Enhancing problem-solving skills
CBOMS supports examinees in developing their abilities to analyze job-related issues logically and solve them.
Enhancing communication efficiency
CBOMS guides examinees in the daily practice of data-based communication for job accuracy and efficiency.
Accelerating career advancement
CBOMS underpins examinees’ career advancement by explicitly addressing the five skills required in business.
Promoting organizational growth
CBOMS ultimately contributes to the overall growth of organizations by enhancing employees’ data application skills.
Five Crucial Skills in CBOMS
Evaluating skills comprehensively from five aspects
CBOMS measures business mathematics skills and application abilities from five aspects required in business: Grasp, Analyze, Select, Forecast, and Represent. Compared with mathematics in school, business mathematics focuses on the correct application of arithmetic operations and ratio calculations in specific business settings. All CBOMS tests are written in English, aiming for global accessibility based on diverse viewpoints.
Message
Atsushi Yoshikawa
Kanto Gakuin University, College of Science and Engineering, Department of Science and Engineering, Information Science Course, Professor, Doctor of Engineering
The worlds fast-moving economy rewards professionals who can read the numbers, make clear decisions, and explain them simply. CBOMS (Certification for Business-Oriented Mathematics Skills) helps you build and prove exactly those abilities. The exam measures five practical skills—Grasp, Analyze, Select, Forecast, and Represent—used every day in sales, finance, operations, and project work. You can choose a level that fits your goals, Business or Business Manager, take the exam from a PC, and receive your score immediately. The test takes 60 minutes and includes 30 multiple-choice questions.
Developed by The Mathematics Certification Institute of Japan, a public-interest organization, CBOMS is written in English for global accessibility and is already used by companies and universities in Japan. Your results arrive with a clear score report, so you can see strengths and priorities at a glance and share them with employers or schools.
For students, CBOMS is a powerful way to stand out with a verified, job-ready credential. For working professionals and Small and Medium sized EnterpriseS, it sharpens data-driven thinking, improves communication with teams and clients, and supports career growth. Even if math was never your favorite subject, CBOMS offers a friendly, confidence-building path to refresh key number skills for real work.
Join a growing community using CBOMS to upgrade everyday decisions—from comparing options and forecasting to presenting results clearly. Take the test when it suits your schedule, show your strengths with your score report, and open new opportunities in the world, and beyond. Start today and move your career forward with confidence.
CBOMS Users
Currently, various organizations in Japan, including companies and universities, utilize CBOMS.
* Users of the Japanese version of CBOMS.
Japan Convention Services, Inc.
Business plans created by employees began to reflect reality more accurately, and those with non-science backgrounds started to enhance their mathematical awareness.
Kyoai Gakuen University
Students have been convinced of the value of mathematics in society, enhancing their problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Yokohama Futaba Junior and Senior High School
Having come to understand the practical applications of mathematics, students now view it from a new perspective.
Video Testimonial
Listen to CBOMS certification winners
* Users of the Japanese version of CBOMS.
Test Outline
How to Apply for an Exam
CBOMS offers an online examination that allows you to apply, take the test, and view your results.
Therefore, you can use the program at your convenience, using a device with an internet connection, such as a smartphone or PC.
There are two certification levels: Business Level to validate basic mathematical application skills, and Business Manager Level to measure the mathematical skills required for managers.
Business
Test time
60 minutes
Number of questions
30 questions (5-choice questions)
Passing score
70 points (Out of 100 points)
Examination fee
7,700 yen (Tax included)
Overview of test content and skills
Five Skills
- Grasp
- Read/interpret graphs (line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts, etc.) and simple data, and define concepts such as working hours, salary, average value, time difference, and set.
- Analyze
- Calculate values such as list prices, profits, sales, ratios (or calculations using ratios), interest rates, foreign exchange gains/losses, purchase costs, bond yields, and taxes (e.g., income tax).
- Select
- Select the means of transportation or make other choices based on data such as numerical comparisons, score sheets, ratios, and expected values.
- Forecast
- Predict arrival times and make other forecasts based on data such as averages, weighted averages, and linear functions/simultaneous equations.
