1.  Complete the Certification Application – Each candidate is required to complete the CMC Application and submit this document to IMCUSA National Office along with supporting documentation listed in the document. The Application contains the following elements:

• Point Count Form to demonstrate level of achievement related to meeting the requirements for certification.
• Practice Description – A section that describes the candidates consulting practice (Internal or External).
• Outline of Experience – A description of the candidates work experience and as a consultant and as an employee.
• Outline of Education – A description of the candidate’s educational background.
• Engagement Summaries – At least five case studies describing client engagements completed by the candidate.
• Submit a $100 Certification Fee.
• Client Evaluations – Upon acceptance of a candidate’s application, each candidate is provided client evaluation forms for completion by at least five of the candidate’s clients.

2.  Written Examination of Candidate’s Competence as a Consultant and Commitment to Ethics – Each candidate must complete and pass four hours of written examinations. These examinations are conducted on-line at the candidate’s convenience in four one hour segments. The first hour is an Ethics exam consisting of 15 multiple Choice and 2 essay questions. The next three sections are devoted to the completion of six essay questions (two in each one hour segment) dealing with the core competencies of management consulting. Three core documents are supplied to the candidate for use as an open book reference as they take the exam. These documents are the IMCUSA Body of Knowledge, the IMCUSA Core Competencies document, and the IMC Code of Ethics Interpretive.

3.  Oral Examination of the Candidate’s Competence as a Consultant and Commitment to Ethics – Once a candidate has successfully completed the written examination described above, each candidate is required to meet with three experienced CMCs in a peer review panel context. These panels may be conducted via telephone or face to face at an agreed upon site depending upon the needs of the candidate. Each candidate must successfully:

• Describe a client engagement (15 minutes)
• Answer questions about the conduct of client engagements (30 minutes)
• Answer questions about ethical issues (45 minutes)

4.  Award of CMC designation – After completion of a candidate’s application and upon completion of the examinations described above, each candidate’s file is reviewed by an impartial body within the IMCUAS called the Certification Review Committee (CRC). This review is conducted to ensure that all of the documents submitted are complete and validated by contacting and that all examinations have been completed with a passing grade. The CRC meets once each month on the last Friday of the month to review and approve applications, examination results, and certification renewal applications.

5.  Submit a $150 Entrance Fee – As soon as candidate is informed of their successful completion of the certification process, they are requested to pay the Institute and entrance fee of $150. Their certificate will be sent to them upon receipt of the payment of this fee.