The Institute of Management Accountants is a professional organization of accountants.
History
IMA was founded in 1919 in Buffalo, New York as the National association of cost accountants later changing its name to IMA in 1957. It has its headquarters in Montvale, New Jersey, United States, and regional offices in Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/India. In 1969, it formed the management accounting practices committee that was entrusted with task of promoting management accounting as a core area of study in line with IMA views. It had 12 members from several accounting bodies like FASB and other prominent accounting regulatory groups. The representatives of the MAP were recognized for their expertise in accounting. The committee later merged with Foundation for applied research forming the MAC/FAR committee
Timeline
1919: Founding of the National Association of Cost Accountants in Buffalo, N.Y., forerunner of the IMA
1920: First chapter of NACA formed in Chicago / First NACA Annual Conference held in Atlantic City
1925: NACA Bulletin introduced
1935: Library established at NACA national office
1943: First international chapter chartered
1945: Research committee established
1949: NACA Bulletin became monthly publication
1957: NACA became National Association of Accountants
1999: IMA relaunched and renamed its flagship magazine, Strategic Finance, which also became available online / Management Accounting Quarterly debuted Fall 1999
Additionally IMA provides certification, the Certified Management Accountant, for internal financial management responsibilities, including planning, budgeting, business reporting, decision analysis and risk management. The Institute of Certified Management Accountants is the certification division of IMA which awards the Certified Management Accountant and Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis designations. CMA curriculum includes subjects like strategic management, reporting and control, technology and analytics, leadership, business acumen and operations, and professional values and ethics. At IMA's recent annual conference in Indianapolis, the organization unveiled an exposure draft of an enhanced competency framework for skills management accountants will need to stay relevant in the digital age. This framework has 4 components of roles and skills that will be guiding force for the management leadership. These are as follows - a. Strategy, Planning and Performance - Visionary b. Reporting and Control - Steward c. Technology and Analytics - Catalyst d. Business acumen and operations - Partner
The CMA exam has two parts. Part 1 covers Financial Reporting, Planning, Performance, and Control. It includes: External Financial Reporting Decisions, Planning, budgeting, forecasting, performance management, cost management and internal controls. Part 2 covers Financial Decision Making and includes financial statement analysis, corporate finance, decision analysis, risk management, investment decisions & Professional Ethics.. From 2020, part 1 will include Technology and analytics component into its syllabus. This is to ensure CMA students are well versed with latest technological advancement which affects their future or current jobs. The worldwide pass rate for the exam is 35% for Part I and 49% for Part II in 2014.
Requirements
To be certified as a CMA, candidates must fulfill both an education requirement and an experience requirement in addition to passing the exam.
Foundational knowledge of economics, basic statistics, and financial accounting
Two continuous years of professional experience employing the principles of management accounting and financial management including a specified list of fields.
For certified CMAs, CPE credits are required to maintain active status. The CMA is a well-recognized certification among employers. CMA has better Career in Management Accounting than institute of Cost Accountants in SAARC nations. In its latest salary survey, IMA finds the median income for CMAs is about 28% higher in the U.S. than for their peers without the designation. Globally the survey finds CMAs earn 62% more in median salary and 67% more in median total compensation than non-CMAs. CMAs are well-represented within Fortune 500 companies as the certification is especially relevant to larger companies. CMAs hold titles such as Controller and CFO across industries.
Journal
IMA publishes the quarterly academic journalManagement Accounting Quarterly, focusing on corporate accounting and financial management. IMA also publishes the "Strategic Finance Magazine", an award winning publication that provides the latest information about practices and trends in finance and accounting.
