FreeFellow has 1,356 IMA CMA practice questions across both parts, each with a step-by-step solution. You can try sample questions without an account. The full original question bank is free with an account, subject to usage limits. Worked solutions, written lessons, mixed practice, and your readiness score stay free.
- CMA Part 1: Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics (771 questions)
- CMA Part 2: Strategic Financial Management (585 questions)
What the CMA exam tests
Each CMA part is a four-hour computer-based exam. From the September/October 2026 window, that's 100 multiple-choice questions in three hours, then two case-based question sets in the remaining hour (about 30 minutes each). You need at least 50% of the multiple-choice points before the case-based section unlocks. The two section scores combine into one weighted scaled score. IMA says CBQs keep the essay section's weighting, and the current handbook doesn't state the split. A passing score is 360 on IMA's 0 to 500 scale. Essays ran through the May/June 2026 window for most candidates and are still used in some regions and languages.
Part 1: Financial Planning, Performance, and Analytics
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Topic | Weight |
|---|---|
| External Financial Reporting Decisions | 15% |
| Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting | 20% |
| Performance Management | 20% |
| Cost Management | 15% |
| Internal Controls | 15% |
| Technology and Analytics | 15% |
Part 2: Strategic Financial Management
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Topic | Weight |
|---|---|
| Financial Statement Analysis | 20% |
| Corporate Finance | 20% |
| Business Decision Analysis | 25% |
| Enterprise Risk Management | 10% |
| Capital Investment Decisions | 10% |
| Professional Ethics | 15% |
In Part 1, budgeting and performance management are 40% between them, and in Part 2 business decision analysis alone is 25%. If you're short on time, that's where I'd start.
A Part 1 question and a Part 2 question
One's on budgeting from Part 1 and one's on decision analysis from Part 2. Both are FreeFellow originals from the bank, not IMA questions.
A materials purchases budget (Part 1)
Stratus Co. budgets production of 40,000 units for the period. Each unit requires 3 pounds of raw material costing $4 per pound. Beginning raw materials inventory is 5,000 pounds, and desired ending raw materials inventory is 7,000 pounds. What is the budgeted cost of raw materials purchases?
- A. $480,000
- B. $488,000
- C. $528,000
- D. $472,000
The answer is B. Production needs 40,000 × 3 = 120,000 pounds. Add the 7,000 you want on hand at the end, take off the 5,000 you start with, and you're buying 122,000 pounds, which costs $488,000 at $4 a pound. A ignores inventory, D swaps the two balances, and C adds both.
Sales needed for an after-tax profit (Part 2)
Coastal Foods has fixed costs of $240,000, a contribution margin ratio of 40%, and a target after-tax profit of $72,000. The company's tax rate is 25%. What sales revenue is required to achieve the target after-tax profit?
- A. $780,000
- B. $840,000
- C. $900,000
- D. $960,000
The answer is B. The contribution margin formula works on pretax profit, so gross up the target first: $72,000 / 0.75 = $96,000. Then ($240,000 + $96,000) / 0.40 = $840,000. A plugs in the $72,000 without the gross-up. C divides the target by 0.60, one minus the contribution margin ratio, instead of 0.75.
The rest are on the Part 1 and Part 2 practice pages.
How to prepare for the case-based questions
IMA calls this section case-based questions, or CBQs. Once you leave the multiple-choice section you can't go back, so do your checking before you exit. IMA's handbook says the case-based answers are graded off-line, so you won't get a pass or fail at the test center. Results come about two weeks after the end of the month you tested in.
The handbook doesn't list the item types or say how one answer earns points. Its link to a guide on the format asked for a sign-in on November 1, so if you can't get past that, ask IMA for a copy.
I'd practice the same thing whatever the answer format: take a business situation, work out which numbers matter, run the calculation and say what it means for the decision. Prometric gives you paper and a pencil, so lay each calculation out there, the way the example below does. That makes it easy to check, though the handbook doesn't say that paper counts toward your score.
Essays depend on your region, language and sitting. IMA's Japan chapter says CBQs start there in January 2027, and IMA China offers a CBQ option at some Chinese-language computer-based sittings in April 2027, so confirm your format before you choose materials. Where essays still run, IMA describes about 10 to 12 written response or calculation questions on two scenarios. It doesn't publish what each step earns, so use the layout below and finish with a sentence that answers the question.
FreeFellow's free tier has one case-based preview set per part, and the rest come with Fellow.
My own example (not an exam question)
I made this up to show the layout, so it isn't an IMA question or from any exam.
A plant has room for 10,000 more units a year. It sells at $25, variable cost is $14 a unit, and fixed overhead works out to $5 a unit. A customer offers $17 a unit for a one-time order of 5,000 units. Should the plant take it?
- What's being asked: does profit go up?
- What changes: revenue and variable cost. Fixed overhead doesn't, so the $5 stays out.
- The numbers: $17 minus $14 is $3 a unit, and $3 × 5,000 is $15,000.
- The answer: take the order, because profit goes up $15,000 and there's room.
The slip here is using the full $19 cost, which makes a profitable order look like a $10,000 loss. If the plant were full, each unit would replace a $25 sale earning $11, so the order would lose $8 a unit, or $40,000.
What Fellow adds, and a study plan
You don't need a paid plan for the question banks or the 41 lessons. Fellow costs $39 a month or $79 a quarter in USD (check pricing for your track and country), and one CMA subscription covers both parts. It adds three timed mock exams per part, each with the 100-question multiple-choice section followed by two case-based sets, plus spaced-repetition flashcards, topic-level analytics and a personalized study plan. The $199 annual plan is Fellow Plus, which adds common-trap analytics to everything in Fellow. If you're considering Gleim's CMA course, the FreeFellow vs Gleim CMA comparison covers what each includes, and check that any package you buy covers the case-based format for your window.
I'd finish and sit one part before starting the other. Work through its lessons and the matching questions topic by topic, then switch to mixed practice once you've covered all six topics. The multiple-choice section is three of the four hours and decides whether the case-based section opens, so give it most of your time, but work a few case-based sets under the real clock (two sets in an hour) before exam day. My planning estimate is about 170 hours per part, anywhere from 130 to 200 depending on your background. If you're studying 10 to 15 hours a week, that's three to four months per part. The CMA Part 2 study guide splits that into a 14-week schedule.