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CMA Exam Part 1: Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics
Find the current format, timing, scoring, fees, eligibility, and testing options for CMA Part 1, with direct links to official sources.
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Questions100 multiple-choice questions (a small number of unscored validation items) plus 2 scenario questions in the second part — case-based questions in the English exam since May 2026, previously 2 essay questions
Testing time4 hours: 3 hours for the multiple-choice section and 1 hour for the second (scenario) section
ScoringScaled score for the whole part; passing score set at 360 on the 0–500 scale. Candidates must answer at least 50% of the multiple-choice questions correctly to reach the second section (rule stated for the essay section, which the case-based questions replaced)
Exam feeUSD 545 for CMA Part 1 (English, case-based or essay format), plus a one-time USD 300 CMA entrance fee; active IMA membership is also required (Professional membership USD 295/year). Simplified Chinese version is USD 495 per part.
Prep options
Study resources for CMA Part 1
Independent prep
Courses and study resources
Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- IMA
- Category
- Accounting Licensure
- Current version
- 2024 Content Specification Outlines (effective September 1, 2024)
- Where it applies
- Global
- Exam languages
- English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese
- Score scale
- 0–500 scaled score
- Testing provider
- Prometric
- Format
- Computer-based, in person at Prometric Test Centers. In the English exam each of the 2 case-based questions is an approximately 250-word business scenario followed by drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, select-from-a-list, and calculation items; IMA launched case-based questions in May 2026 (previously essay questions)
- Availability
- Three testing windows each year — January/February, May/June, and September/October — by appointment at Prometric Test Centers; Simplified Chinese deliveries use April, July, and November windows
- Results
- Exam results are emailed and posted to the candidate's online profile approximately six weeks after the end of the month in which the candidate tested
- Score validity
- Both exam parts must be successfully completed within three years of entering the CMA program, or any passed part expires and the entrance fee must be repaid; the purchased exam part must be taken within six months of the purchase date
- Remote testing
- Not available
Exam structure
One two-section sitting in 4 hours: 100 multiple-choice questions (3 hours), then 2 scenario questions (1 hour). Part 1 content weights: External Financial Reporting Decisions 15%, Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting 20%, Performance Management 20%, Cost Management 15%, Internal Controls 15%, Technology and Analytics 15%
Where rules vary
Globally delivered professional certification exam at Prometric Test Centers worldwide; IMA maintains separate purchase pages for mainland China, Taiwan (China), and Japan, but the Part 1 exam specification is the same worldwide (only the delivery language and testing windows differ).
Eligibility
Active IMA membership and a paid CMA entrance fee (USD 300) are required to register for an exam part; the bachelor's degree and two continuous years of professional experience are requirements for the CMA credential, not to sit for the exam (experience may be completed within seven years of passing)
Retake policy
Retakes require purchasing a new exam registration. Appointments cannot be rescheduled to another testing window; Prometric charges USD 70 to reschedule or cancel 5–45 days before the appointment, and cancelling less than 5 days before forfeits the exam fee