US CMA | CMA USA Vs CFA How To Choose One For Yourself?

US CMA | CMA USA Vs CFA How To Choose One For Yourself?:-

CFA® vs CMA? The key difference between CFA and CMA is the skills obtained. CFA focusses on enhancing Investment Management skills including Investment Analysis, Portfolio Strategy, Asset Allocation and Corporate Finance. Whereas, CMA enable you to develop a level of expertise in both financial and management accounting and strategic management.

US CMA | CMA USA Vs CFA How To Choose One For Yourself?

About CFA:-

The CFA® Program focuses on investment management. The top employers of charter holders include the most respected financial corporations in the world, e.g., JP Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Credit Issue, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, UBS, and Wells Fargo, to name a few. Many of these are investment banks, but the CFA® Program focuses on the knowledge and skills most relevant to the global investment management profession from the standpoint of a practitioner.

Investment professionals who hold the CFA®designation (or CFA® charter) meet rigorous educational, work experience, and ethical conduct requirements.

Only those who complete three graduate-level examinations, four years of work experience, and annual membership renewal (including an ethics and code of professional conduct attestation) are permitted to use the CFA® designation. Complementary codes and standards (such as the Global Investment Performance Standards and Asset Manager Code) help enhance this professional distinction.

US CMA | CMA USA Vs CFA How To Choose One For Yourself?

About CMA:-

US CMA demonstrates your professional expertise in financial planning, analysis, control, decision support, and professional ethics – making you the preferred choice of the potential employers. CMA certification is widely accepted in India and in the job markets of US, Canada, Europe, Middle East and China.

The US CMA® Course is globally recognised, advanced-level credential appropriate for accountants and financial professionals in business. Achieving the US CMA demonstrates your professional expertise in financial planning, analysis, control, decision support, and professional
ethics – skills that are in demand by organisations around the world. The US CMA is offered by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) USA and the content is regularly reviewed by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA).

It’s offered since 1972 and has certified 40,000 professionals. US CMA® enhances the value that you bring to your current position, or expand your career potential, it will help you set the standard for professional excellence.

The CMA Exam has a unique scoring system that can sometimes be confusing for candidates. Here’s everything you need to know to correctly interpret your CMA Exam score.

The CMA credential will make you a certified management accountant and will enable you to develop a level of expertise in both financial accounting and strategic management.
CMA program was introduced in the year 1972 and has its value-add by specializing in cost accounting, financial analysis and strategic planning.
CMA is ideal for both accounting and finance majors who wish to work in the corporate world.
This designation is applicable to those who are into cost and inventory accounting.

US CMA | CMA USA Vs CFA How To Choose One For Yourself?

Top ten companies hiring CFA® include JP Morgan Chase, PwC, HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, UBS, Ernst & Young, RBC, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo.
CFA® Institute has over 123,000 members in more than 140 countries and territories. 94% of members are CFA® charter holders.

CFA® is required particularly if you wish to get into equity research, investment bankingor portfolio management kind of roles.

The differentiating benefits of earning the CFA® designation include:

Real-world expertise
Career recognition
Ethical grounding
Global community
Employer demand

The sheer demand for the CFA® charter speaks to the difference it makes. More than 160,000 CFA® exam registrations were processed for the June 2015 exams (35% in the Americas, 22% in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and 43% in Asia Pacific).

US CMA | CMA USA Vs CFA How To Choose One For Yourself?

CMA has over 70,000 IMA members and around 20-30K active CMAs.

Globally, CMAs earn 59% more in median salary and 63% more in median total compensation than their non-CMA peers.

The global median salary is $60,000, and the global median total compensation is $66,000

This credential is designed to help you improve your ability to make strategic business decisions depending upon the financial situation of the company.
The eligibility criteria are flexible and hence the entry barrier is low
The CMA exam is designed in such a way that it could be completed within a years’ time as it has testing windows spread across 6 months in a year
The scope is narrowed down to specifically learn about management accounting
Accounting is considered to be a necessity and hence the demand for professional accountants is usually on the higher side.

US CMA | CMA USA Vs CFA How To Choose One For Yourself?

Conclusion:-

Weighing both these credentials, CFA® has larger market penetration and is rather more famous, but also is comparatively difficult. Consider taking a decision after looking at the distinctive careers each of these credentials has to offer and which would you enjoy more. Whichever credential you go for is going to be a great investment for which you would have to sacrifice two most important things one is the time- the most crucial and secondly the cost associated with the certification. Think about the pros and cons and choose wisely!