CMA Blog Posts & Updates

360: The Perfect Score

May 20, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Written By CMA exam Guest Blogger Ashley G.

Although I took my exam on 2/28/2012 (the last testing date of the testing window), I received my score on 4/12/2012 (talk about the waiting game). For all of the readers out there, I thought I would share my score and provide some advice. Some people might feel a perfect score is scoring the highest possible score; however, for me, 360 is the perfect score.

I once read an article a few years ago when I first began studying for the CMA (when it was a 4-part exam) where the author claimed that the goal is to achieve optimal efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to exam performance. Think of this as break-even analysis. This individual said that if you consume your life with studies and score an absolute perfect score, you have over-studied. Therefore, you have achieved effectiveness (by passing) but have missed the mark on efficiency. If you study and procrastinate, however, and fail the exam, you have achieved neither effectiveness nor efficiency.

When I studied for both the CPA and CMA, I used the 1-month approach (warning: this isn’t meant for everyone). I study for about 1 month for each section. This means being diligent 100% of the time and focusing on the finish line. The only time this did not work was when I sat for CMA Part II the first time (it took two tries). I scored a 330, which was as a result of not being diligent and letting work get the best of me. To study and work at the same time is the hardest and most admirable task I can think of (besides adding children and other obligations to the equation).

You have to stop to think what is best for YOU. Much like weight-loss, everyone is different! For myself, and I did learn this the hard way, studying for several months results in procrastination and putting off study plans. It would turn into “I can miss one day. What’s one day?” After this approach resulted in me failing the CMA and CPA several times, I changed my study routine (slow and steady did not win the race for me). For my lifestyle, 1 month has been the perfect plan, although I have no significant other and no children. I do, however, have an intense work environment, which requires traveling, minimal obligations, distractions, etc.).

What was my score you ask? A perfect 360. As a final note, I would like to give a huge thanks to my Support System. I would also like to thank Gleim for granting me the opportunity to document my experience (the ups and downs). This will definitely be a piece of history in my life that I share with future generations. It’s incredible having the ability to sit back and reflect on what I went through. I would encourage anyone out there to journal their progress – it helps. I hope my entries have helped the readers out there in their exam preparations.

Cheers!

 

Welcome CMA Guest Blogger Heather N.!

May 7, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Heather N.

Hello everyone! My name is Heather and I worked as an accountant for 15 years before I became a CPA. I have had jobs that didn’t require a CPA designation, but then I began teaching. I felt that I needed to become a CPA to be fully qualified to teach. Gleim software was my choice; it was the best I worked with.

When the school I teach at asked me to take over the teaching of cost accounting, I felt that taking the CMA exam was necessary. Plus, it had also been a very long time since I took cost accounting. I began researching the exam and reviews. I registered for the exam and soon decided I wanted to use Gleim. I know Gleim works because I had the best grades on my CPA while using their service. I purchased the books and began studying, but I need to do a lot more work for my CMA. I am hoping that the complete Gleim Review System will be helpful. I also like the idea of blogging because that will make me accountable. Accountability helps keep me on track. I understand that since I will be posting weekly, I will need to accomplish something and not just sit around pretending to study until the week before the exam.

I am a firm believer that educators need to have a top-notch level of education and be up to date. The CMA Review System will provide me with this. I also think my experience as a professor will play heavily into how I study and how I learn for this exam. I find that I learn from my students every day. I can also offer a perspective of the educator who is trying to relearn these topics. I feel that others can benefit from the learning style of an educator.

 

Pass the CMA Exam Video Series – Video #7 is now Available!

May 2, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Good news CMA candidates!  Video #7 in the Pass the CMA Exam Video Series is now Available!  The seventh video in this series focuses on the final review week.  If you’re wondering what to do during the last week of your exam preparation, check out this video for tips.

 

 

 

Let us know if you have any questions regarding becoming a CMA, and we’ll try to answer your questions in an upcoming video.

 

CMA – Making Good Use of Your Time

April 9, 2013, by 3 comments

I like to be prepared by having note cards and study materials with me at all times.”

Written by Guest Blogger Leslie M. for the Gleim CMA blog.

Greetings! This week I am focusing on the concept of making good use of my time. Everyone has their own unique work, school and personal schedules, with a limited amount of study time. Personally, I work full-time at a demanding job, and balance that with a busy and rewarding family life. Plenty of my scheduled activities are required and necessary, but some uses of time are optional. I have found that it helps to stop and think about which of my activities are optional. I can live without some of the mindless TV watching and Internet surfing. I have also been bringing my lunch with me to work so I can study during the lunch hour. My goal is to maximize my time without cutting into activities that are more important.

