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The essay portion of the CMA exams is a worry to many candidates, and this is for valid reasons. The essay questions consist of written and quantitative analysis and responses.

Expectations on Exam Day

Each CMA exam has two essay questions, and each question presents a business scenario that will have multiple questions. You have 1 hour to answer both essay questions. You have 3 hours to finish the multiple-choice question section of the exam before starting the essay portion.

If you finish the multiple-choice questions section before the 3-hour limit, the remaining time gets carried over to the essay section. The focus of the essay questions is on the CMA candidate’s ability to understand and apply concepts presented in the part being tested in a business scenario.

The score for Essay Answers

The subject matter experts who will score your essay responses will use a grading guide. For example, there may be 120 possible points but only 100 can be awarded in total. The expert’s goal is not to deduct points from your essay answers, but to award you points.

Partial answers will also award you points. For example, if you had to calculate 10 ratios but were only able to calculate 6, the experts will award you partial points for your answer. So, if you get a tough essay question, try to work on it as much as possible, even if you don’t complete it. You’ll be able to get some points. Be sure to show your calculations.

Methods to prepare for the exam

The essay section represents 25% of your overall score. It’s very important that you diligently prepare for it by including the following tips in your preparation:

1. Practice, practice, practice. Understand what essay questions ask of you and practice answering them. It’s very easy to go on a tangent on a response. Practice staying focused.
2. Calculate what is asked of you, not what you think is asked of you. For example, if you are asked to calculate liquidity ratios, don’t calculate activity or solvency ratios because you think they’ll be needed.
3. Know your formulas very well. You may need to calculate many figures before you can begin to answer the question at hand. The best way to memorize formulas is to write them down repeatedly and being mindful of it. Don’t day-dream while you practice.
4. Get your hands-on essay question samples to get familiar with the format.

Crucial Advice

The most important advice that we can give you is to understand the material that you are studying. If you are just memorizing without understanding the WHY of things, it’ll be difficult to pass the exams, much less do well in the essay questions. The essay section will test your comprehension of the material in a real business scenario.

The ACCA Qualification is a highly recognized accounting certification across the world. It is designed to equip its members with the accounting knowledge and skills needed to thrive and succeed in the fast-paced accounting industry.

Its curriculum covers beginner to advanced accounting topics such as financial reporting, taxation, audit and strategic business reporting, which helps candidates gain extensive insight and expertise in the accounting sector. The comprehensive curriculum is the core reason why organizations look for certified ACCA professionals who can evaluate the financial needs of the organization and propose business solutions.

While there are many reasons why aspiring accounting professionals choose to pursue the qualification, here are some of the main reasons:

1. Globally Renowned Certification 

The ACCA certification is internationally recognized in 181 countries and has over 200,000 members and 486,000 students. The certification focuses on strategic thinking, technical skills, and professional values that helps individuals develop into innovative, strategic-thinking accountants. Furthermore, the ACCA body has partnerships with multinational organizations, overseas accounting bodies, governments, and organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations which has helped increase its credibility and global recognition.

2. Network of Accounting Professionals

Once the ACCA qualification has been completed, certified candidates become a member of an elite group of the world’s leading accounting professionals. ACCA’s global network offers professionals access to a large talent pool and networking events that helps them gain entry to the best and latest opportunities anywhere in the world.

Furthermore, The ACCA has partnerships with over 8,500 approved employers all over the world. These employers work closely with the ACCA body to increase career prospects and opportunities to the members and students.

3. Computer-Based Exams

Some of the ACCA exams can be attempted as OnDemand CBEs. This offers students the flexibility to appear for the exam at any point throughout the year, receive instant exam results and re-sit for the exam soon after instead of waiting for the next scheduled date.

The key difference between CBEs and paper-based exams is that all live CBEs have different questions as they are automatically constructed from a question bank. It means two people sitting the exam at the same time will get a different version of the exam. It also means if someone sits on an on-demand CBE on a Tuesday, they will get a different version of the exam if they resit the same subject later that week.

4. Comprehensive Curriculum

ACCA takes into consideration emerging trends, legislation, and legal requirements when developing the curriculum. The qualification helps candidates master key technical and management skills required by a chartered accountant such as taxation, auditing, law, business, financial reporting, and ethics.

Furthermore, the curriculum is based on international accounting and auditing standards which ensure that ACCA members are equipped with skills to work in any country where these standards are accepted.

