CMA Exam Tutoring
Table of Contents
Progress in Your Management Accounting Career
For many aspiring financial professionals, a career in financial management is highly attractive and potentially quite lucrative. One important step you can take to achieve this goal is passing the CMA exam. Many senior positions at financial firms prefer candidates to have CMA designation, and gaining this designation can be a major asset in taking the next step in your financial career. At MyGuru, we recognize the value that this designation offers for aspiring financial management and management accounting professionals, and we know exactly what it takes to help you get there.
The CMA exam—or Certified Management Accountant exam—is designed and operated by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). If you’re considering the CMA, you’ve no doubt taken standardized tests before, perhaps the SAT or ACT as part of the college admissions process, or even the GMAT or GRE in pursuit of an MBA. These tests assess general aptitude in verbal and quantitative skills. By contrast, the CMA exam is much more specialized in the knowledge and skills required to achieve a high score. The CMA will test specific expertise regarding various management accounting subjects, including financial analysis, cost management, budgeting, strategic planning, ethics, data analytics, and other financial technologies.
To perform well on the CMA, you need to demonstrate a variety of skills, including critical thinking, analytical skills, and decision-making, in addition to all the necessary quantitative abilities. Working with a talented tutor from MyGuru can help you refine your prep technique, solidify your specialized expertise, and further develop these skills. Our tutors will also help you prepare to apply all those skills and knowledge to the specific structure of the CMA itself. And perhaps most importantly, they can help you design and administer your own personally tailored test prep plan, which will put you in the best possible position to pass the CMA and advance your financial management career.
The MyGuru Edge for CMA Prep
MyGuru may specialize in standardized tests, but we know there’s no such thing as a standardized student. Our CMA tutors are masters of individually customizing test prep coaching in a way that empowers our students to unleash their full scoring potential. Each of our tutors has thorough expertise in the CMA’s subject matter, as well as the mechanics of successful test prep. But what really sets them apart is the way they work directly alongside you to help you design a completely individualized study plan that is targeted to your unique needs, goals, and learning characteristics.
When you sign up for CMA tutoring with MyGuru, you’ll gain access to advanced interactive whiteboarding tools that are also highly intuitive and accessible, requiring only an internet-connected device with a camera and a microphone. In your one-on-one sessions with your CMA tutor, you’ll tackle live practice problems while also circling back to the CMA’s subject matter as you build your own comprehensive understanding. This double-barreled test prep approach will enable you to confidently solve whatever the CMA has to throw at you on exam day.
The notes generated on the whiteboard during the live session are art a minimum provided as static PDFs following the completion of each lesson. Alternatively, these notes can be saved on a private-access whiteboard for future reference and for interaction in the time outside of live sessions. These notes will evolve into a personally-tailored supplementary “textbook” containing focused review material, customized to the student's specific lesson plan and learning preferences.
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Customized CMA Study
The CMA is a major step on your financial management and management accounting career journey. Recognizing that, you should regard your choice of CMA tutor as one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your future prospects and as a major investment in your career. To help you make the best decision for yourself, MyGuru always offers a free 15-minute introductory consultation over videoconference, with any potential CMA tutor. During this videoconference, you’ll be able to assess the strength of the personality fit with your tutor, so you can make a confident and educated decision as you decide how to proceed.
You can also conduct this initial consultation over the phone, but we strongly believe videoconferences offer a better depiction of what working with a MyGuru CMA tutor will actually be like, allow you to experience our dynamic online tutoring approach, and help you make a more informed decision regarding your best path forward.