By making good use of my time, I can still enjoy life. I can get my job done and study without feeling like I am missing out on anything important. The key for me is to stay motivated and realize that making a few sacrifices will help me to pass both exams. This will be extremely rewarding and worth it in the long run. I have, however, been struggling to stay on task this past month. I am updating my CMA study plan though to include any small amount of free time so that I have more time to study, especially during evenings and weekends. I like to be prepared by having note cards and study materials with me at all times. This is another good way to use your time wisely. If you find yourself waiting on an appointment or if you have a break between activities, you can use that time to learn. Be creative and you can add a few extra hours to your study time. These hours add up over the long haul.

I hope you are all having a good study week, and I encourage you to refine your study plan and adapt to what works best for you. Cheers!

 

CMA Prep – Getting Started

April 3, 2013, by 1 comment

Written By Guest Blogger Leslie M. for the Gleim CMA Blog.

Hello CMA candidates and interested readers – my name is Leslie, and I will be writing about my experiences pursuing the CMA certification. I finally decided to pursue my goal of obtaining the CMA certification in 2013! So far, I have completed several steps to get started, including the following: 1) Applied and paid for membership in the IMA through IMA’s website 2) Enrolled in the CMA certification program and paid entrance fees through IMA’s website 3) Submitted experience documentation which was accepted by IMA (I have 7+ years continuous experience in accounting/treasury/finance) 4) Requested college transcript to be sent to IMA, which satisfied the education requirement of a bachelor’s degree in any area (I have an MBA in Finance) 5) Researched test prep materials and decided to pursue blogging through Gleim in exchange for the full CMA Review System, which I plan to use as my primary study tool. With these steps completed, I have begun my journey in studying to take the CMA Exam Part 1 in May and the CMA Exam Part 2 in September!

After finishing the “easy” steps, I am now on to the “hard” part… studying for the exams! However, after researching test prep materials thoroughly, and after hearing about Gleim from several colleagues and reading success stories online, I am confident that Gleim’s full CMA Review System will work for me. I received my Gleim CMA Review books and online access last week. I spent a couple days reading through the CMA Review: A System for Success, which helps provide a feel for the exam itself, the process, how to create a study plan and many more useful tips. One of the recommended steps is to take a Diagnostic Quiz at www.gleim.com/GleimCMADQ or use the Gleim Diagnostic Quiz App for iPhone, iPod touch or Android, BEFORE you begin studying. I decided to take the diagnostic quiz online, which I thought was a great idea to gauge my strengths and weaknesses, so I can focus my efforts in the right areas. I received a detailed email from my Personal Counselor (assigned for free with Gleim’s full CMA Review System) indicating percentages correct for each of the test areas. I also created my own personal study plan with the help of my Personal Counselor, detailing how many hours per week I plan to study and which areas to focus on. I am planning to work through each Study Unit in detail until I feel I have mastered each unit to my satisfaction.

Even though I am just getting started with Study Unit 1, I am happy that I spent some time up front to get some important steps taken care of. I feel confident that I have the necessary tools along with a good plan to succeed. Look for my upcoming blogs as I continue to document my study path, and feel free to ask questions, as I will respond to them in future entries. Cheers!

 

CMA Studying: Falling Off The Horse

March 14, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Ashley G.

What happens when you fall off the horse? Do you get up and try again? Do you change your approach when you get back on the horse? Do you run away in fear?

Recently,  I was selfish and took some “me” time. The advantage of everyone reading my blog entries is that they get to see everything that I go through during the CMA studying process. So, to be honest, I have been a slacker.

When people have asked me about types of study behavior, I have always said the following: studiers will pass, slackers will fail, and crammers may get lucky. So, at this point, you may wonder what I consider myself. Well, I think I am still at the point in my studying where this time off won’t affect me too much, as long as I’m diligent for the remainder this month. Any more time off from studying will make or break me though.

Now that I am back from vacation and with the busy season slowing down (my busy season is from September to February), I have altered my strategy and gotten back on the horse. So, what is the current game plan you might wonder? Good question.

My plan is simple. I plan on reading the book throughout the week. This will be done by developing a pattern for my weekdays. I finish work around 6 or 7. Then I eat dinner and take an hour for “me” time. In theory, I allocate approximately 3-4 hours of studying for myself. Any make-up is done during lunch at work. My weekends will be spent working on multiple-choice questions, reviewing flashcards made throughout the week, studying notes, etc.

