- ICWA is the old name for what ICMAI now runs as the CMA course, and the institute has been recognised as The Institute of Cost Accountants of India since 1 February 2012
- Course fees stand at 6,000 rupees for Foundation, 23,100 rupees for Intermediate and 25,000 rupees for Final
- For the June 2026 term the admission cut-off was extended to 10 February 2026, and the Foundation exam was held on 14 June 2026 in offline OMR multiple-choice mode.
ICWA, short for the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, is the qualification most people still search for by its old name. The body that awards it was established in 1944 as a registered company and became a statutory body on 28 May 1959 under the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959. Parliament recognised it as The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI) with effect from 1 February 2012, and the course it conducts is now formally the CMA (Cost and Management Accountant) course.
ICMAI functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, and operates through 4 Regional Councils, 112 Chapters and 11 Overseas Centres. The qualification is still delivered in three stages: Foundation, Intermediate and Final, covering 20 papers in total under Syllabus 2022.
What Is the ICWA (CMA) Course and Who Conducts It?
ICWA is the former name of the CMA course conducted by The Institute of Cost Accountants of India. The institute began in 1944, became statutory under the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959, and was renamed in February 2012. It runs Foundation, Intermediate and Final levels under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
The course trains you to build and interpret cost and management accounting information: costing systems, taxation, corporate accounting, audit, financial management and strategic performance measurement. Qualified members use the designations ACMA (Associate) and FCMA (Fellow), and are authorised under statutes such as the Companies Act, 2013 to conduct cost audit.
- Foundation Course - 4 papers, the entry level
- Intermediate Course - Group I and Group II, papers 5 to 12
- Final Course - Group III and Group IV, papers 13 to 20
What Are the ICWA Eligibility Criteria for Each Level?
You can take admission to the Foundation Course after passing Class 10, but you must have passed Class 12 before you can sit the Foundation examination. Intermediate needs 10+2 plus Foundation, or a degree in most disciplines. Final needs a pass in Intermediate in a penultimate term.
Foundation Course
- Passed Class 10 or equivalent from a recognised Board or Institution, which makes you eligible to take admission.
- Passed the Senior Secondary School Examination under the 10+2 scheme, or the National Diploma in Commerce Examination held by the All India Council for Technical Education or a State Board of Technical Education under that Council, or the Diploma in Rural Service Examination conducted by the National Council of Rural Higher Education.
- Candidates who have passed the Intermediate examination of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India are exempted from the Foundation Course.
- Provisional admission is allowed, with 36 months to convert to regular status.
Intermediate Course
- Passed 10+2 and the Foundation Course of ICMAI, or qualified the Foundation (Entry Level) Part I Examination of the CAT Course of the institute.
- A degree from any recognised university in any subject other than music, dancing, photography, painting, sculpture and the like.
- Qualified engineers, or students who have completed the 3rd year or Semester VI of an engineering course.
- Candidates awaiting degree results may register provisionally and have 18 months to convert to regular status.
Final Course
- You must have passed the Intermediate examination of the institute in a penultimate term, so a student who passes in December cannot sit the immediately following June examination.
- You must hold a valid registration number and must not be debarred from the examination.
- You must have completed the prescribed training for the Final Course.
- Registration stays valid for 7 years, after which a De Novo registration is required.
How Do You Apply for the ICWA Course and Its Exams?
Admission is taken online through the ICMAI student portal, or offline through a Regional Council or Chapter with proof of qualification. Examination application forms for Foundation, Intermediate and Final are filled online only, with fees paid by card, net banking or the IDBI Bank pay-fee module.
- Register or take admission at the ICMAI student portal and pay the course fee for your level.
- Complete admission at least four months before the examination you intend to sit; you are issued an Identification Number or Registration Number and an Identity Card.
- Complete the prescribed coaching and training for your level.
- Fill the online examination application form within the notified window and pay the examination fee.
- Download the admit card from the institute website before the examination.
The standing cut-off dates for admission, registration or enrolment are 31 January for the June term and 31 July for the December term. For the June 2026 term ICMAI extended that last date to 10 February 2026 by notification G/128/01/2026 dated 30 January 2026.
For the June 2026 term, examination application forms were due by 15 April 2026 for Foundation and by 10 April 2026 for Intermediate and Final, with a late fee of 500 rupees during the extended window that followed each date.
What Are the ICWA Course and Examination Fees in 2026?
