CGMA sets agenda for thought leadership

CIMA and AICPA marked the launch their joint CGMA designation simultaneously in London, New York today with a research study emphasising the “thought leadership” that management accountants can bring to corporate performance and sustainability.

The joint venture is based around a new organisation, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants that will oversee a new management accounting designation of Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Members of the new joint venture would remain with their respective bodies, which will oversee the designation in its main territories - North America in the case of the AICPA, while CIMA will look after members in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Subject to verifying they have three years’ relevant experience and on payment of an extra fee, existing CIMA members will be able to use the CGMA designation or add it to their current FCMA or ACMA credentials.

A new website and magazine have been created for the body by London-based contract publisher Seven.

According to the two organisations the partnership will “elevate the discipline of management accounting, which sits at the intersection of finance and strategy”.

The agenda for the trans-Atlantic launch event, broadcast live via satellite (above) was set by ‘Rebooting Business: Valuing the Human Dimension’ ,a survey conducted by Oxford Economics that examined the extent to which global organisations are putting more emphasis on value derived from non-financial assets such as intellectual capital and customer relationships.

The CGMA has been a long time coming, and reflects a significant shift within the profession’s global structure. In much the same way that CIMA defected from the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) last year, the US-based Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) pulled out of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

While CIMA is going it alone in the UK, the IMA move opened the door to a closer relationship with the AICPA. CIMA members are expected to benefit from the widespread recognition the new designation would gain in the United States. AICPA members will have access to a global management accounting designation and the knowledge and experience base of the CIMA.

Also see: Editor's blog - will it play in Purley?

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