The Institute of Management Accountants is an association of financial professionals and accountants in business that was founded in the year 1919 in Buffalo, New York. It was initially National Association of Cost Accountants meant to uphold professionalism and knowledge to accountants and to nurture extensive expertise on their responsibilities in management. Institute of Management Accountants can also be referred to as an international organization that aims at providing professional and networking development to the community of accountancy worldwide. IMA provides standards and oversight for certifying the knowledge and skills that accounting professionals possess. In 1957 it renamed National Association of Accountants and later on to IMA in 1991, which it holds up to date. IMA is among the most respected and largest organization that is focused on improving management accounting profession and is focused on empowering its members as well as other people throughout the accounting profession to manage companies better, accelerate careers and strengthen on the job skills (Dean, 2017).
The IMA's mission is to provide a medium for practice development, research, sharing, education, knowledge, and advocating for the best business and high ethical practices in finance and management accounting through offering of prestigious credentials, Building of professional network which provides careers contacts and resources for a lifetime, creation of eligible education programs, giving of voices to the profession using journals, serving as the thought leader in industry best practices and advocating for the job in a challenging environment (Dean, 2017). IMA aims at supporting organizations and their members in improving business performance through stimulating ethical values for financial management practices internally, providing the in-class certification which is CMA intended for financial management responsibilities internally such as, planning, decision analysis, risk management, and business reporting, budgeting.
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The Institute of Management Accountant has more than 100,000 members well represented in 140 countries all over the world with three hundred professionals and student chapters and the headquarter being in the USA and providing services locally throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East/Africa, and America which is its central four global regions. The members achieve career development training through continuing education, information and resources, online communities and available local chapters.
The CMA certification is the global benchmark for financial professionals and management accountants that not only describes the what of numbers but also the why and can give higher earning potential, credibility and a seat at the leadership table. It is also the professional certification credential in the financial management and management accounting fields that signifies that the accountant has useful information on the areas of economic analysis, planning, control, decision making, and professional ethics. A certified CMA professional can work in any organization of any size including the services, manufacturing, private and public companies. The certification usually is a pathway to a more successful business career, opening doors, building confidence and closing skills gaps. The Certified Management Accountant exam has two parts with part 1 covering financial reporting, performance, planning, and control. Section 1 includes external financial reporting decisions, budgeting, planning, performance management, forecasting, internal controls, and cost management. Part 2 covers financial decision making and includes, corporate finance, financial statement analysis, investment decisions, risk management and professional ethics (Krippel, 2017)
Acquiring CMA certification enables one to become a member of a CMA community with a worldwide network which allows one to access and exchange a variety of information as well as industry practices (Keener, 2018). One is also able to share experiences with fellow CMAs, gain insight on advancing career and collaborate in the promotion of the certification. With CMA certification on is also able to get a well-paying job as well as acquire skills that are more practical as compared to those gained by CPA holders. CMA certification also enhances one's profile and knowledge especially for those who want to build their career in corporate accounting. CMA certification also helps one to handle difficult issues given the decision-making skills acquires in the course.
In order to earn the CMA certification one is needed to meet some requirements both academically and experience wise which include, holding an IMA membership that is also active, completing as well as passing part 1 and 2 of CMA exams, hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or have a related professional certification, as indicated in the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice, having worked for 2 years continuously to acquire professional experience in management accounting and financial management including specified fields listed. In some cases, a CMAs must be a Certified Public Accountant since they are involved in handling finances within an organization. A CMA also needs some skills to be a good performer in the real world. The skills are to enable them to perform specific duties such as planning and budgeting, external financial reporting, cost management, performance management, internal controls, risk management, profitability analysis and investment decision (Krippel, 2017)
Yes, there are continuing education requirements for CMAs to maintain their proficiency in the management accounting field. On successful completion of the CMA exam, 30 hours of Continuing Professional Education must be completed by the accountants annually usually around four days per year. The qualifying topics for this are corporate taxation, management accounting. Computer science, statistics, management skills, system analysis, business law, marketing, and insurance. The CMA is also required to complete 2 hours at a minimum of continuing education on ethics as a part of the 30 hours annual Continuing Professional Education requirement with the focus of ethics education is in the area of financial management and management accounting (Krippel, 2017)
CMAs believe that the certification strengthens their ability to move across business areas and creates career opportunities which are indeed the case. According to an IMA survey conducted on salary in 2008, it was identified that the accountants earned an average of $112,068 salary with certification. The median compensation globally is 67 higher for Certified Management Accountants over the Non-CMAs with CMAs of all ages earning more than the Non-CMAs. CMAs aged between 30 and 39 years earn salaries of between 71% and 74% higher than the Non-CMAs in the same age bracket. The CMAs also have a potential for increased pay even during economy difficulties (Charles, 2018).
CMA is designed primarily to measure the financial management and accounting skills that drive the performance of a business through financial control, planning, professional ethics, and decision support while CPA aids businesses for profit purposes and in staying competitive and robust and to ensure financial integrity through strategic tax planning, investment consulting, risk management and account analysis. CMA has a mixture of skills in management and financial accounting which allow the CMAs in making business decisions strategically given the financial information while CPA is involved in auditing with CPAs being involved in tax work. The CMA exam is meant for accounting people working in corporate and company roles while the CPA exams are intended for customer-facing accounts. The CMA certification requires less formal coursework with more professional experience than it is necessary for CPA certification (Brody et al., 2017).
References
Brody, R. G., Li, S., & Zhou, L. (2017). Beyond the CPA: Student awareness of accounting certifications. The Accounting Educators' Journal, 26.
Charles, S. (2018). IMA'S GLOBAL SALARY SURVEY. Strategic Finance, 99(9), 28-40.
Dean, P. C. (2017). Becoming better students: the combination of attending IMA Student Leadership Conferences and starting an IMA student chapter can help students prepare for the workplace. Strategic Finance, 99(2), 62-64.
Keener, C. (2018). Networking with IMA. Strategic Finance, 99(8), 64-65.
Krippel, G. L. (2017). THE CMA ADVANTAGE: AN UPDATE. Strategic Finance, 99(3), 38-45.