During your free introductory consultation, you’ll have the opportunity to:
- Learn how to use MyGuru’s live screen-sharing technology and intuitive dynamic whiteboarding software
- Explore the differences between our standard and premium tiers of tutoring services
- Begin cultivating a personally customized CMA test prep regimen, including a schedule and a curriculum of CMA prep materials, alongside custom homework assignments and study plans
- Tell your potential tutor about your personal background and how the CMA fits into your career journey, thus helping your tutor to better understand your personal needs, goals, and learning style
- Have an introductory conversation with your potential CMA tutor, so you can get a feel for how they work and whether the two of you are a good match
CMA Tutoring Pricing & Package Options
Given how much MyGuru specializes in helping students pursue education in business and finance, it should come as no surprise that helping clients ensure a maximum return on investment is one of our core company values. We never require students to make a long-term commitment, and you are free to plan and purchase your tutoring sessions one at a time. However, if you’re interested in raising your return on investment, we offer lower hourly rates for students who invest in larger packages of hours. We welcome you to make the best choice for you—each tutoring tier that we offer has an exemplary track record of helping students achieve and exceed their desired results on the CMA. Many CMA students have even gone on to further advance their careers by prepping for and passing additional financial industry exams, such as the CFA, GMAT, CAIA, FINRA exams, and more. Countless MyGuru alumni have gone on to secure more lucrative and powerful positions at top financial firms around the world.
- Standard Online | $130 per hour | $600 for 5 hours | $1,400 for 12 hours | $2,700 for 24 hours
MyGuru’s Standard Online CMA tutoring is the most economical tier of instruction we offer, and it offers significant savings in comparison to comparable services from our competitors. The Standard Online tier includes personally-tailored CMA prep, led by a MyGuru tutor with extensive CMA tutoring expertise. Students who choose the Standard Online option receive PDFs of each session’s whiteboarding notes within 24 hours following the session’s completion, meaning you’ll have ongoing support as you keep prepping between sessions.
- Premium Online | $200 per hour | $900 for 5 hours | $2,100 for 12 hours | $4,000 for 24 hours
The Premium Online tutoring tier offers our highest value for CMA tutoring. Premium Online students gain access to audio, video, and whiteboard recordings for each one of their live-tutoring sessions, and these recordings remain available for three months following the student’s final lesson. The Premium Online tier also includes private 24/7 access to an interactive whiteboard, meaning even between live sessions, you can practice applying your testing strategies with your tutor’s oversight and feedback. You can also add questions and comments between sessions. Your MyGuru tutor will monitor the whiteboard each day and offer guidance that responds to your needs and concerns, thus allowing your entire test prep experience to be continually interactive and supported.
- Expert Edge Online | $250 per hour | $1,125 for 5 hours | $2,600 for 12 hours | $5,000 for 24 hours
If you’re looking to make major improvements to your CMA score, either to boost your lagging results or else to elevate you into the top tier of performers, we recommend our Expert Edge Online tutoring option, in which you’ll work one-on-one with our leading CMA tutor, Suma Rajesh. Suma has over 1,500 hours of coaching experience, working with aspiring financial and accounting professionals in their quests to pass the CMA and other related exams. She also has extensive experience in working with students from all over the world, which gives her a special ability to translate challenging subject matter so that virtually anyone can understand it.
Each of our tutoring packages has been designed to afford our students maximum flexibility, whether you prefer to schedule 60, 90, or 120-minute lessons. You can also customize your scheduling to accommodate your own availability and preferences. After you purchase a multi-hour package, as you continue adding lessons, those additional lessons will be billed at the same prorated hourly package rate. And after you conclude your CMA tutoring with MyGuru, any unused hours you’ve already paid for will be refunded to you (minus a 5% fee for processing).
We do offer in-person tutoring in most major US cities, at the same rates as our Premium Online instruction tier. However, we generally recommend online tutoring. This is partly because the CMA exam is taken on a computer, and therefore tutoring on a computer tends to be more effective in preparing students for the actual exam. Also, our online tutoring software enables us to offer many dynamic features that aren’t possible with in-person instruction.
Your CMA Tutoring Guru
MyGuru’s CMA tutoring team is led by our most experienced CMA tutor, Suma Rajesh. Suma first began her career in the financial industry as a corporate credit analyst, holding positions for banks operating throughout the Middle East and India. Over time, however, she realized that her greatest passion and her calling was in education. Suma’s teaching career began at the Apex Professional Training Institute, where she taught finance and accounting, before she moved on to serve as Director for Bradford Learning Global’s CMA program.
After spending many years teaching with larger organizations, Suma transitioned to focusing on one-on-one tutoring, which has proven to be the most satisfying and effective work she’s done throughout her career. In addition to her work with the CMA exam, Suma also guides students preparing for the CA, CIA, and CPA exams.
