The ICMA was registered in 1996 under the Associations Incorporations Act 1981 (Vic.). It is a non-profit organisation; with the beneficial owners being the members themselves.
The ICMA is accredited by the Commonwealth of Nations under the category of Civic Organisations.
Members entitled under its Rules to use the post-nominals Fellow Certified Management Accountant (FCMA); ‘Certified Management Accountant (CMA)’, ‘Associate Management Accountant (AMA)’, ‘Graduate Management Accountant (GMA)’, ‘Registered Cost Accountant (RCA)’, ‘Registered Business Accountant (RBA)’, Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) and ‘Management Accounting Affiliate (MAA)’ membership categories.
The CMA, RBA, RCA and CAT post-nominals are also Registered Trade Marks of the ICMA.
True “recognition” is, however, only earned in the market. As a relatively  new body (now in its third decade of operations), having just over 15,000 members (with over 3,000 CMAs), it is already well recognised in its niche market, as a specialist qualification for already qualified 'generalist' accountants who which pursue a professional qualification undertaking two advanced subjects at the Masters Degree level (see equivalency assessment by NZQA). Its CMA education program now runs within a number of Masters Degree programmes in numerous Australian and overseas universities.
ICMA’s Certified Management Accountant (CMA) credential has been assessed for equivalency on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) at the Level 9 (Master’s Degree) by the NZQA.