The Institute of Management Accountants, abbreviated as the IMA, is a volunteer member association that is focused on meeting the needs of management accounting professionals. The IMA was founded in 1919 and states that its mission is to “provide a forum for research, practice development, education, knowledge sharing, and the advocacy of the highest ethical and best business practices in management accounting and finance.” So, what does all that mean?
In short, the IMA sets the ethical and professional standards for CMAs and maintains an investigative and discipline system to enforce these ethics requirements. If you want to become a CMA, you need to follow their initial requirements for entry. You will also need to maintain their standards and educational requirements to keep your CMA over time.