US CMA Part 2 Syllabus 2026 - Exam Pattern, Topic-wise Syllabus
The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) lays out the syllabus for US CMA Part 1 and Part 2 on its official website - in.imanet.org. A total of 102 questions are asked in the US CMA Part 2 syllabus, consisting of 100 MCQs and 2 essay questions. The syllabus is designed to provide candidates with the knowledge and skills needed to manage and analyze financial performance and strategy in a business environment.
The US CMA certification is recognised in over 150 countries. There are three testing windows for US CMA - January/February, May/June, and September/October. It is recommended to allocate at least 3-6 months of preparation per part. Therefore going through the US CMA syllabus will give candidates an idea about which topics to focus on the most.
US CMA 2026 Exam Pattern
Candidates preparing for the US CMA 2026 should also familiarise themselves with the exam pattern. The in-depth exam pattern of the US CMA is provided below.
US CMA Exam Pattern 2026
Subject Name | Part 1: Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics Part 2: Strategic Financial Management |
Number of Questions | 102: Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics |
Type of Questions | 100 MCQs and 2 essays (30 minutes) |
Exam Duration | Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics: 4 Hours |
US CMA Part 2 Strategic Financial Management Syllabus
The following is the detailed USA CMA Part 2 syllabus for the Strategic Financial Management paper:
A. Financial Statement Analysis (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Basic financial statement analysis
a. Common size financial statements
b. Common base year financial statements
2. Financial ratios
a. Liquidity
b. Leverage
c. Activity
d. Profitability
e. Market
3. Profitability analysis
a. Income measurement analysis
b. Revenue analysis
c. Cost of sales analysis
d. Expense analysis
e. Variation analysis
4. Special issues
a. Impact of foreign operations
b. Effects of changing prices and inflation
c. Impact of changes in accounting treatment
d. Accounting and economic concepts of value and income
e. Earnings quality
B. Corporate Finance (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Risk and return
a. Calculating return
b. Types of risk
c. Relationship between risk and return
C. Decision Analysis (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Cost/volume/profit analysis
a. Breakeven analysis
b. Profit performance and alternative operating levels
c. Analysis of multiple products
2. Marginal analysis
a. Sunk costs, opportunity costs, and other related concepts
b. Marginal costs and marginal revenue
c. Special orders and pricing
d. Make vs. buy
e. Sell or process further
f. Add or drop a segment
g. Capacity considerations
3. Pricing
a. Pricing methodologies
b. Target costing
c. Elasticity of demand
d. Product life-cycle considerations
e. Market structure considerations
D. Risk Management (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Enterprise risk
a. Types of risk
b. Risk identification and assessment
c. Risk mitigation strategies
d. Managing risk
E. Investment Decisions (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Capital budgeting process
a. Stages of capital budgeting
b. Incremental cash flows
c. Income tax considerations
d. Evaluating uncertainty
2. Capital investment analysis methods
a. Net present value
b. Internal rate of return
c. Payback
d. Comparison of investment analysis methods
F. Professional Ethics (Levels A, B, and C)
1. Business ethics
a. Moral philosophies and values
b. Ethical decision making
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