CMA Exam Pattern 2024: Marking Scheme, Total Marks

Pallavi Pradeep Purbey
Pallavi Pradeep Purbey

Updated on - Nov 20, 2024

CMA exam pattern 2024 is decided by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India twice yearly for all three courses - Foundation, Intermediate, and Final. The applications for these exams were available on the institute's official website. The CMA exam 2024 for inter and final subjects is scheduled to be conducted from Dec 10 to Dec 17, 2024.

The CMA 2024 papers involves Objective, Descriptive, and Numerical types of questions. Candidates are allotted 3 hours to complete the examination and are given 15 minutes extra for reading time. The CMA exam is conducted in offline mode. CMA exam pattern 2024 for the foundation, intermediate and final exams are detailed below.

CMA Exam Pattern 2024 Highlights

As there are three exams for the CMA courses, the exam pattern for each exam differs, but the basic structure remains the same. The foundation course exam has objective-type questions, whereas the intermediate and final course exams consist of descriptive and numerical-type questions.

The foundation course has four papers, and the question paper consists of multiple-choice questions. The intermediate and final courses have two groups with four papers in each group, and the question paper has descriptive and numerical-type questions. 

CMA Exam Pattern 2024 Highlights
Particulars Details
Mode of Exam Offline
Exam Duration 3 Hours + 15 Minutes Reading Time
Total Marks 100
Types of Questions Objective, Descriptive and Numerical Questions

Students are advised to go through the CMA Exam Syllabus 2024 thoroughly to better understand the topics and content of each subject and the mark distribution for each section.

Practice Now: CMA Previous Years Question Papers

CMA Exam Pattern 2024 Foundation Course

The CMA foundation exam pattern for the year 2024 has been shared below for the candidates in the table.

CMA Exam Pattern 2024 Foundation Course
Particulars Details
Mode of Exam Offline - centre based
Type of Questions Multiple Choice Question (MCQ)
Total Questions 50
Maximum Marks per Paper 2
Number of Papers 4
Exam Duration 2 hours

Also Read: CMA Exam Centre 2024

CMA Exam Pattern 2024 Intermediate and Final Course

The CMA inter exam pattern and the final course pattern for the year 2024 has been shared below for the candidates in the table.

CMA Exam Pattern 2024 Intermediate and Final Course
Particulars Details
Mode of Exam Offline- centre based
Type of Questions Descriptive
Number of Papers 8
Exam Duration 3 hours (per paper)
Total Number of Question 120
Marking Scheme No Negative Marking

Must Attempt: CMA Mock Test 2024

CMA 2024 Foundation Course Papers

The CMA 2024 foundation course consists of four papers, which are mentioned below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Foundation Course Papers
Papers Details
Paper 1 Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication (FBLC)
Paper 2 Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting (FFCA)
Paper 3 Fundamentals of Buisness Mathematics and Statistics (FBMS)
Paper 4 Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management (FBEM)

Also Check: CMA Study Materials 2024

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Papers

The CMA 2024 Intermediate course consists of eight papers, which are mentioned below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Papers
Groups Papers Details

Group 1


Paper 5 Business Laws and Ethics (BLE)
Paper 6 Financial Accounting (FA)
Paper 7 Direct and Indirect Taxation (DITX)
Paper 8 Cost Accounting (CA)

Group 2


Paper 9 Operations Management and Strategic Management (OMSM)
Paper 10 Corporate Accounting and Auditing (CAA)
Paper 11 Financial Management and Business Data Analytics (FMDA)
Paper 12 Management Accounting (MA)

Must Refer: CMA Books 2024

CMA 2024 Final Course Papers

The CMA 2024 Final course consists of eight papers, which are mentioned below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Final Course Papers
Groups Papers Details


Group 3

Paper 13 Corporate and Economic Laws (CEL)
Paper 14 Strategic Financial Management (SFM)
Paper 15 Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation (DIT)
Paper 16 Strategic Cost Management (SCM)


Group 4

Paper 17 Cost and Management Audit (CMAD)
Paper 18 Corporate Financial Reporting (CFR)
Paper 19 Indirect Tax Laws and Practice (ITLP)

Paper 20
20A: Strategic Performance Management and Business Valuation (SPMBV)
20B: Risk Management in Banking and Insurance (RMBI)
20C: Entrepreneurship and Start Up (ENTS)

Must Check: CMA Eligibility Criteria 2024

CMA 2024 Foundation Course Topic-Wise Weightage

CMA 2024 topic-wise weightage for different papers involved in the foundation course has been shared below in the tabular format for the candidates.