- Represent
- Represent data/information in graphs such as line, bar, pie, function, and bubble graphs/charts and know how to use them appropriately.
Business manager
Test time
60 minutes
Number of questions
30 questions (5-choice questions)
Passing score
70 points (Out of 100 points)
Examination fee
9,900 yen (Tax included)
Overview of test content and skills
Five Skills
- Grasp
- Read/interpret simple data and verbal expressions logically, define concepts such as average value, time difference, and set, and identify correlations from graphs, product positioning, etc.
- Analyze
- Calculate values such as interest rates, foreign exchange gains/losses, purchase costs, bond yields, and taxes (e.g., income tax) and analyze data such as break-even points and financial statements.
- Select
- Make choices based on data such as score sheets, ratios, probability and expected values, stock investment and financial statement analysis, and investment indicators.
- Forecast
- Make forecasts using average rates of change and linear functions/simultaneous equations, including business performance forecasts based on data.
- Represent
- Use charts/graphs appropriately and make representations of graphs of functions and other data in bubble charts, radar charts, ternary plots, and Venn diagrams.
Trial Problems
Sample CBOMS questions
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Business
Analyze
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Business
Represent
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Business manager
Select
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Business manager
Forecast
Choose the correct answer from the following options.
See the answer
Test Result
How to receive the test result
The CBOMS test result is instantly available upon completion of the test.
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Score sheet
The score sheet includes the analysis of results measured for each of the five aspects of mathematical skills required in business.
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Certificate
The minimum score for CBOMS certification is 70. Those who have achieved the required score will receive a certificate confirming that they possess the necessary skills specified by the relevant certification level.
Score sheet sample
Messages
Concepts behind CBOMS
In business communication, we always have a clear purpose. It is not enough just to understand or speak English. We must understand the other person’s situation or interest, share our own ideas clearly, and find common ground to reach an agreement.
This means that communication is not only a tool, but a key skill for success in business. In global business, we must do this communication in English. But it’s not only about language ability. We also need other important skills, like logical thinking and understanding others.
In real business situations, we often work with people who have different ideas. We may also need to negotiate with people who have different goals. In these cases, skills like leadership, teamwork, collaboration, and project management are important. But to use these skills well, communication skill is necessary. Without communication, project management cannot work, for example.
Soichiro Nagai
Managing Director, Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC)
The modern business society requires the skills to base your ideas on numbers and communicate them effectively. How to handle numbers may decide the results of daily business operations, such as sales/profit analysis, cost awareness, planning, and document production.
CBOMS is a certification program designed to guide you through the systematic learning of number-handling skills and to validate them objectively. If you were not good at mathematics in school days, then you must be the best candidate to overcome that weakness and relearn mathematics so that you can expand your potential by exploiting acquired number-handling skills.
CBOMS is a certification program designed to guide you through the systematic learning of number-handling skills and to validate them objectively. If you were not good at mathematics in school days, then you must be the best candidate to overcome that weakness and relearn mathematics so that you can expand your potential by exploiting acquired number-handling skills.
Keisuke Kondo (CBOMS test developer)
Manager, Contents Production HeadquartersThe Mathematics Certification Institute of Japan
There are two questions most frequently asked at job interviews at major companies in Japan. They are 'What is your strength, and how can it help our company?' and 'What is a business you want to develop in our company (if you are given the chance to do so)?' Of course, your answers will influence the interview result, and those who succeed in the interview are candidates who can effectively respond to the questions by presenting numeric evidence. The most efficient way to prepare yourself for job interviews is by using official CBOMS textbooks. Doing that will drastically change your responses into more numerically based ones. Since business math is indispensable at work, you will find the skills convenient after joining your company.
Naofumi Sakamoto
Professor of Global Career Education, Okayama University of Science
Business mathematics is not only for business people, despite its name. It's for all of us who live in this world where AI and big data are significantly changing things. Business math holds the key to navigating a data-flooded social environment and utilizing crucial data for learning and work. It guides us to solutions through mathematical processing of diverse data items and representing them in the most relevant forms. To prepare ourselves for challenges in real-world settings, learning business math and acquiring a certification in the related skills are effective. I recommend that all students and job seekers be equipped with business math skills, regardless of their specialty or business category.