but is always as tedious as it is vital for the CMA.
A CMA should be found if you are starting a business that will require extensive and accurate bookkeeping and accounting. You may well save a lot of money in your business by employing a CMA in house rather than using a CPA on a fee for service basis. In this way, you are left free to run your business while someone else worries about the accounting for your business.
© 2007 Christopher Rose and Buying One
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