Institute of Cost Accountants of India
The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of India (ICMAI), which was also known as The Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) is a professional accountancy body in India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Corporate Affairs of the Government of India. It has been given a prime responsibility by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to contribute to the cost and management accounting profession at global level. The ICMAI is a Founder Member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) and South Asian  Federation of Accountants (SAFA). ICMAI is a member of the National Foundation of Corporate Governance (NFCG). History. The Institute of Cost Accountants of India was first formed as a registered limited company on 14 June 1944 as per the provisions of the then Companies Act, 1913 with the initial objective of promoting, regulating and developing the profession of Cost Accountancy. Post Independence, the institute got statutory recognition when the Parliament of India enacted "The Cost and Works Accountants Act" (Act No.23rd of 1959), a special act, on 28 May 1959 to accord statutory recognition to ICMAI (previously ICWAI) as an  autonomous professional Institute with the objectives of promoting, regulating, and developing the profession of Cost and Management Accountancy. The CWA Amendment bill, 2011 was passed by both the Houses of Indian Parliament viz. Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on 12 December 2011 and assented by the president of India on 12 January 2012. The changes were published in the Official Gazette of India on 13 January 2012. total as of now 85000 active members in ICMAI. The Institute performs high standard research and development in the field of accounting. And recently Indian Certified Management Accountants (CMA) are eligible for  PhD in any Indian University as notified by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India. Also the ICMAI's Certified Management Accountancy (CMA), also known as Cost and Management Accountancy (earlier known as Cost and Work Accountancy (CWA)) course is recognized by the UK NARIC as equivalent to UK Post Graduation Programme. ICMAI has offices all around the world, to name a few are the USA (Washington office), the UK (London office). Qualification and syllabus. This is the primary qualification of the ICMAI following completion of up to three levels (Foundation, Intermediate, and Final) examinations and three years of practical  training in areas like management accounting, cost accounting, financial accounting, taxation, cost audits, GST audits, internal audit, corporate laws, etc. and enables an individual to become a cost & management accountant. Membership. A person who has passed the final examination of the institute and has obtained for a period of not less than three years of practical experience in the field of cost & management accountancy and other related areas can apply for associate membership. The practical experience as above may be acquired prior to or after passing the final Examination or partly before and partly after passing the said examination. The  applicant has to produce evidence to the satisfaction of the Council. Associate Member (ACMA). This is the basic membership of the institute. Application for associate membership should be made in prescribed form 'M2' available at the headquarters of the institute in Kolkata and the offices of Regional Councils and Chapters. The application should be accompanied by prescribed fees mentioned in the form ‘M-2’, experience certificate(s) duly attested by the employer(s) in original, and a photocopy of certificates of date of birth and highest academic qualification of the applicant. The experience can also be certified by the employer(s) in the form  ‘M-2’. However, for general convenience, the institute has established an online membership application mechanism. After admission to membership, members are entitled to use the letter "ACMA" after his name to indicate that he or she is an associate member of the ICMAI. Fellow Member (FCMA). An associate member who has been in continuous practice in India for at least five years or a member who has been an associate for a continuous period of not less than five years and who possesses such qualifications and experience as the Council may prescribe apply for fellow membership of ICMAI. Institute of Cost