There are five main study resources to pass the CMA exams:
1) HOCK International
HOCK material is the one to go for if you don’t have accounting or finance background. It has thorough explanations on exam contents assuming you are learning them for the first time.
There are reading materials (available for print or in hard copies), audio, flashcards and software available.
This is the one most people recommend and the most afforable one. I’m using this one as the main study material.
They have a forum for HOCK students, register with your e-mail address to gain access.
2) Gleim
Gleim is aimed at those who have basic understanding of the exam contents. It is better oriented around the Learning Guidelines (which is what you should know for the exam).
There are books, audio CDs, flashcards, online courses, and softwares available. Most people recommend the software CDs for its real simulation of the actual tests.
I’ve seen people using HOCK and Gleim readings at the same time and they found it confusing, so it might be a good idea to avoid that. The most popular approach people do (including myself) is read HOCK’s materials and use Gleim CDs.
This is the one I bought that includes 4 books and 4 CDs. The Exam Review Store is the cheapest I found online with this package.
Note: Canadian shoppers watch out for the broker fees from UPS. I was shocked to see $46 applied to my order when it was delivered.
3) Lambers
I haven’t heard much about Lambers but it is available.
4) CMA Learning Systems
This is the learning program developed (not by the actual test maker but) it is officially endorsed by the IMA. It is comprehensive and is enough to get you pass the exams.
5) IMA CERTIFICATION Mailing List
Here is where CMA candidates and holders discuss the exams. Although revealing actual exam questions is prohibited, you can ask basically any question on all aspects of the exam through this mailing list, and very often someone will post their testing experiences and how they prepared.
Here’s what Mr. Bruce Pounder suggests:
“In response to several of this week’s posts, I’d like to share a few
comments regarding study resources for the revised (i.e., “new-format”) CMA
exams.
By now, many of you have read my article in the latest issue of the IMA
Online News
http://www.imanet.org/ima/sec.asp?TrackID=&CID=1335&DID=2970&VID=1. As I
mentioned in that article (and also in my earlier article), I consider it
essential for candidates to use study resources that are well-aligned with
the ICMA’s Learning Outcome Statements (LOS)
[http://www.imanet.org/ima/docs/2200/2128.pdf]. The LOS document is THE
authoritative source of what candidates must know and be able to do in order
to pass the exams. Having carefully examined the most popular CMA study
resources in order to determine which would be best for my review course
students, here’s what I found…
(1) The text resources that I consider best aligned with the new-format LOS
are
(a) Hock’s Distance Learning Program [http://www.hockinternational.com]; and
(b) The texts from the ICMA’s Suggested Reading List
[http://www.imanet.org/ima/docs/2500/2470.pdf], when used in conjunction
with the chapter references cited in the ICMA’s “CMA Exam Resource Guide”
[http://www.imanet.org/ima/docs/2400/2363.pdf].
I chose to use the Hock texts in my new-format review courses because the
are more affordable, more accessible, and more focused than the texts from
the ICMA’s Suggested Reading List. An additional advantage of the Hock texts
is that they come with flashcards that are very helpful for reinforcing what
you’ve learned.
I feel a need to comment on why I did not choose the IMA’s own CMA Learning
System [http://www.learncma.com/info/currexam.html]. It’s simple: the
materials are not as effective or efficient as the best materials available,
and they are nowhere near as affordable. The materials don’t ever mention
the LOS or its “parent,” the Content Specification Outline (CSO). So not
surprisingly, the materials omit significant portions of what the LOS
covers.
It is also very important to understand that the developers of the CMA
Learning System did not (and do not) have access to any exam-related
information other than information that is available to all providers of
preparation products and services. This is extremely important from an
ethical standpoint, and to the IMA’s credit, they did the right thing. But
the important implication is that the CMA Learning System CANNOT be
inherently superior to other preparation resources. And as it turns out,
it’s not even close to being superior.
(2) The practice software that I consider best aligned with the new-format
LOS is the Hock software [http://www.hockinternational.com], which I have
chosen to use in my new-format review courses. It’s not quite as
full-featured as the Gleim Test Prep software [http://www.gleim.com], but I
don’t have to second-guess it like I do with the Gleim software. You see, I
have used the Gleim Test Prep software in my old-format review courses, but
only because I took the time to review every one of the thousands of
questions on the CD and identify the hundreds of questions that are not
aligned with the LOS. The Gleim software has a feature that allows me, as an
instructor, to hand-pick questions in order to create practice set files for
my students. It is those hand-picked practice sets that I provide to my
old-format review course students.
And although it is not software-based, I consider the ICMA’s Question and
Answer book series
[http://www.imanet.org/ima/view.asp?TRACKID=&CID=1420&DID=2902] to be an
extremely valuable as a supplement to any program of preparation.
(3) The only instructor-led options that I have found to be aligned with the
new-format LOS are the Virtual Classroom review courses I teach
[http://www.PREPanywhere.com]. I purposely designed the courses around the
LOS, and I remain absolutely amazed that no other provider has seen fit to
do so.”
Bruce Pounder, CMA, CFM
