CMA Certification 2026: Rules, Fees and the New Exam | Hespah LLC [Skip to main content](#main-content)[![Hespah LLC](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/home_logolight_file2png.webp)](/en)Search More [Home](/en) [Learning Hub](/en/courses) [About us](https://hespah.com/who-we-are) [Blog](/en/blog) [Contact Us](/en/contact) Login[New Account](/en/register) 1. [Home](/en) / 2. [Blog](/en/blog) / 3. CMA Certification for a Saudi Accountant: Rules and Fees CMA Certification for a Saudi Accountant: Rules and Fees ======================================================== 2026-10-24 / 2 days ago From the September/October 2026 window, not one essay question remains on the CMA exam in the Middle East. Case-based questions replaced them, and with them a change that matters more: results now arrive about two weeks after the end of the test month instead of six. What is the CMA certification? ------------------------------ The CMA certification, or Certified Management Accountant, comes from the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) in the United States through its ICMA board. It rests on two parts: financial planning, performance and analytics, then strategic financial management. Passing the exam alone earns nothing, because the CMA certification also demands active membership, an accredited degree, and two years of qualifying work. IMA created the credential in 1972 to measure competence in management accounting, while its ICMA board evaluates credentials, grades exams and runs continuing education. Therefore every rule of the CMA certification comes from one body, and the candidate handbook is its only reference. CMA certification requirements: membership, degree, experience -------------------------------------------------------------- The handbook sets six requirements: 1. Active IMA membership. 2. An active entrance fee for the CMA certification programme. 3. Meeting the education qualification. 4. Meeting the experience qualification. 5. Completing both exam parts. 6. Complying with the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice. The education route runs through a bachelor's degree from an accredited university, or a professional certification from a list IMA approves. Firstly the candidate sends a transcript translated into English as a PDF with the membership number, and the email must come from the university itself. Any degree that lacks accreditation must also pass an independent evaluation agency. The candidate then has seven years from finishing the exams to file that verification. The experience rule asks for two continuous years in management accounting or financial management, either before the exam or within seven years of passing it. The detail is where applications fail. Part-time work of twenty hours a week counts as one year for every two, while full-time teaching counts when 60% of the load sits in accounting or finance above the introductory level. However internships and clerical roles never count, however long they run. The CMA exam format after September 2026 ---------------------------------------- IMA launched case-based questions in May 2026 and made them the standard from the September/October 2026 window, so essays no longer appear in English across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. Nevertheless mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan keep essays under their own regional handbooks. Each part carries 100 multiple-choice questions and two case-based sets. Three hours cover the multiple-choice section and one hour covers both cases, thus roughly thirty minutes each. The cases appear once the candidate finishes the multiple-choice section or after three hours, whichever comes first. Each case runs to about 250 words, followed by drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, select-from-a-list and calculation items. The fifty percent gate and the pass mark ---------------------------------------- One condition rarely surfaces in Arabic coverage of the CMA certification: the case section opens only for a candidate who earns at least 50% of the multiple-choice points. Anyone below that threshold never sees the cases. Once you leave the multiple-choice section, you cannot go back. Scores run from zero to 500, while the pass mark sits at 360. Candidates need not pass each section separately, therefore the total weighted score alone decides the outcome. ICMA also equates forms statistically so difficulty stays level, and pass or fail decisions are final. Case-based results reach the candidate by email and on the online profile about two weeks after the end of the test month, whereas essay results still take about six weeks where they survive. Besides the score, a failing candidate receives a performance report within about 14 days rating each topic area as satisfactory, marginal or unsatisfactory. ![CMA result timelines and the performance report for a failed part](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/uploads/emils/17928630980.jpeg "CMA result timelines and the performance report for a failed part") CMA certification fees ---------------------- IMA publishes the fees in US dollars: Item Amount Note Professional membership $295 per year Required to enter and stay Student membership $49 per year Cheaper while studying Entrance fee $300 Nonrefundable Part 1 $545 Financial planning, performance and analytics Part 2 $545 Strategic financial management So a candidate who starts the CMA certification on a professional membership pays $1,685: $295 for membership, $300 to enter, and $545 for each part. The entrance fee itself covers credential validation, the final score report and the certificate. The exam fee returns within 30 days of purchase unless a Prometric appointment already exists, minus a processing fee. CMA exam windows and the cancellation policy -------------------------------------------- The exam runs on computer at Prometric centres in three windows a year: January/February, May/June, and September/October. The candidate buys the part, then books the appointment once the authorisation arrives. Therefore IMA takes no responsibility when seats run out on a late booker, and anyone who fails to book or appear