The CMA course fee is 6,000 rupees for Foundation, 23,100 rupees for Intermediate and 25,000 rupees for Final, payable in instalments at the Intermediate and Final levels. Examination fees are charged separately for each term: 1,500 rupees for Foundation and up to 3,200 rupees for both Final groups.
| CMA Level (2026) | Course Fee (INR) | Instalment Option |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation | 6,000 | Single payment, no instalments |
| Intermediate | 23,100 | 12,000 at registration plus 11,100 later |
| Final | 25,000 | 15,000 at enrolment plus 10,000 later |
The Intermediate figure includes a Skill Training Facilitation fee of 1,100 rupees. Second instalments must be paid on or before 31 January for the June term and 31 July for the December term, and no student may sit the examination without paying the second instalment. The prospectus itself costs 250 rupees.
| Examination (June 2026 Term) | One Group - India (INR) | Both Groups - India (INR) | Overseas (US $) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | 1,500 | Not applicable | 100 |
| Intermediate | 1,500 | 2,800 | 100 / 150 |
| Final | 1,800 | 3,200 | 100 / 150 |
What Is the ICWA Exam Pattern and Paper Structure?
The Foundation examination is objective: each of its four papers carries 100 marks made up of 50 multiple choice questions of 2 marks each, taken offline on OMR sheets with no negative marking. Intermediate and Final papers are three-hour descriptive papers of 100 marks each.
In June 2026 the Foundation examination was held on Sunday, 14 June 2026 in two sessions, Papers 1 and 2 from 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon and Papers 3 and 4 from 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. The Intermediate and Final examinations ran from 11 June to 18 June 2026 on alternate dates for each group, with Final papers from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and Intermediate papers from 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Syllabus 2022 Papers
- Foundation: Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication; Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting; Fundamentals of Business Mathematics and Statistics; Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management.
- Intermediate Group I: Business Laws and Ethics; Financial Accounting; Direct and Indirect Taxation; Cost Accounting.
- Intermediate Group II: Operations Management and Strategic Management; Corporate Accounting and Auditing; Financial Management and Business Data Analytics; Management Accounting.
- Final Group III: Corporate and Economic Laws; Strategic Financial Management; Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation; Strategic Cost Management.
- Final Group IV: Cost and Management Audit; Corporate Financial Reporting; Indirect Tax Laws and Practice; plus one elective from Strategic Performance Management and Business Valuation, Risk Management in Banking and Insurance, or Entrepreneurship and Startup.
How Are ICWA Results Declared and What Is the Pass Standard?
Results are published on the institute websites icmai.in and examicmai.in. A candidate passes Foundation with at least 40 percent in each paper and 50 percent in aggregate. The same standard applies group-wise at Intermediate and Final, and 60 percent or more in a paper earns an exemption.
- Exemption: score 60 percent or more in a paper of a group you did not clear and you are exempted from that paper in a later attempt, with 50 marks reckoned for aggregate purposes.
- Carry forward: score 60 percent or more in a paper while getting at least 40 percent in every other paper of the group and the actual marks may be carried forward.
- No exemption or carry forward benefit is available at the Foundation level.
- Foundation candidates download the marksheet from the website; no hard copy and no pass certificate is issued for Foundation.
- Intermediate and Final candidates receive a marksheet and a pass certificate, and a Certificate of Merit is issued to those who clear all subjects of a level at one sitting without exemptions.
What Jobs Can You Get After Clearing the ICWA Course?
Qualified CMAs work in costing, internal audit, taxation, financial reporting and management accounting roles across industry, public sector undertakings and practice. ICMAI classifies its campus placements across banking and financial services, public sector undertakings, information technology and consultancy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, engineering and FMCG, infrastructure, logistics and automobiles.
Members in practice hold statutory rights that few other professionals have. Cost accountants are exclusively authorised to be appointed as cost auditors under Section 148(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014, and may be appointed as internal auditors under Section 138(1). They are also recognised for certification work under GST, customs, IRDAI, CERC and foreign trade policy provisions.
- Cost accountant and costing analyst in manufacturing and infrastructure companies
- Internal auditor and cost auditor, including statutory cost audit assignments
- Finance and accounts roles in public sector undertakings and banks
- Taxation and GST compliance roles in industry and in practice
- Financial reporting, budgeting and management accounting roles
ICMAI does not publish a single official salary table for its qualified members, so treat any fixed salary figure you see quoted online with caution. Pay depends on the level cleared, prior degrees, the sector and the city, and ICMAI runs a 12-day pre-placement orientation training programme for Final pass-out students to prepare them for recruitment.