The Society of Management Accountants of Canada, also known as Certified Management Accountants of Canada and CMA Canada, awards the Certified Management Accountant

Certified Management Accountant

The title Certified Management Accountant is used by various professional bodies around the world to designate their different professional certifications....

 designation in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Activities

CMA Canada, through its provincial and territorial affiliates, grants the CMA professional designation in accounting and is responsible for standards-setting, accreditation and the continuing professional development of CMAs.

CMAs apply expertise in accounting, management and strategy to ensure corporate accountability and help organizations maintain a long-term competitive advantage. CMA Canada offers executive development programs, online courses, and knowledge management publications.

Management Accounting Guidelines and Management Accounting Practices are published by CMA Canada to specify the best practice on key topics in management accounting. They are available for download free of charge or on CD for a nominal charge to CMAs, and can be purchased by non-members.

History of the Society

The mission of the Society has closely tracked the evolution from cost accounting

Cost accounting

Cost accounting information is designed for managers. Since managers are taking decisions only for their own organization, there is no need for the information to be comparable to similar information from other organizations...

 to management accounting

Management accounting

Management accounting or managerial accounting is concerned with the provisions and use of accounting information to managers within organizations, to provide them with the basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control...

 in Canada, and its distinction from financial accounting:

• 1920 - Incorporation of The Canadian Society of Cost Accountants, with head office in Hamilton, Ontario
  Hamilton, Ontario
  Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
  
  
• 1926 - Introduction of Cost and Management, the predecessor of CMA Magazine
• 1930 - Name changed to The Canadian Society of Cost Accountants and Industrial Engineers
• 1941 - Formation of provincial societies in Ontario and Quebec, with the power to grant the newly established professional designation of Registered Industrial Accountant ("RIA")
• 1948 - Name changed to Society of Industrial and Cost Accountants of Canada
• 1968 - Name changed to The Society of Industrial Accountants of Canada
• 1977 - Name changed to The Society of Management Accountants of Canada
• 1985 - Introduction of the professional designation of Certified Management Accountant ("CMA"), with existing RIAs being grandfathered in
  Grandfather clause
  Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
  
  
• 2004 - CMA is registered as a trademark by CMA Canada
• 2006 - Certified Management Accountant is registered as a trademark by CMA Canada
• 2007 - Incorporation of the CMA Canada Research Foundation
• 2009 - Introduction of The National Standard for Public Accounting for Certified Management Accountants to govern the affairs of CMAs that have entered into public practice

A merger was proposed between the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants was incorporated by a Private Act of the Canadian Parliament in 1902. This Act, now known as the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Act, was last amended in 1990 to reflect the CICA’s current mandate and powers.Working in collaboration with...

 and CMA Canada in 2004, but it did not go beyond exploratory talks. Discussions began again in mid-2011, which later expanded to include CGA Canada

Certified General Accountants Association of Canada

The Certified General Accountants Association of Canada is the umbrella organization for Certified General Accountants. CGA-Canada represents 73,000 members and students living and working in Canada, and more than 80 countries around the world...

. A merger proposal is anticipated by the end of 2011 or early in 2012.

Competencies, accreditation process and post-qualification development

CMAs are expected to undergo specific training and practical experience to achieve specified competencies in the area of strategic management accounting, which are intended to prepare them for senior leadership roles in their organizations. There are six functional competencies and four enabling competencies in that regard:

Functional competencies

• Strategic management
  Strategic management
  Strategic management is a field that deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of firms in their external environments...
  
  
• Risk management
  Risk management
  Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...
  
   and governance
  Corporate governance
  Corporate governance is a number of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions which have impact on the way a company is controlled...
  
  
• Performance management
  Performance management
  Performance management includes activities that ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product or service, as well as many...
  
  
• Performance measurement
  Performance Measurement
  Performance measurement with a process is the complement to process execution. Based on measured performance, the feedback control loop may be closed. The metrics to assess performance is set according to a determined econometric model...
  
  
• Financial management
  Financial management
  Financial management may refer to:* Managerial finance, a branch of finance that concerns itself with the managerial significance of finance techniques....
  
  
• Financial reporting

Enabling competencies

• Problem solving
  Problem solving
  Problem solving is a mental process and is part of the larger problem process that includes problem finding and problem shaping. Consideredthe most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of...
  
   and decision making
  Decision making
  Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
  
  
• Leadership
  Leadership
  Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
  
   and group dynamics
  Group dynamics
  Group dynamics refers to a system of behaviors and psychological processes that occur within a social group , or between social groups...
  
  
• Professionalism and ethical behaviour
  Ethics
  Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
  
  
• Communication
  Communication
  Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
  
  

While candidates may come from a variety of backgrounds, the CMA career path is expected to progress in the following manner:

