CMA Foundation is the first stage of the CMA course that qualifies the student for the second stage of CMA. This is a national-level exam whose conducting body is ICMAI or The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of India. The ICMAI conducts the CMA Foundation exams two times a year in the month of June and December. The mode of this examination is offline now. Any students who have passed their 12th board exam from a recognized board can register for the CMA Foundation Course 2025. To complete the CMA Foundation registration, students have to pay the fees of Rs. 6000. After registration, students can start preparing for the foundation exams. The CMA Foundation syllabus is categorized into 4 subjects, which are:
- Business Laws and Business Communication
- Financial and Cost Accounting
- Business Mathematics and Statistics
- Business Economics and Management
To clear for the CMA Foundation exams, one must need a minimum of 40% marks in each of the four subjects. In total, a student must have acquired an aggregate of 50% marks to qualify for the CMA Intermediate Course. In this detailed guide to the CMA Foundation Course, you’ll get all the information regarding eligibility, registration, syllabus, exam application form, fees, exam pattern, dates, admit card, result, and more.
Table of Contents
CMA Foundation Course 2025 – Important Dates
Each candidate appearing in the CMA Foundation 2025 exam should know. Therefore, we have mentioned the important CMA Foundation exam dates in the table mentioned below.| Events | Dates |
| Registration For CMA Foundation | Open |
| Last date to fill the registration form | Jan 31, 2025 |
| Availability of exam form | April 2025 |
| Release of admit card | May 2025 |
| CMA Foundation exam date | 14th June, 2025 |
CMA Foundation Eligibility 2025
Before filling up the CMA Foundation Registration Form for the CMA Foundation Course, students must check their eligibility as per the ICMAI. This is because after appearing in the exam if you fail any of the criteria, the ICMAI will not consider your examination. So, the major eligibility criteria as mentioned by the ICMAI are,- The first requirement is that the candidate appearing for the CMA Foundation course must have passed class 10 or equivalent exam from a recognized board.
- Candidates should have passed the senior secondary exam under the 10+2 scheme from the recognized board.
- Instead of point two, a candidate should have passed the National Diploma in commerce exams under AICTE or any other recognized body under the All India Council.
- The candidates who are waiting for their results of the class 12th or equivalent exam are also eligible for provisional registration for the CMA Foundation course.
How To Register for the CMA Foundation Course?
All the students who want to appear in the CMA Foundation exam must have registered themselves. Candidates can do so from the official site of ICMAI. Now, follow the steps to fill out the CMA Foundation registration form.- Open the official website of ICMAI and click on the CMA Foundation registration.
- Enter the required details asked and click on the save and continue.
- Upload the scanned copy of all the required documents and click on submit.
- Next, make the payment for your respective course through the online method.
- Get the printout of the registration form for future use.
Documents required for CMA Foundation Registration
- Passport-sized photo
- Signature of candidate
- Class 10th Marksheet
- Class 12th Marksheet
CMA Foundation Registration Fees
The registration fee for the CMA Foundation course is Rs. 6000. Students can pay the registration fees online (net banking, cards, IDBI bank challan) or through postal mode. After the payment of the fees, your registration form is submitted to the ICMAI and your application is confirmed.
Total CMA Foundation Fees 2025
| Particulars | Amount |
| CMA Foundation Fees | Rs. 6000 |
CMA Foundation Syllabus and Subjects 2025
The CMA Foundation course syllabus consists of 4 subjects. The list of the subjects and the topics included are mentioned below:Paper 1: Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication (FBLC)
- Introduction
- Indian Contracts Act, 1872
- Sale of Goods Act, 1930
- Negotiable Instruments Act,1881
- Business Communication
Paper 2: Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting (FFCA)
- Accounting Fundamentals
- Accounting for Special Transactions
- Preparation of Final Accounts
- Fundamentals of Cost Accounting
Paper 3: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics and Statistics (FBMS)
- Arithmetic
- Algebra
- Calculus – Application in Business
- Statistical Representation of Data
- Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion
- Correlation and Regression
- Probability
- Index Numbers and Time Series
Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management (FBEM)
- Basic Concepts
- Forms of Market
- Money and Banking
- Economic and Business Environment
- Fundamentals of Management
ICMAI CMA Foundation Study Material for 2025 Exams
To crack the CMA examination, one must do the hard work with proper focus and dedication. The candidates should also stick with the syllabus as per the ICMAI guidelines and should also focus on the study material provided by the institute. The CMA Foundation study material and the modules which are provided by ICMAI are very important. Along with it, students should also focus on the test series and the previous year’s questions that work as the best revision and practice guide. Students can download the study material and mock test papers for the CMA Foundation course from the ICMAI official website.