Paper 1: Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication (FBLC)

The topic wise weightage of CMA foundation paper 1 for the year 2024 has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Foundation Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 1
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Fundamentals of Economics 20 marks Basic Concepts of Economics
20 marks Forms of Market
10 marks  Money and Banking
Section B: Fundamentals of Management 50 marks Management Process

Paper 2: Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting (FFCA)

The topic wise weightage of paper 2 for the CMA 2024 foundation course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Foundation Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 2
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Fundamentals of Financial Accounting 35 marks Accounting Fundamentals
20 marks Accounting for Special Transactions
25 marks  Preparation of Final Accounts
Section B: Fundamentals of Cost Accounting 20 marks Fundamentals of Cost Accounting

Paper 3: Fundamentals of Buisness Mathematics and Statistics (FBMS)

The topic wise weightage of paper 3 for the CMA 2024 foundation course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Foundation Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 3
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Fundamentals of Commercial Laws 40 marks Indian Contracts Act, 1872
20 marks Sale of Good Act, 1930
10 marks  Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
Section B: Fundamentals of Ethics 30 marks Ethics and Business

Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management (FBEM)

The topic wise weightage of paper 4 for the CMA 2024 foundation course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Foundation Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 4
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics 20 marks Arithematic
20 marks Algebra

 

Section B: Fundamentals of Business Statistics



10  marks Statistical Representation of Data
30 marks Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion
10  marks Correlation and Regression
10  marks Probability

Also Refer: CMA Exam Day Guidelines 2024

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Topic-Wise Weightage

CMA 2024 topic-wise weightage for Intermediate course containing different papers have been shared below for the candidates.

Paper 5: Business Laws and Ethics (BLE)

The topic wise weightage of CMA inter paper 5 for the year 2024 has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 5
Section Weightage Topics
          
Section A: Commercial Laws        
                                30% Laws of Contracts (Advanced level)
Laws relating to Sale of Goods (Advanced level)
Negotiable Instruments Act,1881 (Advanced Level)
Indian Partnership Act, 1932
Indian Partnership Act, 1932
Section B: Industrial Laws  25% Factories Act, 1948
Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
.Employees State Insurance Act, 1948
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 
Minimum Wages Act, 1948
Payment of Wages Act, 1936
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013
Section C: Corporate Law 35% Companies Act, 2013
Section D: Ethics 10% Business Ethics

Paper 6: Financial Accounting (FA)

The topic wise weightage of paper 6 for the CMA 2024 intermediate course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 6
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Accounting – Basics 25% Fundamentals of Accounting
Accounting for Special Transactions
Section B: Preparation of Financial Statements 40% Preparation of Final Accounts of Profit Oriented organizations and Non-Profit Organizations
Partnership Accounts
Section C: Self Balancing of Ledgers, Royalties, Hire Purchase and Installment System, Branch and Departmental Accounts  20% Self-Balancing Ledgers
Royalties, Hire-Purchase and Installment System
Branch and Departmental Accounts
Section D: Accounting in Computerised Environment and Standards 15% Overview of Computerised Accounting
Accounting Standards (Specified only)

Paper 7: Direct and Indirect Taxation (DITX)

The topic wise weightage of paper 7 for the CMA 2024 intermediate course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 7
Section Weightage Topics

Section A: Income Tax Act Basics

10%
Introduction to Income Tax Act, 1961
Income is not part of Total Income


Section B: Head of Income, Computation of Total Income and Tax
70% Heads of Income and Computation of Total Income
Clubbing Provisions and the Set-off and Carry forward of Losses
Assessment of Income and tax liability of different people