5. Multiple Exam Exemptions

The ACCA certification has multiple entry pathways due to the exemptions it offers candidates based on their highest level of education. This helps candidates start at a level that is consistent with the knowledge and skills gained from prior learning.

Depending on any existing qualifications, exemptions can be awarded across:

• The Foundation level qualifications
• The 9 Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills exams of the ACCA Qualification

6. Exam Flexibility

Candidates that would like to pursue the ACCA qualification, can choose from multiple study options such as classroom training,OnDemand, and live online programs. Each program offers candidates unique benefits that will help them balance their work-study needs while ensuring exam success.

The exam sessions are held each quarter and while some exams can even be taken on-demand, giving the flexibility to progress through the qualifications at one’s own pace. Some of the ACCA levels have optional papers that offer candidates the opportunity to specialize in a chosen area and in several countries, you can even take exams based on your national tax and law.

Additionally, one can even gain additional qualifications on your journey to membership, including:

• BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University
• MSc in Professional Accountancy from the University of London

7. Develop your skillset after receiving the certification

ACCA professionals receive continuous support and guidance from the ACCA institute even after completing the certification. Professionals have access to a range of world-renowned technical and comprehensive resources designed to support one’s professional development (CPD).

Some of the elements it includes are:

• Free access to accounting jobs adverts posted by top employers
• Free access to accounting and auditing standards
• Access to exclusive online and face-to-face learning opportunities and accountancy qualifications from ACCA, as well as from reputable academic and professional partners
• Other national accountancy bodies will recognize your member status

8. Scholarships and Special Offers

Being a widely recognized and valued program, ACCA training providers often provide scholarship opportunities to high-achievers and special discounts such as bundle or group discounts that help candidates save costs when preparing for multiple papers. Some providers also offer added benefits such as training by certified professionals, online learning, and exam practice through doubt clearing sessions and mock exams.

From 2021, all the levels of the CFA® exam will be offered in a computer-based testing format, a new shift from the 60 years of paper-based testing. Furthermore, the exams will be offered over 10 days rather than one uniform date depending on the location.

In this blog, we will clarify the key highlights and changes of the new testing with clarification on the next steps ahead.

How Is It Different from Earlier?

• All levels of the CFA exam will be computer-based.
• The Level I exam will be offered four times a year.
• The Level II and Level III exams will be offered twice a year.
• There will be exam windows of up to 10 days instead of one uniform date.
• The total testing time for all levels has been reduced to 4.5 hours instead of six hours.
• The Level I exam will continue to be a multiple-choice format.
• Level II and Level III will use the same item set (vignettes) and essay format (Level III) used for the paper-based exams. The total number of item sets on the exam might vary slightly.

What Are the New Schedules for all the exams?

A special exam schedule will be released for Levels II and III in 2021, and then a regular cadence will begin in 2022. The planned 2021 exam windows for Level I are still in effect. The exam windows in 2021 are:

• February, May, August, and November for Level I
• May and August for Level II
• May and November for Level III

Beginning in 2022, the schedule for all exams will be:

• February, May, August, and November for Level I
• February and August for Level II
• May and November for Level III

I Registered for the Postponed June 2020 Exam. What Do I Do?

There are several options you can opt for based on your registration status:

• If you have registered for the final paper-based exam in December 2020, you can continue with this option or switch to any of the available 2021 windows based on the level.
• If you had registered for the June 2020 exam and chose to defer to the June 2021 paper-based exam, you may register for the December 2020 paper-based exam by August 19, 2020. Candidates also have the option to select any of the available 2021 computer-based options.
• If you would like to move to a computer-based exam, you have until October 20, 2020, to do so.
• For the February Level I exam, registrations are currently open. Registration for all the levels will be open on August 20, 2020, with the dates for 2021 computer-based exams.

What If I Need To Postpone My Exam In The Future?

If you are trying to decide the right exam date, you must check the guidelines and rules of the government and health advisories in your test area. CFA Institute follows the guidance of local governments. Therefore, exams will only be held in locations where CFA Institute can meet public health and safety requirements.

If you were registered for the June 2020 postponed exam, and the exam you subsequently registered for is also postponed, you will have the option to defer again. Also, you can request a refund for the registration fee you paid for the June 2020 exam.

Why Is CFA Institute Making These Changes?

