How to Register and Appear for ICMAI CMA Intermediate Exam

Know all about it.

If you’ve recently completed your CMA Foundation course, then you’re most likely to register for the CMA Intermediate course. In this blog, we learn about everything you need to learn about the CMA Intermediate registration procedure and how you can appear for the exam.

How to Register and Appear for the CMA Intermediate Exam

The CMA Intermediate exam is held twice yearly: once in June and once in December. Admission to the CMA Intermediate course is open throughout the year but students must apply before 31st January (in general) for the June attempt, or 31st July for the December attempt. So, if you are interested in applying for the December 2019 attempt, you will have to apply before 31st July 2019.

Now, let’s check to see whether or not you fulfil the eligibility criteria for the offline or online registration for CMA Intermediate course.

CMA Intermediate Exam Eligibility Criteria

You are eligible if you’ve:

1. Passed your Senior Secondary School Examination (10+2) from a government-recognised board of education AND
2. Passed the Foundation Course of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI) OR
3. Graduated in any discipline other than Fine Arts from a recognised board of education OR
4. Passed the Foundation (Entry Level) Part I Examination of CAT of the Institute/Foundation (Entry Level) Part I Examination and Competency Level Part II Examination of CAT of the Institute OR
5. Passed Foundation of ICSI / Intermediate of ICAI 

If you are still awaiting your results, you can apply for admission on a provisional basis if need be. You can register for the exam in one of two ways:

• Offline Registration
• Online Registration

In addition to these requirements, you'll also have to undergo computer and soft-skill training before appearing for the exam.

The computer training is about 100 hours while the soft-skill training lasts about 3 days. You will need to undergo all the training at Regional Council/Chapter/ Recognized Oral Coaching Centre/CMA Support Centre duly recognized by the Institute. 

Look at the ICMAI website for more details.

Now, for both methods of registration, you'll need to have a few documents handy. Let us now look at what these are.

Documents Required for Registration for CMA Intermediate

There are 3 enrollment types for the Intermediate course:

PROVISIONAL (For candidates who are yet to complete Graduation/Equivalent) – The minimum documents required for this are:

• Passport Photo
• Signature Copy
• Age Proof
• 10th Pass Mark sheet
• 12th Pass Mark sheet
• Graduation (1st & 2nd year / 1st to 5th semester) Mark sheet
• Graduation (3rd year / 6th semester) Admit Card

REGULAR (For candidates who have Graduated/Equivalent) –  

• Passport Photo
• Signature Copy
• Age Proof
• 10th Pass Mark sheet.
• 12th Pass Mark sheet.
• Graduation (1st to 3rd year / 1st to 6th semester) Mark sheets

 Any ONE of the following qualified Mark sheets
        i) CAT-CMA
        ii) CMA Foundation
        iii) CS Foundation
        iv) IPCC-CA Inter

REGULAR (For Engineering Graduates) - This includes those candidates who have completed 2nd year/ IV semester / Equivalent or Graduate Engineers (qualified Engineering Final Examination):

• Passport Photo
• Specimen Signature
• Age Proof
• 10th Pass Mark sheet
• 12th Pass Mark sheet
• 2nd year or 4th semester Mark Sheet or equivalent Mark Sheet (for Engineering students) or Engineering Completion Certificate

In addition, note that all documents need to be duly attested. Attestations are valid only if they are made by a member of The Institute of Cost Accountants of India /The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India/ The Institute of Company Secretaries of India / Parliament/State Legislative Assembly, a Gazetted Officer or Principal of a recognised college. 

To register for the exam, you must know a little bit about the syllabus. Let us get a brief overview.

Overview of the Syllabus of the CMA Intermediate Course

The syllabus for the CMA Intermediate course consists of the following Group 1 and Group 2 papers:

Group 1

Paper 5: Financial Accounting

Paper 6: Laws & Ethics

Paper 7: Direct Taxation

Paper 8: Cost Accounting

Group 2

Paper 9: Operations Management & Strategic Management

Paper 10: Cost & Management Accounting and Financial Management

Paper 11: Indirect Taxation

Paper 12: Company Accounts & Audit

Note the following points:

• The papers are numbered from 5 to 12 because CMA Foundation has four papers and ICMAI wants to continue with the numbering scheme
• When registering, you need to register for both groups at the same time. But when appearing for the exam, you can choose to attempt either of the two groups or both
• Your registration will be valid for up to 7 years from the point of registration. After this period, you will have to go in for De Novo registration where you will have to pay a fee to renew your registration validity

Also, if you want more details about the syllabus, you can read our post on "What's in the CMA Intermediate exam?"

Now, let us look at the fee structure for registration

CMA Intermediate Fee Structure

The CMA Intermediate Registration fee structure is as follows:

1. Rs 20,000 to be payable at once, on or before 31^st July for the December term, or before 31^st January for the June term.
2. Rs 20,000 payable in two installments – Rs 12,000 at the time of enrolment into the course and Rs 8000, payable on or before 31^st July for the December term, or before 31^st January for the June term.

You can make your payment through Debit/Credit card, Internet Banking/Pay Fee Module of IDBI. Once payment is made, make note of the transaction details in case of any disputes later on.

Procedure to Register Offline

To register offline, make payment through one of the means indicated above, download and fill in this form along with transaction details. Mail this form it along with the requisite documents outlined above to one of the regional centres closest to you. Alternately, you can visit the nearest regional council and buy the physical form.  For your reference, here are the regional councils. 