Here’s to a new strategy, and HOPEFULLY a new CMA certification!

 

CMA Studying: No Pain, No Gain!

March 14, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By Guest Blogger Lynn L. for the Gleim CMA Blog.

Greetings!

I hope all of you are doing well with your studying. This past week has been very unproductive for me. School has restarted, and I have three graduate-level courses to take. This is 20 hours of work every week and requires participation in student organizations where I am an officer. I only got a chance to spend 5 hours studying and have not finished a study unit yet. I guess it is time for me to adjust my study plan. I no longer have a full free day, even during the weekends.

Somewhere on this blog, I saw that a blogger compared studying for the CMA exam to a marathon. I agree that the biggest obstacle for both studying and completing a marathon is ourselves. How to keep studying consistently for the exam is a big problem. Sometimes, I lose interest in studying and take short breaks and watch some TV to relax. I also skipped some steps recently, such as taking the diagnostic quiz. I simply didn’t recall anything I studied for that study unit. I understand that I have not done enough practice questions from test prep yet. I hope to spend the last couple of weeks answering those questions in a test-like environment.

I am now planning to focus on the knowledge transfer outlines and test prep questions for the next couple of weeks. I know my weak areas are those conceptual questions, so I will also do some reviews of previous study units at the end of every week. There is not much time left for me to study and pass Part 1, so I am hoping to get into study mode in the coming week. I will also need to adjust my study plans to fit my work/class schedules.

The phrase, “no pain, no gain” always occurs to me. I know I have to give up some time for activities and friends and spend that time studying from now on. Friends or family may not fully understand your sacrifice and may no longer ask you to join them. However, I believe that once I successfully pass the exam and announce the result to everyone, they will start to understand everything. They will understand that this is an investment I made in myself and they will be proud of me. So let me be more focused with CMA studying, and I am sure I will make it!

 

New Beginnings: Middle of Week 1 (part 1)

March 12, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Ashley G.

Based on my new strategy, I have 5 weeks of being diligent and the remaining weeks to review. This shouldn’t be too much to ask of myself! As I mentioned in my previous entry, I plan on studying one study unit for an entire week. This will probably vary depending on how challenging the content is. I plan to read the Gleim book and then examine the multiple-choice questions (and my notes) on the weekends.

As I compose this blog, I am sitting at my office desk finishing my lunch on a Friday. So, technically, I should be through most, if not all, of the first study unit by now. Well, I feel like I have achieved that. I have finished subunits 1 and 2. I am still working on subunit 3. I am hoping to have it finished by Saturday afternoon so I can get to the multiple-choice questions.

What has been my CMA exam study strategy? While going through these three subunits during the week, I have also listened to the Gleim lectures. Once I have completed this, I go back and re-read the entire subunit. If there is a formula, I create a notecard. While reading, I will highlight and make notations throughout the book. Once I have completed reading the entire subunit, I will go to the textbook multiple-choice section and essay section and complete them.

CMA subunits 2 and 3 are pretty lengthy and challenging sections for the good old memory bank. They primarily consist of formulas and ratio analysis. During these two subunits, I have been writing extensive notes and writing flashcards. This weekend, I plan on bringing out my easel board and write out formulas. Wow, writing that makes me sound like I should bring out my glasses, pocket protector, and abacus. It really works though! Having a flip chart handy always helps me visualize things better.

I will keep everyone posted on how the weekend goes and whether I was able to meet my goal of getting Study Unit 1 (subunits 1-3) down! Happy studying!

 

 

Pass the CMA Exam Video Series: Video 4 Now Available

March 12, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Practice Makes Perfect, video 4 of the Pass the CMA Exam video series, is now available!  You can view the previous videos in the series by clicking the YouTube icon in the video.

Make sure to follow us on twitter, and like us on Facebook to get the most current updates of new video releases.

If you have any questions, or topics you’d like to see covered in upcoming Pass the CMA Exam videos, let us know.  We are happy to provide you with tips that will help you achieve your goal of becoming a CMA!

 

 

New Video Released! Pass The CMA Exam Series Video 3: CMA Study Time – Staying On Track

March 1, 2013, by No comments yet

 

CMA Candidates will want to watch our Pass The CMA Exam video series as it provides study tips, success stories, and other helpful information.

 

The third video in the series is now available. As new videos are released, we will post them on our blog and social media pages.  You can view the previous videos in the series by clicking the YouTube icon in the video.

 

Please leave us comments, questions, and let us know what future topics you’d like to see covered. Good luck CMA candidates!