The world that investment professionals experience today is increasingly digital. Hence, CFA Institute has decided to embrace the new changes and transition its exam from paper-based to computer-based henceforth. The COVID-19 global pandemic was the impetus for CFA Institute’s decision to accelerate the move from paper to computer-based testing. The computer-based testing environment and additional dates and times available means that fewer candidates will sit for the exam at the same time, which reduces personal risk compared to the high-capacity venues used for the paper-based test.

Now that you have a better idea about the upcoming Level II & III exam changes, start your journey with Kaplan and learn in a manner that suits your learning needs best. To learn more, call us at 800346 or click here – studycfa

Investment bankers advise companies on large, corporate-level transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity issuances. They help management teams market and sell companies, find potential targets to acquire, analyze the financial value of a project or recommend the best terms for a capital raise to investors.

It is an extremely rewarding industry that offers you the flexibility to develop, innovate, and deliver solutions that could change the financial journey of individuals or the way a business and capital moves forward.

Why is it the right career choice?
1. Diverse career choices
The investment management field offers candidates opportunities across banks, brokerage firms, credit unions, and insurance companies. You could choose to be a financial analyst, fund manager, portfolio manager, risk manager, hedge fund manager, alternative investment analyst, stockbroker, risk analyst, and more.

With the right education and knowledge, you are more likely to work in well-known financial institutions like Vanguard, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and HSBC, companies that manage the investments of both individuals and businesses.

2. A fast-paced industry
As an Investment Associate, you will need to advise clients both individuals and companies on what to do with their money. One day you might be helping a fashion designer, and the next day, you might be helping a company raise funds for an innovative app. With each day being different from the previous, investments can be affected by global changes, weather conditions, and even human emotions. So, you have to keep coming up with investment strategies that direct the funds of your clients in the most profitable direction.

Since the position is in demand by companies like Goldman Sachs, Citi Bank, and JP Morgan, candidates can earn from 100K to 500K in the UAE each year based on their expertise and qualifications.

3. The Hiring Outlook Is Bright
With so many different financial products, it’s no surprise that most industry analysts expect strong employment growth in the investment management field in the upcoming years. This field has much higher job prospects than the average for occupations, especially if you are tech-savvy and hone financial modeling skills.

4. Multiple Qualifications aren’t essential
In addition to a bachelor’s degree, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) qualification is all you need to enter and grow in the investment management industry.

Since the CFA program equips you with strong technical and analytical expertise in key areas of finance such as quantitative methods, financial reporting, investments analysis, and portfolio management, it offers you the skillset required to excel throughout your career.

You have just finished the applied skills level and you’re wondering how Strategic Professional is going to be different. A comprehensive set of questions have been mentioned beneath to evaluate the most favorable qualification for an aspiring financial candidate.

Style of the exam

There is a definite change in style towards a much deeper application of knowledge and you need to add value when answering questions as the multiple-choice sections have been replaced with a case study approach.

Kaplan’s research shows a strong correlation between students that complete their practice tests and their pass rates and therefore, the secret exam technique at this level is lots of practice and tutor feedback.

Ethics Module

According to ACCA, students who complete the ethics module are 25% more likely to pass the SBL exam. Ideally, you should complete your Ethics and Professional Skills module before, or alongside, your first Strategic Professional paper to increase your chances of passing.

Strategic Professional (Essentials)

SBL & SBR are compulsory exams that require you to demonstrate professional skills that you wouldn’t have come across before such as communication, analysis, skepticism, and commercial acumen so again exam practice is key.

I would recommend you complete SBR before, or alongside, AAA because in SBR you learn about the accounting standards and in AAA you learn about auditing them.

Strategic Professional (Options)

For this tier, you must choose 2 papers between AFM, APM, ATX, and AAA. There’s no set combination, although students often select ATX with AAA and AFM with APM this is not compulsory.

If you liked FM you are likely to enjoy AFM as it builds on earlier knowledge and this is the same with AA and AAA, and others.

If you are working in practice you should do AAA but if you are working in the industry you may find AFM and or APM more useful.

Whatever you choose to do at the next sitting – good luck!

So, you want to be a CFO, but don’t know where to start. There are different certifications you could obtain to achieve your CFO dream but the CMA qualification is one of the few career choices that will help you significantly in your career and even help you achieve your dream of being a part of the c-suite.

The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) qualification is often associated with the role of the CFO because it includes core topics such as financial management, strategic decision-making, and accounting.  As the global benchmark for auditors and financial experts, it offers candidates greater job security and a wider range of potential career opportunities, from financial controller to chief financial officer (CFO).

