CMA Intermediate · exam guide

How the CMA Intermediate Exam Is Conducted

Checked against ICMAI's official pages, as of 12 October 2026. Rules and fees change; confirm on the official site before you act.

Intermediate is a written, offline exam at an exam centre: eight 3-hour papers of 100 marks each, in two groups of four.

• Group I: Paper 5 Business Laws and Ethics, Paper 6 Financial Accounting, Paper 7 Direct and Indirect Taxation, Paper 8 Cost Accounting.
• Group II: Paper 9 Operations Management and Strategic Management, Paper 10 Corporate Accounting and Auditing, Paper 11 Financial Management and Business Data Analytics, Paper 12 Management Accounting.
• Each paper carries 100 marks and lasts 3 hours. For December 2026 the mode is offline and centre-based.
• Each paper opens with a compulsory Section A of 15 multiple choice questions of 2 marks each (30 marks); the remaining 70 marks are descriptive and numerical questions (in the June 2026 papers, any five of Questions 2 to 8, 14 marks each).
• A candidate can sit one group or both groups in a term.
• Candidates may choose to answer in Hindi; answer scripts that mix English and Hindi are liable to be cancelled.
• Exam centres are spread across India, with overseas centres at Bahrain, Dubai and Muscat (December 2026 list).