Stage	Phase	Nature
Acquisition	Prior to passage of CMA Entrance Examination	In process of completing undergraduate studies, or 5-7 years thereafter. Already in junior to middle management Middle management Middle management is a layer of management in an organization whose primary job responsibility is to monitor activities of subordinates while reporting to upper management....  level in their organization.
Basic Proficiency	Acquisition of the CMA designation and the following five years thereafter	Already in middle management Middle management Middle management is a layer of management in an organization whose primary job responsibility is to monitor activities of subordinates while reporting to upper management....  level, and progressively gaining more practical experience and responsibility.
Advanced Proficiency	5-10 years post-qualification	Early- to mid-career professionals, with most having achieved more senior positions within the middle management Middle management Middle management is a layer of management in an organization whose primary job responsibility is to monitor activities of subordinates while reporting to upper management....  layer. A significant number hold introductory senior management Senior management Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...  positions in their area of specialization or in the organization as a whole.
Mastery	10-25 years post-qualification	Late-career professionals, operating in senior management Senior management Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...  roles. Most are either the highest-ranking financial officers in their organization or financial professionals with specialized knowledge in particular functional areas. A significant proportion of individuals are operating in the desired “C” space - ie, CEO Chief executive officer A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization... , CFO Chief financial officer The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management... , CRO Chief risk officer The chief risk officer or chief risk management officer of a corporation is the executive accountable for enabling the efficient and effective governance of significant risks, and related opportunities, to a business and its various segments. Risks are commonly categorized as strategic,...  or CIO Chief information officer Chief information officer , or information technology director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise goals...  - and some of these are leaders of large enterprises or significant strategic business unit Strategic business unit In essence, the SBU is a profit making area that focuses on a combination of product offer and market segment, requiring its own marketing plan, competitor analysis, and marketing campaign.A Strategic Business Unit emerges at the cross-over between:... s.

CMA candidates (without advanced professional standing) must have obtained a university degree and have credits in a specified list of subjects, before they can write the CMA Entrance Examination. Upon passing this stage, they then enter the Strategic Leadership Programme ("SLP"), which has the following components:

• Development Phase
  • followed by the successful passing of the CMA Case Examination
• Application Phase
  • leading to the successful preparation and presentation of the Board Report, containing detailed analysis and recommendations on a specified case study
• Completion of 24 months of relevant full-time progressive practical experience confirmed by the employer - of which at least 12 months must be concurrent with the SLP
  • Candidates are expected to be expanding their on-the-job responsibilities while undertaking the SLP

Successful passage of the above will result in the granting of the CMA designation. After attaining the designation, there are specified requirements for continuous professional learning and development that must be undertaken to remain in good standing.

Relationships with other professional organizations

• Founding member of the International Federation of Accountants
  International Federation of Accountants
  International Federation of Accountants is the global organization for the accountancy profession. IFAC has 164 member and associates in 124 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants employed in public practice, industry and commerce, government, and academe...
  
   (IFAC).

Strategic alliance

• Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CMC-Canada)
  Certified Management Consultant
  Certified management consultant is an international professional certification for management consulting professionals, awarded by institutes in 46 countries . The CMC enjoys global reciprocity; consultants certified in one country are recognized in most other countries...
  
  

Mutual recognition agreements in effect:

• CPA Australia
  CPA Australia
  CPA Australia is one of three professional accounting bodies in Australia, the others being the Institute of Public Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia....
  
  
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
  Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
  The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants is a United Kingdom-based professional body offering training and qualification in management accountancy and related subjects, focused on accounting for business; together with ongoing support for members.CIMA is one of a number of professional...
  
  
• Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
  Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
  The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy is a professional institute for accountants working in the public services.CIPFA has 14,000 members who work throughout the public services, in national audit agencies, in major accountancy firms, and in other bodies where public money...
  
  

Other relationships

Organization	Description
American Accounting Association American Accounting Association The American Accounting Association is an "organization of persons interested in accounting education and research". It was formed in 1916. Its main publication, The Accounting Review, was first published in 1926. It is the principal professional association of accounting academics in the United...	Member
Canadian Academic Accounting Association	Leadership Partner
Consortium of Advanced Management International (CAM-I)	Collaboration on accounting research studies
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Founded in 1887, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants in the United States, with more than 370,000 CPA members in 128 countries in business and industry, public practice, government, education, student...	members are exempt from taking the CMA Entrance Examination, and can directly enter the Strategic Leadership Programme
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is the global body for professional accountants offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification . it is one of the largest and fastest-growing global accountancy bodies with 147,000 members and 424,000 students in 170...
Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan was established in 1951 and was granted statutory status under the Cost and Management Accountants Act, 1966 for the regulation of the profession of Cost and Management Accounting. The institute was established with the name Pakistan...
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants was incorporated by a Private Act of the Canadian Parliament in 1902. This Act, now known as the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Act, was last amended in 1990 to reflect the CICA’s current mandate and powers.Working in collaboration with...
Certified General Accountants Association of Canada Certified General Accountants Association of Canada The Certified General Accountants Association of Canada is the umbrella organization for Certified General Accountants. CGA-Canada represents 73,000 members and students living and working in Canada, and more than 80 countries around the world...
Institute of Internal Auditors Institute of Internal Auditors Established in 1941, The Institute of Internal Auditors is a guidance-setting body. Serving members in 165 countries, The IIA is the internal audit profession's global voice, chief advocate, recognized authority, and principal educator, with global headquarters in Altamonte Springs, Fla., United...

Member societies

Jurisdiction	Society/Ordre
British Columbia	The Certified Management Accountants Society of British Columbia
Alberta	Society of Management Accountants of Alberta
Saskatchewan	The Society of Management Accountants of Saskatchewan
Manitoba	Society of Management Accountants of Manitoba
Ontario	Certified Management Accountants of Ontario
Quebec	Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec
New Brunswick	Society of Management Accountants of New Brunswick
Nova Scotia	Society of Management Accountants of Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island	as for Nova Scotia
Newfoundland and Labrador	Society of Certified Management Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador
Yukon	as for BC
Northwest Territories	The Society of Management Accountants of the Northwest Territories
Nunavut	as for NWT
Bermuda	as for Nova Scotia
Hong Kong	as for BC
Caribbean	as for Nova Scotia