Upon verification of your documents, ICMAI will send you a unique identification or registration number along with study material. Use this number to check the status of your registration details. You must do this online on the ICMAI website itself. We will talk about how to do this later on in the post.

Let us move on to the procedure to register online.

Procedure to Register Online

First, go to the online student registration system portal: 

http://cmaicmai.in/students/Home.aspx

Click on the button as shown below to begin your registration process:

You will be then taken to the CMA Online Student Registration System page where the various fee structures for all courses are outlined including eligibility criteria. There are also instructions on how to register online. The information is the same as outlined in this blog post. But we suggest that you read them again. When you are ready to begin the registration process, click on CMA Intermediate as shown below.

You will now be taken to the CMA Intermediate registration page where you will be given detailed information about the documents required to begin the registration.

You can receive your study material by opting for either:

Oral Coaching Mode: This means that students can attend oral coaching classes at the Chapter/Regional Council chosen by them

Postal Coaching Mode: You will receive the study materials in the post.

For illustrative purposes, the example below shows a student opting for oral coaching:

Once you click on oral coaching, you will have to fill out the online application form. Make sure you also keep your personal details such as address, mobile number and email ID handy. Check the name of the exam centre closest to you.  The list of centres is the same as indicated above. You will not be able to change centres at a later stage.

After your transaction is successful, you will receive a ‘welcome’ message.  All your information will be sent to the Directorate of Studies for verification of your documents. Once this is done, your Registration Number will be generated. Hold on to this number until the complete CMA Intermediate Online Registration process is complete. 

Check and recheck your application multiple times to ensure you have filled up everything. You will have a grace period of 30 days within which you can to complete your form, if incomplete. Filling up more than one form is more likely to be rejected. Do it once, do it right.

Your study material will be dispatched only once the Registration Number is generated.

Once your registration and verification is successful, you will receive your Admit Card through mail (if applying by post) or on the ICMAI website. In case you do not receive you Admit Card 10 days prior to the exam date, you can contact ICMAI HQ Examination Directorate regarding the issue.

Note that once you register, your registration period will be valid for up to 7 years from the time of registration. If you have not yet completed the CMA Intermediate course during this period, you will either have to re-register from scratch or apply for what is known as De Novo registration. The fees for De Novo registration is Rs. 2000. You can find the application form on the ICMAI student website under online value added services as shown below:

Conditions to Appear for the CMA Intermediate Exam

If you want to appear for the exam, your registration must be valid. You should also have completed oral or postal coaching by ICMAI and gotten a certificate of completion.

Postal Coaching Completion Requirements

To complete postal coaching, you'll need to download and answer the test paper uploaded in the student section of the website. Mail your answers to the nearest Regional Office. You'll need to obtain a minimum of 40% to get your coaching completion certification. Only then will you be able to appear for your examination. The table below shows you the last date of submission for answer sheets for postal coaching clearance:

Oral Coaching Completion Requirements

If you have opted for oral coaching, you'll need to get admitted to a regional council/chapter/recognised coaching centre. The duration of coaching lasts 4 months and has a minimum of 240 lecture hours for Lectures and Tutorials per group. After the coaching period ends, you'll need to appear for a 3 hours written exam for each subject and secure a minimum of 40% marks each. If you fulfill this requirement, you are then eligible to appear for the CMA Intermediate Exam.

Now, in addition to these requirements, you'll have to complete a 3 day training programme on communication and soft skills, as well as 100 hours' of computer training. Exemptions to these training requirements are available depending on your previous qualifications. Find out more about these training programmes here.

If you fulfill all these requirements, you can appear for the CMA Intermediate exam.We suggest that you go over the ‘Conditions for appearing in Examination’  issued by the directorate of studies and students thoroughly, to ensure you fit all the criteria to appear.

Revalidation of Coaching

If you want to appear for the exam 3 years after completing coaching, you should undergo what is known as revalidation of coaching. The fee is Rs. 800 per group but there is no need to answer the coaching papers again.

For the June 2019 term, ICMAI has released the CMA Intermediate exam schedule. Click on the button below to download.

Checking Status of CMA Intermediate Registration

You can check your CMA Intermediate Registration Status by going to the student portal on the ICMAI website. Click on the ‘Online Admission Status’ and fill in your application details with registration number. You will then be able to see the status of your application.

CMA Intermediate Study Material

Now, although the Institute's study material is quite good for a first revision, it is always a good idea to consult multiple sources for information. As such, if you want a new approach to learning and studying, you can sign up with LearnCab and gain access to hours of HD quality video lectures by qualified CMA professionals who have vast knowledge of the subject.

Through our CMA video lectures (available for Foundation, Intermediate and Final courses), there’s a new age of knowledge just waiting to be discovered. Unlock effective new ways of teaching such as online charts, diagrams and other such visual-aids. Challenge yourself through quizzes, notes, study material in the form of test papers, etc. In case of any doubts or concerns, reach out to faculty accessible to you via desktop or by downloading the LearnCab app.

Stay up-to-date with everything you need to know about the CMA Intermediate exam. Stay tuned to our blog for notifications.

For any other help or information regarding our services, or any questions on CMA Intermediate Registration details, get in touch with us either by email at support@learncab.com or comment down below. We’ll help you sort out the issue as soon as possible.

All the best!