|
In this Oct 2004 issue of On
Target :
President's message at ICMA 2004
AGM
The Institute is now moving into its ninth year. This year
too we have achieved some important milestones that will provide
us direction in the coming years.
The key development was the appointment of ICMA as a Registered
Training Organisation. This means we can offer an Advanced
Diploma in Accounting (Associate Degree) in Australia and
overseas that must be recognised by Australian universities as
being equivalent to the first year of university studies. This
Advanced Diploma in Accounting is now incorporated into Stages
one and two of our GMA program. The syllabuses have now been
approved by the Education Committee and ready for launch in
2005. We must thank Geoff Baring and Professor Janek Ratnatunga
who put long hours to obtain this certification of the
Institute.
Another key development was the implementation of the
resolution passed at last year’s AGM, in the introduction of a
Management Accounting Affiliate (MAA) category. This has drawn
significant interest from those interested in the profession,
and has also had a positive impact on our bottom line.
The last year saw the establishment of two important overseas
technical alliances, in the Philippines and India, and the
continuation of strong programs in existing locations, such as
in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Lebanon and Papua New Guinea.
However, some difficulties with partners arose during the year
in Hong Kong and Singapore and the Education committee chairmen
will report on these initiatives and associated problems. As
usual, difficulties also arose for the program to be introduced
into China. We are still working hard in these markets, but we
have long learnt that patience in China is a virtue!
In Papua New Guinea our Branch was reconstituted as the
Institute of Chartered Management Accountants (PNG), the second
accounting body formed by government legislation in that
country. Professor Ratnatunga and I were invited to the launch,
and amongst the most distinguished guests was the Australian
High Commissioner. Professor Ratnatunga was briefly a TV star as
his speech along with that of the PNG Minister of Finance made
the evening news! Professor Ratnatunga was also invited by
Austrade in India, when the ICMA was launched at the Australian
High Commission in New Delhi to a large invited audience. The
Trade Commissioner, Mr. Tony Burchill and Professor Ratnatunga
were the speakers that evening, and the launch received
widespread media coverage in the Hindustani Times, Times of
India and Economic Times.
The Global Business School initiative in which CMA subjects
are incorporated within MBA programs of the Royal Roads
University (Canada), Educatis University (Switzerland) and the
Indonesian Institute of Management are now in its formative
stages, with the first student batch being sponsored by the
Ministry of Finance in PNG. Other markets expected to join soon
are Indonesia and the Philippines.
Our web page, cmawebline.org attracts significant interest
from around the world and plans are now well underway to offer
the GMA and CMA subjects over the net.
Membership continues to grow healthily both in Australia and
overseas, now mainly due to our Education programs. It is always
difficult picking exact numbers at this initial point in the
financial year because of the uncertainty surrounding renewals.
It would appear, however, that our current membership is now
over 800 CMAs and likely to be in the region of 1,000 by the
same time next year, a good benchmark target to achieve in our
10th year of existence!
One of the foremost issues always confronting the executive
is the need to continue raising the public profile of the
Institute. The Executive believes this can be done by being
pro-active in the area of Corporate Governance and
Sustainability, by lobbying Government appointed Regulatory
Bodies to legislate as mandatory (or at least recommended as
best-practice) the various audits required in those areas, such
as Strategic Audits, Cost Audits, Environmental Impact Audits
and Risk Audits.
Another highlight during the year was the publication of 2
issues of the Journal of Applied Management Accounting Research
(JAMAR), in both print and electronic form. Members are
encouraged to submit papers that will be then appropriately
refereed to ensure that adequate academic and professional
standards are maintained I wish to thank the Editors and the
international panel of referees for their work in assisting us
to create this excellent resource that is fast becoming an
important tool in our public profile.
Although we are still the only Australian grown membership
organisation dedicated exclusively to the nurturing of
Management Accounting as a professional alternative for
accounting practitioners, the world around us is changing
dramatically. In Canada, the CMA body is set to merge with the
Chartered Accountants there. In the UK, CIMA is talking of
merging with the England & Wales Chartered Accountants. This
may be another blow to the profession of management accounting.
Previous mergers of cost accounting bodies with more generalist
bodies (e.g. the Australian Cost Institute with the Australian
Society of Accountants) only saw the demise of the
specialisation. In the western world, only our parent body, the
IMA in USA, and we are keeping our independence. We should be
proud of this and continue to slowly develop and grow our
membership, striving for both strength in numbers and excellence
in their professional integrity and ability.
Once more I must express my deep gratitude to a hard working
executive and council. It is unfair to single out individuals
but I am sure my colleagues will agree that the input of our
Education and Membership Committee Chairmen, and our Treasurer,
has been remarkable and well beyond the call of duty. I would
also like to thank our Secretary John Ortner, Sandy Stewart, our
Newsletter Editor, and Dr Themin Suwardy, our webmaster, for
their dedication and professionalism brought to the tasks
entrusted to them. Our biggest gratitude goes, however, to the
husbands, wives, sisters and children of our members who have
voluntarily given hours of their time to assist with the
management of our membership database, the design of our
promotional flyers, and the packaging of our journal.
Finally a vote of thanks to our auditor Ben Kaplan (no
relation of Robert) who has once again given his time to
discharge his duties very professionally.
Leon Duval
President
More
|
