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This research examines the issue of CMA certification. CMA stands for Certified Management Accountant.1 The CMA is the only professional designation for management accountants.2 Although the CMA is associated with management accounting, as opposed to financial accounting, seeking CMA certification should be considered in addition to CPA (Certified Public Accountant) certification, and not in lieu of CPA certification, as the primary road to success in the accounting profession remains through CPA certification.3

Management accountants, including CMAs, thus, are typically educated and trained first as financial accountants. Thus, in the typical case, CPA certification will be sought before CMA certification. Where financial accounting is concerned with recording actual financial transactions, managerial accounting is concerned with the discovery of relationships in financial data which enhance managerial decisionmaking. Eight factors and characteristics differentiate traditional managerial accounting from financial accounting. These factors and characteristics are as follows.4

1S. P. Agrywal, "Yes, CMA Certification Is Valuable," Management Accounting, 72 (June 1991): 35.

2P. H. Siegel, Marie E. Dubke, and John T. Rigsby, "How Useful Is the CMA?" Management Accounting, 73 (April 1992): 43.

3R. Williams, "The Importance of Credentials in Public Accounting," National Public Accountant, 37 (September 1992): 3638.

4R. H. Garrison, Managerial Accounting, 5th ed. (Dallas: Business Publications, Inc., 1991), 1926.

 1. Managerial accounting focuses on providing data for the internal use of an organizations managers, while financial accounting focuses on providing data for external uses by investors and creditors.

2. Managerial accounting emphasizes the future, while financial accounting emphasizes the current period and the past.

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