forfeits the fee. The cancellation policy runs tighter than most expect. Firstly, cancelling with Prometric produces neither a refund nor a move to another window; instead it allows another date inside the same window. Secondly, cancelling less than five days before the appointment costs the exam fee and forces a new registration, while cancelling between five and 45 days carries a Prometric fee that nobody can waive. Moving a registration to the next window carries an ICMA fee, requested at least five days ahead. Nobody sits the same part twice in one window. ![The CMA appointment cancellation policy and the entry cost in dollars](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/uploads/emils/17928630981.jpeg "The CMA appointment cancellation policy and the entry cost in dollars") Two clocks: three years and seven --------------------------------- The first clock gives three years from entry to pass both parts. Miss it and the passed part expires, while the entrance fee falls due again. The second clock gives seven years to verify education and experience, therefore gather that paperwork before the second result lands. Exam day, and what ends a CMA certification ------------------------------------------- Arrive thirty minutes early, because arriving more than 15 minutes late costs the sitting and forces a new registration at full price. The candidate signs the log book, gives a fingerprint, and presents an original passport or national ID whose name matches the authorisation letter exactly. Calculators must be nonprogrammable with six functions at most, or one of the approved models: BA II Plus, HP 10bII+ and HP 12c. The sharpest risk to the programme is not failure. The handbook treats sharing exam questions on Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Snapchat as outright cheating, likewise memorising questions and passing them to review providers or candidates. Cheating invalidates grades, bars the candidate from future exams and ends IMA membership. A holder of the CMA certification caught afterwards loses the certificate itself. After the CMA certification: thirty hours a year ------------------------------------------------ Continuing education runs at 30 hours per calendar year, two of them in ethics, starting with the calendar year after the certificate is issued. Besides the hours, IMA membership stays a permanent condition, including candidates still waiting on certification. One content rule helps anyone studying: a change in international or US accounting standards reaches the exam one year after its effective date, never before. Is the CMA certification worth it for a Saudi accountant? --------------------------------------------------------- The answer follows the job you want. Anyone heading into company finance finds the CMA certification closest to the work, whereas the local chartered accountant route starts from the [SOCPA fellowship](https://hespah.com/en/blog/socpa-fellowship-exam-guide). The structural gap matters more than the price gap: Point of comparison CMA certification SOCPA fellowship Parts Two parts Six subjects across eight sessions Fees $300 entrance and $545 per part SAR 1,000 entrance and SAR 300 per subject Language English in our region Arabic and English Sittings Three windows a year Four sittings a year Pass mark 360 of 500 per part 60% of 100 per subject Experience Two continuous years to certify A degree opens the door IMA states on its website that CMAs report a 21% higher median annual compensation than noncertified peers. Since the awarding body itself publishes that figure, read it on those terms. What you can verify independently is cost and time: $1,685 and a three-year ceiling for both parts. Therefore set those numbers against a target salary, and if the gap still pays the decision is clear. Anyone weighing every route will find the [map of professional certifications in Saudi Arabia](https://hespah.com/en/blog/professional-certifications-saudi) wider than these two options. In practice, start with membership and the entrance fee, buy the part you intend to sit next, and open the university verification early because it takes weeks rather than days. At Hespah Academy we run preparation programmes for professional exams and for tax and accounting work on the [courses page](https://hespah.com/en/courses). Meanwhile anyone tracking local regulators will find the latest change in our article on [the amended SOCPA professional exam conditions](https://hespah.com/en/blog/socpa-professional-exams-eligibility). CMA certification FAQs ---------------------- ### Do I need experience before sitting the exam? No. The two years belong to certification, not the sitting, therefore complete them before the exam or within seven years of passing. ### In which order do I take the two parts? Any order, since IMA sets no requirement to sit Part 1 first. ### Can I retake a part in the same window? No. One sitting per part per window, thus a candidate who fails in October waits for January/February. ### When do CMA certification results arrive? About two weeks after the end of the test month for case-based exams, by email and on the online profile. ### Do teaching years or part-time work count? Yes, with conditions. Full-time teaching counts when 60% of the load is accounting or finance above the introductory level, while part-time work of twenty hours a week counts as one year for every two. Sources ------- - [IMA: how to earn the CMA](https://www.imaglobal.org/certifications/cma/how-to) - [CMA candidate handbook](https://www.imaglobal.org/learn/course/the-cma-handbook/overview/welcome) - [IMA enrolment and fees page](https://www.imaglobal.org/pages/cma-enroll) This article is informational only and does not replace the official sources or advice from a specialist before you act. Articles you might like ----------------------- [![Management Discussion in the Board Report: the CMA Draft](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/249/conversions/cover-sm.webp)2026-10-24 ### Management Discussion in the Board Report: the CMA Draft The CMA draft requires a separate management discussion section in listed companies' annual Board report. 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