In fact, almost half of Robert Half’s employees report that accountants who hold the CMA certificate can expect entry-level salaries that are above the market average. Investopedia also recently profiled a finance chief who recognized his CMA certification for the decision-making skills that helped propel his career and guided his company through the recession.

If you want to be one of the young CFO’s in the industry, start gaining actual CFO experience instead of waiting for a promotion. Start thinking about how you will take decisions as a CFO, the impact of your decisions, and build a network that will be useful to you. By building a career at an early age, you will be able to gain the practical experience required to communicate effectively, formulate goals and be ready when your dream job comes.

Here are some questions that will help you plan your CFO journey:

Do you need strong analytical and digital skills?

CFOs are expected to analyze data in a manner that they can relate important information and help make executive-level decisions. More and more, CFOs are dependent on innovative software for data analysis. Therefore, CFOs will also be expected to understand blockchains and how blockchain-based solutions will impact finance and accounting.

Is it Hard to be a CFO?

A CFO is the highest (and highest paid) finance position in a company. It can come with a significant set of responsibilities, not limited to making strategic decisions that impact all employees. While it can be stressful, it can also be immensely rewarding and lucrative. If you have the ambition, it’s well worth the effort.

What does a CFO do?

The common responsibilities of the CFO include preparing the annual reports of a company, making capital expenditure decisions, reporting and evaluating financial performance as well as managing financial risks of the company.

What degree does a CFO need?

While an MBA degree is a very popular one, it is too generic in nature. It will give you a general idea about how business is to be done and also about the basic concepts of finance. However, it is too broad-based and the syllabus of most MBA programs across the world does not contain many financial concepts which are critical to performing the role as a CFO.

The way students attempt the strategic professional exams is changing in the UAE from June 2021. Although the exam content is the same, all of the exams will be in CBE format rather than paper-based, so your exam technique needs to be slightly different

The good news at this level is you no longer have to worry about your handwriting, you can copy and paste technical information from scenarios to help plan and form your answers, just like you would write a report at work. Mistakes can be corrected easily and you can change calculations by simply updating a formula.

So what can you do to get ready for strategic professional CBE?

Question practice

Question practice is nothing new but the key going forward will be that you must practice questions in a CBE environment as you approach your exam. Kaplan students benefit from the exclusive virtual learning environment on MyKaplan in addition to the ACCA practice platform available on myACCA to ensure you are aware of the different functions. It’s critical to learn how to use the exam software because Word and Excel are similar but have more functionality than the platform and this won’t give you a full exam experience.

Before the exam day, make sure you have read the instructions on the CBE platform to understand what to do before the exam begins. This will save you time on the day and will increase your confidence with what to expect.

Also, not all papers are identical on the platform, for example, SBL is slightly different from the other strategic professional papers so it’s worth familiarizing yourself again as you move to the next course.

Practice resources

The ACCA provides CBE preparation videos and articles from a wealth of online resources and many of them are linked for you on MyKaplan to make it easy. You can also use ACCA’s specimen exams and the Kaplan mocks to ensure you feel confident on the day of the exam.

We wish you the very best of luck with the upcoming exams.

The choice between the CFA qualification or MBA degree depends on which best suits an individual’s vocational goals and lifestyle better. This article aims at highlighting the specific attributes of each option and doesn’t aim to quantify how either is better than the other. Some individuals prefer to pursue both at some point in their career to add greater educational value to oneself.

A comprehensive set of questions have been mentioned beneath to evaluate the most favorable qualification for an aspiring financial candidate.

What is your end goal?

One of the most crucial decisions when deciding whether to procure the (CFA) chartered financial analyst qualification or achieving an MBA is identifying the future target. Generally, finishing the CFA Program is a rather individual experience, while an MBA program is ordinarily an all the more socially common experience, with an emphasis on networking and group courses.

For an individual who would like to grow into a financial analyst or portfolio manager, the CFA Program would be an ideal choice. The CFA Program exam is a foot-wide and a mile deep as it is intensely focused on one goal – creating a better speculation leader with a specific range of abilities for effective resource administration.

On the other hand, the MBA follows a rather extensive approach. The skills attained during the program aren’t centered on a solitary industry. Rather than a serious spotlight on a specific range of abilities, a holistic learning experience is offered on all business areas. If the choice of which ideal industry to work in still prevails, the MBA degree is better as it offers relatively greater practical exposure into business practices.

