The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification is a globally recognized and respected designation, as it is available in 140 countries. However, the computerized version of the CMA exam is only offered in English (the paper version offered in China is in Simplified Chinese). The major CMA review providers tend to be based in America as well, and all of their courses are in English to align with the exam. Some of these courses work better for international CMA candidates than others, depending on the types of study materials they offer and the way they present information. To help you find the best CMA review course for you, we’ll explain which exam prep elements are the most important for international candidates.
6 Best CMA Review Course Components for International Candidates
You’ll see a lot of different resources offered in the many review courses available, but these are the six specific features international candidates need to succeed on the CMA exam.
- An Online Course
Some of the best courses in the CMA review industry are found online. Online courses make it easy to ensure that you’re studying with the most up-to-date materials, as your provider can instantly update your materials as new information becomes available. These courses offer freedom and flexibility for both your schedule and location, and they can help you strengthen your weak areas through diagnostic and systematic quizzes and regular performance feedback.
- An Assortment of Study Materials
Ideally, your CMA course will feature a number of different study resources, such as books and audio and visual lectures. Having many options to choose from enables you to find the right mix for your learning style, which makes it easier to stay on task and on schedule while you’re studying. Multiple study materials also allow you to work through difficult topics in a few different ways, so you can find the resource that best helps you learn and retain information in a language that may not be your first. Books familiarize you with exam topics, terms, and definitions with the explanations, illustrations, and examples they contain. Video lectures let you have an experienced professor explain important concepts to you through both an auditory and visual learning experience. Audio lectures allow you to study on the go. If you come across an accounting principle presented in a way you don’t understand, you’ll be thankful for various study materials you can turn to.
- Clear and Thorough Content Coverage
No matter how comfortable you are with the English language, you’ll appreciate a review course that covers all of the exam content clearly and concisely. You don’t want to sit for the CMA exam with any gaps in your knowledge, so thorough content coverage is a review course essential. Don’t settle for a course that doesn’t address everything in the ICMA’s Content Specification Outlines (CSOs) and Learning Outcome Statements (LOSs). Thorough coverage doesn’t have to be confusing. Your course should keep summaries of exam subjects simple and easy to read. Each study resource should use straightforward language and relevant terms rather than unfamiliar phrases, making it easier to digest topics presented in a second language. You can determine how much a course caters to candidates who speak English as a second language by accessing a free demo, if available. Here’s our free CMA course trial.
- The Best Test Bank of Practice Questions
What makes a test bank the best? First of all, it needs to have plenty of practice questions in stock. The more, the better, because each additional practice question gives you the opportunity to
- Increase your familiarity with how the exam looks and operates
- Increase your understanding of the exam content
- Decrease your chance of memorizing the practice questions
When your review course contains thousands of multiple-choice questions and hundreds of essay questions, you can be completely prepared for every type of exam question. If those practice questions are as challenging as the real CMA exam questions, you can also get an accurate impression of the exam difficulty. The best test bank on the market should also include detailed answer explanations for every question so you can learn from your mistakes and grasp exam concepts faster.
- Exam Emulation
The more you know about the testing environment (the way you’ll take the test at the testing center) before you sit for the actual exam, the more confident you’ll be on exam day. The only way to really get to know the CMA exam prior to your testing appointment is to study with an exam-emulating review course. An exam-emulating course recreates the format and functionality of the exam at the most detailed level. Practice questions have all the same buttons, tools, fonts, and colors as the real exam questions. Practice tests show you the same screens and follow the same structure that the exam will present on exam day. Knowing what to expect from every part of the CMA exam is such an advantage that you can’t sacrifice exam emulation in your review course.
- Personalized Support
A course with good candidate support provides a caring sales team, fast and friendly communication, and technical service whenever you need it. Personalized support is something you’ll experience and enjoy from Day one when you buy the best review course for the CMA exam. A course with great support also offers assistance from accounting experts and continuous access to an exam mentor. Accounting experts will answer your questions about the study material. Exam mentors will help you set up a study schedule, navigate the exam process, and stay on track. Personalized support is not a CMA review luxury. It comes standard in some courses, and it’s extremely beneficial to international candidates.
The Best CMA Review Course for International Candidates
One reason why Gleim CMA Review is the #1 CMA exam prep course is because our comprehensive content coverage is second to none. Our online course includes expertly-authored books, professor-led video lectures, the best test bank on the market, and constant support tailored to you. We want to equip you with everything you need to know to pass the CMA exam. To start, we’ve created this free CMA exam guide that walks you through the entire exam process.
But you don’t have to take our word for it. Just listen to a few of the hundreds of international candidates like you who passed the CMA exam with Gleim.
- Carlos Fernandes, Netherlands, on the Gleim CMA Review online course:“Without Gleim, I would not have passed the CMA exams. The online exam training was fundamental in passing the exams. The online classroom was always available; no frustration because of server downtime or interrupted training sessions. This means you have a stable and well-working environment, which for me as a user is very important. User interface was clear and easy. Progress and average scores were also clearly shown. Materials were up to date and aligned with the CMA examination.”
- Marieke Hemmen, Germany, on the study materials included in Gleim CMA Review:“I chose the Gleim study material because of the high number of test questions. I was afraid of not understanding anything in English, but I was surprised how the videos easily explain the material. The book helped me to re-read certain paragraphs again and to understand calculations with extensive examples . . . You have so many different opportunities to repeat the material that’s amazing and never boring! Just watch a video on the train or do some focus questions in the open air in the summer!”
- Khaled Al Taher, Saudia Arabia, on the content coverage of Gleim CMA Review:“My line manager at work recommended I use Gleim to prepare for the CMA exam. He said it is the most comprehensive system that truly prepares you to pass the CMA exam; he was certainly right . . . Gleim uses comprehensive knowledge transfer outlines, which explain all the CMA content, and then they couple those outlines with great practice exams that really do emulate the real CMA exam.”
- Kim Chi, Vietnam, on the Gleim CMA Test Bank:“Gleim’s huge question bank is really what was essential to my success, which gave me the opportunity to apply and memorize the materials. Furthermore, Gleim provides a good number of essay questions and an easy-to-follow key that gave me confidence, even though English is not my first language.”
- Kathy Chen, Canada, on the exam emulation of Gleim CMA Review:“. . . The Gleim CMA exam format is identical to the actual exam windows. This helped me to get familiar with the format of the questions and to practice questions within the time frame . . . The multiple-choice questions alone had already well-prepared me for the exam.”
- Sarang Bhandari, India, on Gleim Personal Counselors:“Thinking about it now, appearing for both parts in the same window would have been nearly impossible had Gleim not been as good as it was. I do not have the words to thank my Personal Counselor. Her words of wisdom were immensely helpful. I have no doubts that Gleim is very capable of equipping everyone, including students and working professionals, to prepare for the exams in the shortest possible time.”
