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🇮🇳 CMA Intermediate · subject
CMA Intermediate Cost Accounting Syllabus
Every chapter and topic of Cost Accounting examined in CMA Intermediate — 3 chapters, 8 topics, plus 50 flashcards written against it.
Cost Accounting syllabus — full chapter and topic list
Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Cost Accounting in CMA Intermediate, not a summary of it.
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Introduction to Cost Accounting
2 topics- Objectives and Scope of Cost Accounting
- Cost Concepts and Classifications
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Costing Methods
3 topics- Job Costing
- Contract Costing
- Process Costing
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Cost Control and Analysis
3 topics- Budgetary Control
- Standard Costing
- Variance Analysis
Cost Accounting flashcards for CMA Intermediate
20 of 50 cards from the Cost Accounting deck — real questions with worked answers.
What is Cost Accounting?
The process of recording, classifying, allocating, and reporting costs of products, services, or activities to determine cost and aid managerial decision-making and control.
State the three primary objectives of Cost Accounting.
1) Ascertainment of cost, 2) Cost control and cost reduction, 3) Providing information for managerial decision-making and planning.
How does Cost Accounting differ from Financial Accounting?
Cost Accounting is for internal management, focuses on per-unit/product cost, is not legally mandatory (except in some cases), and reports frequently; Financial Accounting is for external parties, statutory, and prepares overall P&L and Balance Sheet periodically.
Define 'Cost'.
The amount of expenditure (actual or notional) incurred on, or attributable to, a specified thing or activity.
Define 'Cost Centre'.
A location, person, or item of equipment (or group thereof) for which costs are ascertained and used for cost control.
Define 'Cost Unit'.
A unit of product, service, or time (or combination) in relation to which costs are ascertained or expressed, e.g., per tonne, per km, per litre.
Distinguish between Cost Control and Cost Reduction.
Cost Control aims to keep costs within set standards/budgets (maintaining existing standards); Cost Reduction is a permanent, real reduction in unit cost without impairing quality or suitability.
What is the difference between Direct Cost and Indirect Cost?
Direct costs can be conveniently traced to a specific cost object (e.g., direct materials, direct wages); indirect costs cannot be directly traced and are apportioned (overheads).
What are the three elements of cost?
Materials, Labour, and Expenses — each further divided into direct and indirect.
What is Prime Cost?
Prime Cost = Direct Materials + Direct Labour + Direct Expenses.
What is Works (Factory) Cost?
Works Cost = Prime Cost + Factory/Works Overheads.
What is Cost of Production?
Cost of Production = Works Cost + Administration Overheads.
What is Cost of Sales (Total Cost)?
Cost of Sales = Cost of Production + Selling and Distribution Overheads.
Classify costs by behaviour (variability).
Fixed costs (constant in total irrespective of output), Variable costs (vary directly with output), and Semi-variable/Semi-fixed costs (partly fixed, partly variable).
What is a Sunk Cost?
A historical cost already incurred that cannot be recovered and is irrelevant to future decision-making.
What is an Opportunity Cost?
The value of the next-best alternative foregone when one course of action is chosen over another.
Differentiate Product Cost and Period Cost.
Product costs are inventoriable costs attached to units produced (DM, DL, factory overhead); period costs are charged against revenue in the period incurred (e.g., admin, selling expenses).
What is a Conversion Cost?
Conversion Cost = Direct Labour + Factory (Manufacturing) Overheads — the cost of converting raw materials into finished goods.
What is Job Costing?
A costing method where costs are collected and accumulated for each separate job, order, or batch, used where production is to specific customer orders.
Give two industries suited to Job Costing.
Printing presses, repair workshops, construction of special equipment, furniture made to order, foundries (any made-to-order/customized production).
Planning Cost Accounting for CMA Intermediate
Cost Accounting is about 26% of the CMA Intermediate syllabus by topic count — 8 of 31 topics, spread over 3 chapters. At roughly 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic, a first pass runs to about 6 hours.
The heaviest chapters are Costing Methods (3 topics), Cost Control and Analysis (3 topics), Introduction to Cost Accounting (2 topics) . Front-load those while your energy is high; the short chapters are better revision filler later.
Work top-down: read the chapter, then tick topics off individually rather than marking the whole chapter done. Sub-topics are where silent gaps hide.
Cost Accounting (CMA Intermediate) FAQ
What is in the CMA Intermediate Cost Accounting syllabus?
Cost Accounting is split into 3 chapters — Introduction to Cost Accounting, Costing Methods and Cost Control and Analysis, containing 8 topics and 0 sub-topics in total.
How many chapters are there in Cost Accounting for CMA Intermediate?
3 chapters. Cost Accounting accounts for about 26% of the topics in the whole CMA Intermediate syllabus (8 of 31).
How long should I spend on Cost Accounting for CMA Intermediate?
Budget around 6 hours for a first pass through Cost Accounting — about 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic across its 8 topics. Add revision cycles on top.
Are there flashcards for CMA Intermediate Cost Accounting?
Yes — a 50-card Cost Accounting deck. Sample cards are printed on this page, and the full deck is free in the Examius app with spaced repetition scheduling.