How much is your educational budget?

Although the career goal is the end objective, the cost is a crucial factor when settling on an MBA and the CFA (chartered financial analyst) charter. The CFA Program is generally reasonable when weighed against an MBA, particularly if an individual plans on attending a renowned business college.

On the whole, an individual can finish the CFA Program with premium CFA exam study materials for around $12,000 while the MBA educational cost can cost $80,000 or more. Therefore, it really matters what one aims to pursue with their qualification so that it can provide value for investment in the long run.

Which qualification are you eligible for?

To enlist in the CFA(chartered financial analyst) Program, either of the CFA Institute’s qualifying criteria must be met:

• Have a bachelor’s (or proportionate) degree
• Be in the last year of a four year certification program
• Have four years of specialized work experience
• Have a mix of expert work and university experience that sums no less than four years

While Business college necessities vary from one another, it is crucial to identify the provisions of the interested college. Mostly, each university will require that a candidate:

• Has a four-year certification
• Completed the GRE or GMAT exam with an attractive mark
• Has proficient work involvement
• Completed extra program essentials

Which course works best according to your timetable?

On the off chance that the candidate is pursuing a full-time undergraduate study, the MBA program can be completed in two years or less. While the CFA Program can be completed in a year and a half if everything works smoothly excluding the time spent preparing for the Level I CFA exam. The CFA course is an exceptionally serious designation and therefore requires 300 hours of learning for each level of the CFA program exam.

The CFA Program offers candidates the option to take a year off between the levels on the off chance that it’s required. Taking a year off may although negatively implicate one’s chance for completion or increase the education cost. All variables considered, effective applicants take four years to procure their CFA (chartered financial analyst) qualification, as indicated by the CFA Institute.

What is your expected future income?

While greater monetary pay is one of the topmost factors for pursuing further training, it shouldn’t be the greatest factor in choosing between the CFA Program or an MBA. As per Business Insider, the middle remuneration for a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charter holder with 0– 5 year-long periods of experience is $72,900. The middle remuneration for a business college graduate with 0– 5 year-long periods of experience is $57,700 and Business experts with 0 – 5 year-long periods of experience who have finished both the qualifications have a middle compensation of $87,200.

Currently, you are in a position where numerous other individuals have been and still are in. During this research process, it can be identified that there isn’t a solitary, ‘set-in-stone decision that works for each person. What one may see as a constructive decision may be an adverse choice to the subsequent individual in line. Therefore while evaluating the variables, undertake a holistic view and settle on a choice based on what suits you best. Regardless of the choice, a decision for a brighter future has been selected!

The CFA exam is a globally renowned financial qualification valued by organizations across industries and countries. It’s extensive curriculum which focuses on topics such as economics, financial reporting, investments, and ethics ensures candidates understand concepts from its grass-root level.

Each level aims to test a different skill set or level of understanding of the candidates such as Level I aims to test your understanding of key financial concepts, Level II tests your application of these concepts in real-life scenarios while Level III focuses on testing how well you can answer a question with integrated topics in an essay format.

Here are some key strategies that have worked well for our students and helped them improve their scores significantly:

1. Study according to the exam topics 

While Level II & III of the CFA exam are known to trickier than Level I, they aren’t difficult to pass. With the right exam strategy and study materials, you will be able to successfully pass your exams. Here are some of the key topics for the exams:

• Level I – Financial Reporting and Analysis, Ethical Standards, and Quantitative Methods.
• Level II – Financial Reporting and Analysis, Ethical Standards, Equity, Fixed Income, and Portfolio Management.
• Level III – Portfolio Management & Fixed Income.

While some topics carry a higher weightage than the rest, you should not neglect the topics with lower weightage. It’s important to ensure that you learn key concepts from all topics as this can help you assure marks from a topic rather than lose all the marks instead. Within a limited time period, give the utmost value to the highest weightage topics.

2. Prepare based on the exam format

Each level of the CFA exam has different formats, level I has MCQs, level II has itemsets while level III has itemsets and case studies. While they all aim to test your knowledge, the testing method can make a huge difference during your preparation phase. You need to clearly understand whether the questions will be analytical in nature or conceptual focused, straight-forward, or indirect.

