- 14th December, 2024
- CMA- Cost Management Accounting
All about the CMA Exam Pattern 2025
Table of Contents
CMA Exam Pattern 2025: The CMA Course has three levels, namely CMA Foundation, CMA Inter, and CMA Final which are conducted twice a year - once in June and then in December. The CMA exam is offline centre based and conducted by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of India (ICMAI).
In CMA foundation, every paper contains 100 questions, and students have to answer it within 120 minutes (2 hours), while the time duration of the CMA Inter and CMA Final course is 180 minutes (3 hours).
CMA Exam Pattern 2025 Overview:
Particulars |
CMA Foundation Exam pattern |
CMA Inter Exam Pattern |
CMA Final Exam Pattern |
Mode of exam |
Offline |
Offline |
Offline |
Type of questions |
Objective (MCQs) |
Subjective |
Subjective |
Total Marks |
100 (Each Subject) |
100 (Each Subject) |
100 (Each Subject) |
CMA exam duration |
2 hours |
3 hours |
3 hours |
Number of Groups |
- |
2 |
2 |
Number of Subjects |
4 |
4 (in each group) |
4 (in each group) |
CMA Course 2025: All Levels Exam Pattern
- CMA Foundation
- CMA Inter
- CMA Final
To become a Cost and Management Accountants, a candidate needs to pass all three levels. Check out the below tables for the CMA June 2025 exam pattern for all the courses.
CMA Exam Pattern 2025: Foundation Exam Overview
The First level is CMA Foundation and has four papers. To be eligible for the next level, a candidate needs to pass all four papers. Also, it is necessary to note that all the four papers were conducted on the same day and the duration of the CMA Foundation exam is 120 minutes (2 hours).
Exam time |
Paper name |
No. of questions |
Marks |
Total marks |
Session 1 (10 am to 12 pm) |
Paper 1: Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication |
50 |
100 |
200 |
Paper 2: Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting |
50 |
100 |
||
Session 2 (2 pm to 4 pm) |
Paper 3: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics and Statistics |
50 |
100 |
200 |
Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management |
50 |
100 |
There are four subjects at the CMA Foundation level. Below is the subject list of CMA Foundation 2025 exams:
Paper 1: Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication
Paper 2: Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting
Paper 3: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics and Statistics
Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management
Note: There is no negative marking in the CMA Foundation course.
CMA Subject-wise Weightage for Foundation Course 2025
To know about the weightage of each subject under the CMA Foundation course, check out the below table:
Paper 1: Fundamentals of Economics and Management
Section-wise chapters |
Weightage |
Section A: Fundamental of Business Laws |
80% |
Introduction |
10% |
Indian Contract Act, 1872 |
30% |
Sale of Goods Act, 1930 |
20% |
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 |
20% |
Section B: Business Communication |
20% |
Paper 2: Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting
Section-wise Chapters |
Weightage |
Section A: Fundamentals of Financial Accounting |
70% |
Accounting Fundamentals |
30% |
Accounting for Special Transactions |
15% |
Preparation of Final Accounts |
25% |
Section B: Fundamentals of Cost Accounting |
30% |
Paper 3: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics and Statistics
Section-wise Chapters |
Weightage |
Section A: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics |
40% |
Arithmetic |
15% |
Algebra |
20% |
Calculus – Application in Business |
5% |
Section B: Fundamentals of Business Statistics |
60% |
Statistical Representation of Data |
5% |
Measures of central tendency and dispersion |
15% |
Correlation and Regression |
15% |
Probability |
15% |
Index Numbers and Time Series |
10% |
Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management
Section-wise Chapters |
Weightage |
Section A: Fundamentals of Business Economics |
70% |
Basic Concepts |
15% |
Forms of Market |
20% |
Money and Banking |
20% |
Economics and Business Environment |
15% |
Section B: Fundamentals of Management |
30% |
CMA Inter and Final Courses Exam Pattern 2025
Both the CMA Inter and CMA Final courses have descriptive types of questions and the duration of time is 3 hours for each paper.
CMA Inter Exam Papers 2025
Groups |
Papers |
Group 1 |
Paper 5: Business Laws and Ethics |
Paper 6: Financial Accounting |
|
Paper 7: Direct and Indirect Taxation |
|
Paper 8: Cost Accounting |
|
Group 2 |
Paper 9: Operations Management and Strategic Management |
Paper 10: Corporate Accounting and Auditing |
|
Paper 11: Financial Management and Business Data Analytics |
|
Paper 12: Management Accounting |
CMA Final Exam Papers 2025:
Groups |
Papers |
|
Group 1 |
Paper 13: Corporate and Economic laws |
|
Paper 14: Strategic Financial Management |
||
Paper 15: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation |
||
Paper 16: Strategic Cost Management |
||
Group 2 |
Paper 17: Cost and Management Audit |
|
Paper 18: Corporate Financial Reporting |
||
Paper 19: Indirect Tax Laws and Practice |
||
Paper 20: Select one of the following |
Paper 20A: Strategic Performance Management and Business Valuation |
|
Paper 20B: Risk Management in Banking and Insurance |
||
Paper 20C: Entrepreneurship and Startup |
Conclusion:
To get CMA certification it is necessary to understand the CMA exam pattern 2025, including the exam duration and marking scheme. Each paper has a different marking scheme that is specially designed to assess a candidate's knowledge and skills across various topics. After knowing the exam pattern, it is advisable to make a study plan and start your CMA preparation.
If you have no idea about how to make a study plan and how to manage time during an exam then it is advisable to get guidance from mentors who will guide you properly and help you to make an effective study plan.
FAQs:
Ques: How many subjects are there in the CMA Exam?
Ans: There are a total of 20 papers in the CMA Exam, in which the CMA Foundation consists of 4 papers, while the CMA Inter and Final consist of 2 groups and each group contains 4 subjects.
Ques: How many subjects are there in the CMA Foundation?
Ans: There a total of 4 subjects in the CMA Foundation, which are given below:
- Paper 1: Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication
- Paper 2: Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting
- Paper 3: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics and Statistics
- Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management
Ques: Does the CMA Foundation level have only objective type questions?
Ans: According to the ICMAI, the CMA Foundation level has only objective types of questions.
Ques: Is there any negative marking in CMA exams?
Ans: No, there is no negative marking in any level of the CMA course.
Ques: What are the passing marks for CMA Inter?
Ans: to pass the CMA Inter exam it is necessary to get a minimum of 40% marks in each subject and a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate.
Ques: Is the CMA exam conducted offline?
Ans: Yes, the CMA exam is conducted offline at a designated center.
Ques: Does the Syllabus of CMA change every year?
Ans: No, the syllabus of CMA does not change every year. Typically, the CMA syllabus changes every four to five years.
Ques: How many times is the CMA exam conducted every year?
Ans: The CMA exam is conducted two times a year - in June and December.
Ques: What types of questions are there in the CMA Foundation?
Ans: In CMA Foundation, there are only objective types of questions.
Ques: Is Articleship Compulsory for CMA?
Ans: To become a Cost and Management Accountant, it is necessary to complete articleship training which provides hands-on experience under the supervision of qualified professionals.
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