Accounting for Managers: CPA and CMA Certification Analysis

This report, focusing on accounting for managers, provides a comprehensive overview of the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certifications. It details the requirements for each, including educational qualifications, examinations, and work experience. The report highlights the core differences in the roles, with CPAs primarily involved in financial reporting and auditing, and CMAs focusing on management accounting and decision-making. The report includes references to relevant literature and provides a comparative analysis to assist individuals in making informed career choices within the accounting and finance fields. This report also includes information on the skills and knowledge that are developed with the course helping the candidate to make better and well-informed decisions about the company. The report also covers the importance of the business, economics or accounts and financial management.

Running head: ACCOUNTING FOR MANAGERS
Accounting for Managers
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1ACCOUNTING FOR MANAGERS
Table of Contents
Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant Certification........................2
References........................................................................................................................................3

2ACCOUNTING FOR MANAGERS
Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant
Certification
The professional certification taken into research both the CPA and CMA are obtained by
passing respective examinations, however on the other hand it is essential that the CPA must also
be licensed. One striving for becoming a CPA must also earn 150 credit hours of undergraduate
course education. The CPA Examination includes major sections like Accounting and Auditing,
Business Environments and Concepts, Financial Accounting, Reporting and Regulation.
Management Accounting is the core area of focus, which is looked in this course.
The CMA on the other hand side as the name focuses on the various aspects iof financial
topics like the finance/assets management and performance management. The skills and
knowledge developed with the course helps the candidate make better and well-informed
decisions about the company. It is important that one must have a graduation degree (bachelor’s
degree) in business, economics or accounts. The program is financial management based taking
various courses and approaches of financial management (Dennis Whitney & Paul Juras CMA,
2017).
Both the courses evaluated requires that the candidate must have a two-years of working
experience in their respective filed so that they can earn the right of using the degree
respectively. It is usually found that the CMA are at the management level of a business
organization where they tend to make out important management decision for the company.
However, the role of CPA is confined in preparing the financial report, providing management
advice and auditing of accounts (Hargadon & Fuller, 2018).

3ACCOUNTING FOR MANAGERS
References
Dennis Whitney, C. M. A., & Paul Juras CMA, C. P. A. (2017). CMA: The value creator.
Strategic Finance, 99(6), 23-24.
Hargadon, J. M., & Fuller, L. R. (2018). DUAL CERTIFICATION: It's a Win-win! With this
updated nine-step program, highly motivated undergraduate accounting students can pass
the CMA examination before graduation and the CPA exam within six months after
graduation. Strategic Finance, 99(9), 40-48.