ICMAI CMA Foundation Exam Pattern and Marks Weightage 2025
Before starting your preparation for the CMA Foundation exams, the candidates must be aware of the exam pattern of the CMA Foundation course as released by the ICMAI. You can also go through the CMA Foundation exam pattern covered in the table. Here you can get an idea of what weightage is given to which subject of the syllabus.CMA Foundation Business Laws Exam Pattern
| Module No. | Module Topics | Weightage |
| Section A: Fundamentals of Business Laws | 80% | |
| 1 | Introduction | 10% |
| 2 | Indian Contracts Act, 1872 | 30% |
| 3 | Sale of Goods Act, 1930 | 20% |
| 4 | Negotiable Instruments Act,1881 | 20% |
| Section B: Business Communication | 20% | |
| 5 | Business Communication | 20% |
CMA Foundation Accounting Paper Pattern
| Module No. | Module Topics | Weightage |
| Section A: Fundamentals of Financial Accounting | 70% | |
| 1 | Accounting Fundamentals | 30% |
| 2 | Accounting for Special Transactions | 15% |
| 3 | Preparation of Final Accounts | 25% |
| Section B: Fundamentals of Cost Accounting | 30% | |
| 4 | Fundamentals of Cost Accounting | 30% |
CMA Foundation Business Mathematics Exam Pattern
| Module No. | Module Topics | Weightage |
| Section A: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics | 40% | |
| 1 | Arithmetic | 15% |
| 2 | Algebra | 20% |
| 3 | Calculus – Application in Business | 5% |
| Section B: Fundamentals of Business Statistics | 30% | |
| 4 | Statistical Representation of Data | 5% |
| 5 | Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion | 15% |
| 6 | Correlation and Regression | 15% |
| 7 | Probability | 15% |
| 8 | Index Numbers and Time Series | 10% |
CMA Foundation Business Economics Marks Weightage
| Module No. | Module Topics | Weightage |
| Section A: Fundamentals of Business Economics | 70% | |
| 1 | Basic Concepts | 15% |
| 2 | Forms of Market | 20% |
| 3 | Money and Banking | 20% |
| 4 | Economic and Business Environment | 15% |
| Section B: Fundamentals of Management | 30% | |
| 5 | Fundamentals of Management | 30% |
CMA Foundation Exam Form 2025
The online application form of the ICMAI CMA Foundation is released by the conducting council on the official site. The candidates must keep on checking the last date for admission and try to complete their form filling on time. The major steps that one must need to follow while filling out the forms for the CMA Foundation Course are,- Open the official website of ICMAI, icmai.in and click on the “Students” tab from the menu bar.
- Click on the “Admission” link mentioned in the menu bar and select the online admission option, on the left side of the page.
- Now, click on the “Apply for Foundation Course”. Currently, the CMA Foundation application is open so you will be directed to a new page.
- Now, enter all the information asked on the page, such as email ID, coaching type, registration type, qualification. Once you have entered the required data, you’ll get a one time password on your registered number.
- Now, you need to log in using the login credentials and proceed to fill out your CMA Foundation exam application form for June 2025. Enter the basic details as asked by the page. Verify the information and click on save and next.
- Afterwards, upload your required documents to the portal. The major documents are identity proof, class 10 mark sheet, class 12 mark sheet, age proof in the scanned mode.
CMA Foundation Admit Card for June 2025
To get the CMA Foundation admit card 2025, students are required to go to the ICMAI website. After visiting the portal the students need to simply click on the admit card and enter the exam they are appearing for and download the admit card from there. Along with it, there are some of the major points that one must consider while downloading admit card such as :- You need to download the CMA Foundation admit card online.
- Candidates will require their registration number in order to download their admit cards.
- Keep the printout of the whole admit card with you.
- Check your basic details in the admit card are correct, such as timings, candidate name, the centre of the examination, registration number, etc.
CMA Foundation Result 2025
ICMAI Council releases the list of the candidates who successfully cleared the CMA Foundation examination. The candidates can follow up on the given points in order to check their CMA Foundation result after it has been announced by ICMAI.- Students can download the report card from the official website.
- ICMAI will not mail any hard copy of the report card to any student.
- The marksheet which you will download from the ICMAI will be considered as the authentic document to register yourself in CMA Intermediate.
- The students who have cleared the CMA Foundation course will get a pass certificate/Rank certificate from ICMAI.
Procedure to Check the CMA Foundation Result
Now, the process in order to check the ICMAI results are as follows:- Open the official website of ICMAI.
- Click on the examination section
- Open the “result” tab from the dropdown menu.
- Now select the exam for which you have appeared
- Enter your identification number and view your result
- Now you can check the result and can also save it for future use.
How to Get an Exemption in CMA Foundation Exam?
In order to get exemption in the CMA Foundation exam, the candidates must meet the below-mentioned criteria,- Should have a valid identification number.
- The candidate should not be debarred from registering for the CMA Foundation Course from the ICMAI institute.
- The candidate must have filled out the examination form on time and have submitted the required fees as fixed by the ICMAI council.
What to Do After CMA Foundation?
CMA Foundation course opens the gate of CMA Intermediate which is the second stage of the CMA examination. Once you have acquired the title of CMA clearing all the exams, your gates to top-level management jobs will open. After completing the CMA, one can apply for the following job positions:- Cost Accountant
- Financial Controller
- Finance Manager
- Financial Analyst
- Corporate Controller
- Chief Investment Officer
- Chief Financial Officer
FAQs
Ques 1. How to study for the CMA Foundation Course?
Ans 1. To clear the CMA Foundation exam in just 1st attempt, you need to – understand the syllabus properly i.e., each topic and chapter, follow the study timetable, and solve question papers regularly.
Ques 2. What are the eligibility criteria to appear in the CMA Foundation exam?
Ans 2. All the students who have passed the class 12th board exam from any recognized boards can appear in the CMA Foundation paper.
Ques 3. How will I get the CMA Foundation syllabus and study materials?
Ans 3. After the registration, you need to order the ICMAI CMA Foundation module which will reach you via post. And, for the CMA Foundation syllabus, you can download it from the ICMAI official website.
Ques 4. What are the subjects in CMA Foundation?
Ans 4. There are four subjects in the CMA Foundation paper that includes, economics and management, Accounting, Laws and Ethics, and Fundamental of Business Mathematics & Statistic.
Ques 5. What are the minimum marks one must obtain to pass the CMA Foundation exam?
Ans 5. For passing the CMA Foundation exam, the students must score an aggregate of 50% i.e. 200 out of 400 with at least 40% marks in each subject.