Students from two-year as well as four-year schools want something more than an accounting degree to show they are prepared to work in the fast-paced world of business. They know employers are keen to hire people who can hit the ground running in roles requiring a strong foundational knowledge in accounting and finance. Certification’s like IMA’s Financial and Managerial Accounting Associate (FMAA) certification can provide this knowledge, but gaining it requires showing you have earned it. Some people find the help of an approved course provider, who develops study strategies and materials based on their deep understanding of the competencies being tested, a huge aid in preparing. Reaching out to a course provider is like forming a study group with the brightest minds in your class, with proven methods for making the most of the 50 hours of preparation time recommended for passing the FMAA.
IMA has partnered with three course providers (Gleim, Hock International, and PRC), all recognized for high-quality exam prep materials coupled with flexible ways of accessing these materials. Though you may be a student who does very well in your academic classes and passes tests without issue, exams like the FMAA are different than the ones you take in school as they test knowledge you need on-the-job which many students, no matter their GPA, may not have any insights.
Learning the practical skills you need to succeed in a job as a student can have long-term benefits. According to a recent Inside Higher Ed survey, only 28% of students at two- and four-year schools say college is preparing them for a job. Certifications like the FMAA can help students learn the practical skills employers value in real-world workplace settings.
What are some of the skills you learn in the FMAA? Here are just a few examples:
- Accounting terminology and definitions
- Managing a company’s daily finances
- Basic financial statement analysis
- Cost information for decision-making
- Business ethics
- Ethical considerations for accountants in business
Whether you work in accounting or simply need to interact with an accounting department as a regular part of your job, these skills are extremely useful. For example, what if you are a brand manager who wants to calculate the growth rate of your brand and its associated product lines? The FMAA will teach you how to do that.
A broad range of roles, from marketing to operations, can benefit from the foundational knowledge of accounting and finance taught in the FMAA certification process. Early career professionals, whose professional trajectories may pivot beyond the skills they learned in school, are key candidates for the FMAA.
At IMA, we call accounting the language of business. If you seek to become fluent in it, starting with the FMAA is a good place to start. Reaching out to an approved course provider is also a strategy that will pay dividends.