Ask the Accounting Community

Can someone guide me on what jobs or industry I should be targeting for.

what are the skill sets I need to get as a fresher or what other certifications I can get to grow my career.

your help is greatly appreciated 

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Dionne D Souza
Other
Mangaluru
India
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In my opinion, having a CMA helps qualify you to be a controller or even a CFO of a company. Essentially any job where a CPA is preferred but not required would be a good fit as well. You could also argue that some CPA required jobs should be fulfilled by CMAs rather than CPAs.

With your CMA, you can also look into getting the Certificate for Strategy and Competitive Analysis or CSCA offered by the IMA.

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David Belnap, CMA, CSCA, CPA
David.Belnap@...
Hollywood, FL
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I agreed with David.  CMA is a very unique certification with wide ranges of skills. It helps you to focus on "making more beans".  You can be accountant, controller, FP&A, or even CFO.  

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Po Chi Tang Alvarado CMA
Consultant
San Antonio TX
United States
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Both Belnap and Tang are correct. I'd ask you to broaden the vision, if I may.

The certificate itself shows, at minimum, that you've acquired the skills and knowledge in accounting, finance, FP&A, etc, and you either worked hard, or you are very smart, or you are extremely lucky, or all of them. Regardless the reasons, you'll be standing out as a CMA, comparing to others who may need to demonstrate in other ways (work experience, reference, or a academic degree).

How you utilize the title or the skills depend on your own career road map, and how you develop other skills. To give you a general idea about possible advancement afterward, see what is the trend in the SF magazine (AI, reporting automation, excel and BI), and think about one level above as you were the CEO, from operational to decision making level. 

Hope my words help you.

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Chao-Yu Chen
Director/Manager
CMA, CSCA, PMP, CIA
Taiwan
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If you are a fresher, you should be open to any job role in any industry that you are getting within larger Finance & Accounts domain.

CMA is a good enough qualification for at least next five years while you actually figure out the direction of your career. Meanwhile continue to improve on your soft and digital skills as these will be more visibly utilized in your workplace.

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Kushnabh Chhabra CMA
Analyst
Bengaluru
India
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