3. Practice as much as you can

Quite a few students understand the theoretical concepts well but stutter when they must be practically applied. To thoroughly assess your skill, you need to practice at least 5 examples of each concept. Something that quite a few candidates do is to either create a list format for each chapter or tie concepts together as a cause and effect relation through a story format. According to CFA Program examiners, you have understood a concept well when you can perform the question backward.

4. Leverage on an approved training provider

By choosing a specialized training provider, you will have the advantage of training with someone that is well aware of the curriculum changes and proven exam strategies. Good training providers usually employ multiple certified trainers to teach different topics as this ensures that candidates are learning from a trainer who is well aware of the specific topic, and can predict key areas that may appear in the exam based on their experience.

5. Use your study resources wisely

97% of CFA candidates recommend Kaplan Schweser as their preferred study material. Kaplan Schweser offers candidates resources such as practice exams, a quick-sheet with formulas, an online resource library, and a detailed study plan.

Another valuable resource that you can leverage is the one free mock exam for each level by the CFA Institute, which is downloadable from their website. This is the closest you can get to the actual exam in terms of difficulty and tone, so it is a very useful tool to calibrate your practice.

End-of-chapter questions will give you an overview of what areas are tested on the exam, so you can be more focused on these areas. Additionally, these questions will reveal the weaker areas that you must focus on to improve.

6. Study breaks are crucial

Everything has a tipping point and so does your brain. If you are planning to cram 2 chapters worth of content in one day at a stretch of 9 hours, it’s likely that you haven’t thoroughly learned every concept. Your objective should be to learn well the first time with months left for the exam rather than stress about re-learning a month prior.

Therefore, give yourself frequent study breaks and choose to hang out with your friends and family occasionally rather than being buried under your books.

Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is an advanced professional certification that demonstrates a strong knowledge of the critical accounting and financial management skills demanded by today’s dynamic businesses.

According to IMA’s 2020 Global Salary Survey, finance and accounting professionals that have the CMA certification earn upto 92% higher salaries in the Middle East region.

Now that we have established, CMA is a great stepping stone for your career, offers an industry-relevant skillset and excellent job security, let’s find out the career opportunities you can pursue:

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

A CFO is one of the top positions you can rise to in business, and is often considered a CEO’s right hand. They oversee everything from financial reporting and forecasting to a company’s investments and financial business decisions.

Some of the most critical job duties performed by a CFO include tracking cash flow, analyzing their financial strengths and weaknesses, and proposing corrective actions.

Corporate Controller

A corporate controller is someone who oversees a company’s financial and accounting functions. This includes everything from preparing the annual budget as well as internal and external financial statements, assessing current accounting operations, and coordinating activities for external auditors.

Cost Accountant

Cost accountants are responsible for recording and analyzing each cost incurred by a business. In turn, they use this information to identify where the company is losing money and how to improve its financial management.

Some of the everyday job duties of a cost accountant include preparing asset, liability, and capital account entries, documenting financial transactions, making financial recommendations based on the analysis of financial history.

Accounting Manager

These professionals develop and maintain accounting systems and procedures used by other accountants to collect and analyze data. They also oversee daily operations, monitor and analyze data, create financial statements and reports, as well as ensure the organization is following the essential accounting policies and principles.

Staff & Senior Accountant

Senior accountants are more managerial than junior or staff accountants and do not typically perform administrative tasks. Instead, they are responsible for reporting cost margins, productivity, and expenditures within a company.

The tasks include preparing month-end procedures, reconciling accountant balances, and maintaining a general ledger. In addition to this, senior accountants are expected to mentor junior staff, as well as lead accounting initiatives. Hence, they must also have strong communication and leadership skills.

Financial Analyst

If you like topics such as evaluating market trends and the microeconomic aspects of finances, then this might be the role for you. This role requires careful attention to detail as you will need to assess the financial condition of a potential investment to make sure it is worthwhile.

Some other typical job duties for a financial analyst include advising businesses on how to issue corporate bonds or split stock, as well as perform financial research and analysis to provide information on the business’s profitability, stability, liquidity, and solvency.

Management Accountant

Most CMA careers require you to plan and strategize, but as a management accountant specifically, you will budget, plan and strategize so that your company’s top managers and executives will be able to make risk-assessed decisions about their financial future. Along with being an expert in accounting, you must also possess the skill that allows you to communicate this data in a way that is easy to understand for non-experts. Being able to effectively communicate data is a key aspect.

To know how you can start your CMA journey, click here