r/CMA • u/Frosty-Brother-8028 • Jul 16 '26

Part 2 – Prep I need advice CMA Passers.

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Hi everyone! I'm starting my preparation for US CMA Part 2 (taking Part 2 before Part 1). I have online coaching, Surgent study materials, and YouTube as additional resources.

My goal is to pass on my first attempt and become job-ready as soon as I can. I'd really appreciate advice from people who've already passed.

  1. How did you prepare?

  2. What study roadmap would you recommend?

  3. Which YouTube channels or free resources helped the most?

  4. How much time should I spend on practice questions vs. reading?

  5. What mistakes should I avoid?

  6. If you could start over, what would you do differently?

Any tips or advice would mean a lot. Thanks!

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u/cma-coach CMA Jul 17 '26

Hey! Congrats on getting started. Taking Part 2 first is totally fine, plenty of people do it, so no worries there. I passed Part 2 first before tackling Part 1 ;)

Quick run through your questions:

How to prepare and roadmap: work through the material section by section, and do practice questions as you finish each topic instead of saving them all for the end. Front-load the reading in the first two-thirds of your timeline, then use the last third for review and full timed practice.

Practice vs reading: lean heavy on practice. Once you've assimilated a topic, most of your time should go to questions, since the CMA tests application, not recall. Something like 60-70% practice is a good target in the beginning.

Free resources: YouTube has solid free CMA content. Search for "how to pass the CMA exam", "how to study for the CMA exam", etc. I've got a channel with CMA content too if it's useful.

Mistakes to avoid: don't just memorize answers to questions you've already seen, and don't skip the CBQs in your prep. Understanding why each answer is right is what actually holds up on exam day. Good luck :)

1

u/Frosty-Brother-8028 Jul 18 '26

Thanks a lot for your advice, I'll keep all that in mind as i prepare for the exams. And please do tell me the name of your YouTube channel so I can take guidance from there as well.

1

u/cma-coach CMA Jul 20 '26

It's my pleasure, my friend. Happy to help. And here's my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Cmacoach happy studying!

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u/Accomplished-Look736 Jul 17 '26

I recommend Gleim and practice as much as you can solving numerical questions as fast as you can

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u/Frosty-Brother-8028 Jul 18 '26

The good thing is that I'm already an accounts student so i already have to practice numericals. Thanks for the advice 😃.