(CMA) Exam Practice Questions And
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1. What is the primary purpose of managerial accounting?
To provide information for internal decision-making.
Managerial accounting focuses on providing relevant financial and
non-financial information to managers to assist in planning,
controlling, and decision-making within an organization.
2. What is the difference between financial accounting and managerial
accounting?
Financial accounting reports to external users, while managerial
accounting reports to internal users.
Financial accounting focuses on external reporting to shareholders,
, regulators, and the public, whereas managerial accounting is used
internally for decision-making.
3. Which costing method assigns only variable manufacturing costs to
products?
Variable costing.
Variable costing includes only direct materials, direct labor, and
variable manufacturing overhead in product costs, excluding fixed
overhead.
4. What is the main purpose of a budget?
To plan and control organizational activities.
Budgets provide a financial plan for future operations and serve as a
tool for monitoring performance against objectives.
5. Which budget is prepared first in the master budgeting process?
Sales budget.
The sales budget drives other budgets, such as production, materials,
and labor budgets, because anticipated sales determine resource
requirements.
6. What is a flexible budget?
A budget that adjusts for changes in activity levels.
A flexible budget recalculates expected costs based on actual
activity, allowing for meaningful performance evaluation.
,7. Which performance measure evaluates profitability relative to
investment?
Return on investment (ROI).
ROI measures how efficiently an organization uses its assets to
generate profit.
8. What is the primary goal of cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis?
To determine how changes in costs and volume affect profit.
CVP analysis helps managers understand the relationship between
sales, costs, and profit at different production and sales levels.
9. What is a variance in cost accounting?
The difference between actual and standard costs.
Variance analysis identifies areas where performance deviates from
standards, aiding in cost control.
10. Which type of cost remains constant in total regardless of
activity level?
Fixed cost.
Fixed costs do not change with production volume but decrease per
unit as output increases.
11. What is the contribution margin?
Sales revenue minus variable costs.
The contribution margin represents the amount available to cover
fixed costs and generate profit.
, 12. Which inventory costing method assumes that the latest costs
incurred are the first to be used?
Last-in, first-out (LIFO).
LIFO assumes the most recent costs are sold first, affecting cost of
goods sold and ending inventory valuation.
13. Which type of responsibility center is evaluated on revenue
generation?
Revenue center.
A revenue center focuses solely on generating sales revenue, not
controlling costs.
14. Which type of responsibility center is evaluated on controlling
costs?
Cost center.
A cost center is responsible for managing and minimizing costs while
delivering required output.
15. Which type of responsibility center is evaluated on both revenue
and cost?
Profit center.
A profit center focuses on both generating revenue and controlling
costs to produce a profit.
16. Which type of responsibility center is evaluated on return on
investment?
Investment center.