Suma believes her most important strength as a tutor is her ability to translate complex and difficult subject matter so any student can understand it, regardless of their background, learning style, or communication style. This strength has grown from Suma’s international experience. In addition to the many American students Suma has helped pass the CMA and other exams, she’s also worked with students from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and many more countries around the world. In fact, Suma’s personal goal is to work with a student from every country on Earth.
CMA Exam Overview
CMA Scoring
Multiple-choice questions account for 75% of the total score for each part
Essay questions account for 25% of the total score for each part
Each part is scored out of 500 points, with 360 serving as the passing score and candidates must pass both sections in order to pass the CMA to receive CMA designation
CMA Part I
Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics
External Financial Reporting Decisions
Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting
Performance Management
Cost Management
Internal Controls
Technology and Analytics
CMA Part II
Strategic Financial Management
Financial Statement Analysis
Corporate Finance
Decision Analysis
Risk Management
Investment Decisions
Professional Ethics
CMA Structure
Each part includes 100 multiple-choice questions and two essay questions
The multiple-choice section is three hours long and the essay section is one hour long
Candidates must answer at least 50% of the multiple-choice questions correctly in order to move onto the essay section
Why Take the CMA Exam?
The financial industry is a mountain with many paths and summits, and no single right way up. Many people are drawn to management accounting and corporate finance because of the centrality of these roles when it comes to influencing companies’ strategy and operations. Management accountants weigh in directly on guiding key business decisions relating to budgeting, forecasting, performance, and cost management. Additionally, working in corporate finance means you help make highly impactful decisions regarding capital investment, mergers and acquisitions, and long-term financial planning. All this means that the CMA can help you pursue a highly exciting and impactful career in the financial industry.
Passing the CMA exam offers a major boost to your professional credentials by elevating and validating your skillset, demonstrating your expertise in financial management and decision-making. In combination with the high regard with which the CMA is held in the fields of management accounting and corporate finance, this means that passing the CMA will make you a significantly more attractive potential hire, thus opening you up to more powerful and high-earning positions.
Even when it comes to the CMA, however, there is no single right path. Some people pursue CMA designation as soon as they graduate. Others set their sights on the CMA after already establishing themselves in the industry, or after deciding to pivot toward a new career path. And still others have already passed the CMA, but are required to take it again in order to get re-certified. Whether you’re fresh out of school, a seasoned financial veteran, or looking to change your career trajectories, MyGuru can help you maximize your performance so you can pass the CMA and take the next step.
Proven CMA Study Strategies
Prepping for an exam like the CMA is much more a marathon than a sprint. This isn’t a midterm exam you can cram for overnight. Spread over two four-hour sessions, the test itself is a massive undertaking, and that’s before you even consider how much prep goes into developing the necessary knowledge and skills. Studying for the CMA is a major investment in your career, and you’ll be well-served by treating it as such. Therefore, we highly recommend that CMA candidates begin by committing to at least 1-2 hours of daily study for at least six weeks before taking the exam.
We also strongly urge students to take a full-length practice exam before you even begin your CMA prep. This is the best way to gain an accurate and granular picture of where you’re at as you begin your CMA prep journey. Taking a full-length practice test will expose you to the demands of the exam process itself, and it will also help you and your tutor identify your areas of strength and weakness.
For both your initial practice test and your ongoing practice problems, we believe it’s very important to thoroughly vet your practice materials to make sure that they accurately reflect the material and formatting you’re likely to encounter on the real CMA exam. This is an area where your MyGuru tutor’s expertise can be very helpful.
And as you go about your CMA prep, remember that it’s not enough to simply work through the problems and race toward the end of your problem bank. After each practice session, it’s crucial that you thoroughly review both your correct and incorrect answers. Many students skip the step of reviewing their correct answers, but ensuring you understand why the correct answers are correct is an essential component of mastering the material.
Finally, something we have to remind even our most motivated students of is the necessity of taking regular breaks—especially in between your completion of a practice problem set and your review of the answers. Breaks are absolutely crucial to allowing your mental capacity to regenerate—without them, you’ll fail to absorb the lessons, and you won’t actually build your understanding of how the problems and solutions work. This means that all the hard work you’re putting in will be largely wasted. Breaks give you the space and capacity to critically assess the subject matter and your own prior strategies.
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