Interestingly, those with both a CMA and CPA earned 97% more in average salary compared to those who had neither. In the most recent survey, CMAs located in KSA earned average base salaries that were 68% higher than their non-certified peers and a median total compensation that was 79% higher. There are several factors that may attribute to this gap, including ambition, discipline, and advanced degrees, but it is still encouraging. Just like all the other regions, China experienced a gender pay gap in certified management accountant salary. This was one of the only few statistics of China included in the 2023 global survey. The median base salary for CMAs in Europe was $70,000, and the median for non-CMAs was $50,000.
Total Median Compensation by Management Level
As of 2020, CMAs with a master’s degree reported a median annual salary of $115,000 within the first few years of earning the designation. The survey revealed that those working in big ag earned the highest median base salary at $122,000. Those working in the finance and insurance industry reported a median salary of $110,000, while CMAs in public accounting earned $86,000 in 2020. Experience and education should have an impact on your salary, and taking on more responsibility ought to come with financial perks. On average, those in middle management earned $53,535 in mean base salary and $52,838 at the median.
CMA Salaries Compared to Total Workweek Hours
That means the CMA generates an almost 50% income increase for accountants. And at the global level, CMAs receive a median total compensation that is 67% higher than that of non-CMAs. Financial accounting for external parties follows strictly defined rules, but may not always present management with the information required to make sound business decisions. As an example, GAAP rules allowed Internet based companies to appear profitable even when they weren’t, which helped fuel the .com bubble in 1999 and early 2000. At that time, GAAP rules allowed companies to recognize revenue based upon service sharing agreements rather than cash transactions.
If you live and work in the United States, I bet you wonder what your annual salary could be in CMA accounting. Now that we’ve addressed the global trends, let’s move on to specific regions. I have had many individuals who are CPAs ask me if adding the CMA designation is worth it. In the previous year’s CMA Salary survey, some interesting findings were made.
Benefits of Earning a CMA Certification
According to IMA, professionals with both the CMA and CPA earn a median of 50% more than non-credentialed professionals in the same industry. Gaining the designation of CMA is a significant challenge, because there is so much to learn in the realms of both accounting and management. The requirements to become a CMA are varied across concrete obstacles (certification) as well as personal characteristics (an analytical brain). According to the IMA 2018 Global Salary Survey, the global average salary for a CMA was $81,000. If you include bonuses and other compensation, that number rises to $92,000. Younger professionals typically make less due to being in the early stages of their careers.
- The IMA reports that the global mean base CMA salary of 2018 was $74,344, while the global median base CMA salary was $66,000.
- However, the salary of IMA members in the United States has continued to increase ever since.
- External parties privy to a company’s financial data generally include investors, or bankers considering the issuance of a loan, or regulators concerned with regulatory compliance.
- For starters, the median base salary of respondents in the UAE was $32,675 in 2023.
A certified management accountant can function in many different roles within a company. A CMA can perform the regular duties of a cost accountant, but can also inform strategic decisions about the numbers they’ve crunched. A CMA can be found in public or private companies, doing corporate, consulting, or other forms of management accounting. The median base salary for CMAs in Asia was $28,710, and the median for non-CMAs was $20,000.
CMA Global Salary vs Non-CMA Compensation
She enjoys synthesizing concepts into a digestible, informative, and valuable resource for her audiences, and feels fortunate to work in a position that fosters extensive reading and intellectual growth. Shannon holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University Schreyer Honors College and a Master’s in Comparative Literature, also from Penn State. Apart from her professional identity, she’s a wife, mom, farmer, and musician. Recognized in over 150 countries, the CMA exam is offered at Prometric centers globally. Each year, 75,000 candidates worldwide sit for at least 1 part of the CMA exam.
Becoming a CMA requires obtaining a minimum level of education and work experience and passing the CMA exam. Being armed with this information and the Annual Salary Calculator helps you identify whether you are getting a fair offer regardless of gender, age, or region. CMA (Certified Management Accountant) salaries continue to rise, and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, most CMAs reported their compensation either increasing or remaining the same. Shannon is the Content Marketing Specialist with the Becker team at Colibri Group. Her copy and content writing experience prior to this role includes education, non-profit, technology, building products, and other industries.