Section C: Tax Management, Administrative Procedures and ICDS
20% TDS, TCS and Advance Tax
Administrative Procedures
Income Computation and Disclosure Standards – (ICDS)

Paper 8: Cost Accounting (CA)

The topic wise weightage of paper 8 for the CMA 2024 intermediate course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 8
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Introduction to Cost Accounting 40% Cost Ascertainment – Elements of Cost
Cost Accounting Standards
Cost Bookkeeping
Section B: Methods of Costing 30% Methods of Costing
Section C: Cost Accounting Techniques 30% Marginal Costing
Standard Costing & Variance Analysis
Budget and Budgetary Control (simple problems only)

Paper 9: Operations Management and Strategic Management (OMSM)

The topic wise weightage of paper 9 for the CMA 2024 intermediate course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 9
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Operations Management 15% Operations Management – Introduction
Operations Planning
35% Designing of Operational Systems and Control
Production Planning and Control
Productivity Management and quality management
20% Economics of Maintenance and spares management
Section B: Strategic Management 30% Strategic Management Introduction
Strategic Analysis and Strategic Planning
Formulation and Implementation of Strategy

Paper 10: Corporate Accounting and Auditing (CAA)

The topic wise weightage of paper 10 for the CMA 2024 intermediate course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 10
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Accounts of Joint Stock Companies 25% Accounting of Shares and Debentures
Presentation of Financial Statements
Cash Flow Statement
Section B: Auditing 25% Accounts of Banking, Electricity and Insurance Companies
Accounting Standards

Paper 11: Financial Management and Business Data Analytics (FMDA)

The topic wise weightage of paper 11 for the CMA 2024 intermediate course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 11
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Cost, Management Accounting and Financial Management 50% Cost and Management Accounting – Introduction
Decision Making Tools
Budgeting and Budgetary Control
Standard Costing and Variance Analysis
Learning Curve
Section B: Financial Management 50% Introduction to Financial Management
Tools for Financial Analysis and Planning
Working Capital Management
Cost of Capital, Capital Structure Theories, Dividend Decisions
Capital Budgeting – Investment Decisions

Paper 12: Management Accounting (MA)

The topic wise weightage of paper 12 for the CMA 2024 intermediate course has been shared below for the candidates.

CMA 2024 Intermediate Course Topic-Wise Weightage Paper 12
Section Weightage Topics
Section A: Canons of Taxations – Indirect Tax GST 80% Canons of Taxations – Indirect Tax GST
Section B: Customs Laws 20% Basic Concepts
Types of Duties
Valuation under Customs
Import and Export Procedure
Customs Rules, 2017

Must Read: CMA Preparation Tips 2024

FAQs on CMA Exam Exam Pattern

Q: What is the mode of examination of the CMA 2024?

A: CMA examination is conducted in offline mode for all Inter, Final, and Foundation program. The CMA exam consist of 50 questiona for the Foundation program as Multiple Choice and 120 questions for the Inter and Final program as descriptive. Students will be given 22 hours to complete the Foundation paper and 3 hours for the Inter and Final paper.

Q: What is the minimum qualifying marks for the CMA exam?

A: Applicants need to score at least 40% in each test papers and 50% aggregate in non-exempted papers to qualify for the CMA Inter, Final, and Foundation program. Those who fails to secure the minimum qualifying marks in the examination will be considered failed and will have to re-appear in the next session examination.

Q: What is the total number of papers in the CMA exam?

A: The CMA exam consist of three courses level, namely, Inter, Final, and Foundation. The Inter and Final programs are divided into two groups. Candidates will have to option to appear for both the groups or any one group as per their choice in the examination itself. Further, for the Foundation program there are total four test papers and candidates are required to appear for all and qualify all to crack the CMA foundation examination.

Q: How many times CMA exam is conducted in an year?

A: In a year CMA exam is conducted twice, June and December. The registration, release of admit card, exam, result, everything is commenced seperately for both the sessions. The exam dates are announced by the authority for both the sessions and accordingly the admission process is commenced.

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