After all, making cost-minded decisions is a valuable asset in any industry. Approximately 83% of CMAs felt that the certification gave them more confidence to perform their job at a high level. More than 73% of CMAs agreed that the certification improved the career opportunities available to them. Becoming a CMA not only offers great salary benefits but also improves other aspects of salary of certified management accountant your life and career. The figure below represents the median 2023 CMA salary for countries with at least 1% of survey responses. 83% of survey respondents in KSA mentioned that they loved their jobs, and 81% said they felt valued and supported by their work organizations.
As a result of this, GAAP rules now require cash sales to take place before any revenue is recognized. Management accountants would’ve disregarded these barter transactions because they didn’t actually add to the company’s cash flow. A Certified Management Accountant or CMA is an accounting professional that combines strategic planning and management with traditional financial accounting. The average salary for a CMA is around $85,000 per year, but there are many factors that can determine CMA salary such as experience, location, specific CMA job description and more.
CMAs pass two four-hour exams – one focused on Financial Planning and Performance Analysis and the second on Control and Financial Decision Making. An enrollment fee of $200 and exam fees of $350 for each exam are required. Two years of professional experience are also required before applicants can become CMAs. Thirty hours of continuing education are required annually, and needs to include a minimum of two hours in specialized ethics training. Management accountants would prepare a detailed analysis of each choice.
Career Tools
Impressively, this gap further widens to 143% for CMAs in top management and 99% for CMAs in senior management. This proves that getting your CMA can bring about various incentives in your career and salary progress. Based on the 2023 United States survey, the median base salary for US-based CMAs was around $124,000. Meanwhile, the median total compensation, which included bonus pay, profit-sharing, and other forms of compensation was around $139,000. Globally, accountants who have both the CMA and CPA designations had a median base salary that was around 50% higher than counterparts who had neither. Depending on your region, attaining both certifications might even double your salary.
- The countries within these regions may not see the same changes as the regions as a whole.
- In the previous report in 2021, CMAs earned around $29,000 more than non-CMAs.
- Of course, this is in comparison to the high salary earned by North Americans, which appears to be in a league of its own.
And, accountants holding both the CMA and the CPA earn the highest median total compensation. Not only is the average CMA salary higher than the average non-CMA salary, but the salaries of CMAs in management positions are also higher than those of non-CMAs in management. The global mean and median base CMA certification salary may rise and fall from year to year.
For this reason, the IMA says the increase in female respondents might account for Asia’s significant salary decrease. This table demonstrates that both the global base CMA salary and total compensation decreased slightly from last year. Management accountants prepare detailed analyses of both business problems and opportunities. Their reports are ultimately used to assist a company’s senior management in making the major decisions that determine the company’s financial success. CMAs worldwide received about 84% of their total compensation via their base salary. The remainder of their compensation came in the form of bonuses, profit sharing, overtime, and other benefits.
Compensation in the Middle East, India, and Africa Region by CMA Designation
The CMA certification is more valuable than ever, and the sooner you decide to get it, the sooner you can begin earning more. With the recent increase of entry-level women CMAs, we can expect the gender wage gap to slowly decrease as they rise within their respective organizations. These results suggest CMAs are more confident in their skill set and are valued at their organizations. Respondents from Asia and the Pacific agreed most often the CMA certification strengthens their ability to move across all areas of the business (88%). Although the COVID-19 pandemic had a serious impact on the global economy, many IMA respondents indicated their compensation wasn’t negatively impacted.
For starters, it allows you to stand out amongst your CPA peers thanks to your specialized knowledge of management accounting. Certified Management Accountants enjoy increased career mobility and have skills that are relevant to many industries and at different levels of business. Certified Management Accountants are the strategic thinkers of the accounting industry. They use their specialized understanding of financial accounting and strategic business management to explain the financial implications of different business decisions or investments and also help manage risk. The CMA vs CFA salary will vary not only with the credential, but even more so based on other factors like experience level, location, and employer.
Whether it’s financial planning and analysis, cost management, or corporate finance, each CMA specialty area offers unique challenges and required skillsets. The CMA designation opens the door to exploring these opportunities and impacting an organization’s financial future. If this information has convinced you the CMA certification is what you want, you can take the next step by learning how to become a CMA.