The Institute is now entering its 20th year, having been incorporated in 1996.
A key change to the organisation structure of ICMA in the past year was the establishment of Regional Offices and the appointment of Regional Directors located in strategic regions. Overseas Regional Offices were established in (1) China (Including Hong Kong And Macau); (2) India (Including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal And African Subcontinent); (3) Indonesia (including Regional Offices in the Special Capital Region of Jakarta; West Java; East Java and Central Java); (4) Lebanon; (5) Malaysia; (6) Papua New Guinea; (7) Philippines; (8) Sri Lanka (9) European Union; (10) United Arab Emirates; (11) Cyprus; (12) Vietnam and (13) Iran. These Regional Offices will be responsible for representing the Institute and its activities in the Region.
Over the past year the Institute was successful in canvassing for the role of ‘Management Accountant’ to be maintained for a sixth year in the Australian Government’s Skilled Occupation List (SOL) for General Skilled Migration (GSM).
I would also like to report on the following initiatives:
Continuing Education Market: The ICMA has recognised that there is an executive market that requires specialised training in specific areas. As such it has commissioned the development of a series of Certificates of Proficiency in varied topics (such as IFRS and Islamic Finance etc).
Higher Education Market: The ICMA has recognised many members are looking for further education via a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and those that have an MBA, are looking for a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA). As such, the ICMA has sponsored the development of an MBA and a DBA program specifically to its members via Calwest University in California, USA. See www.calwest.org
High-Flyer Student Market: The ICMA has decided to focus not only on experienced executives; but also focus on the next generation of professionals. As such it has introduced the Emerging Professional Scholarship Program to train the next generation of management accountants. The Regional Offices will market this scholarship program to the universities in their designated region.
Islamic Professional Education Market: There is strong demand from Islamic countries for a 4-7 day program for already qualified generalist accountants to be versed in Islamic Accounting & Auditing and Islamic Banking & Finance. As such the ICMA is proposing launching a Certified Islamic Public Accountant (CIPA) professional qualification.
IMAC Activities: Amongst the activities in the last year more under our control, was the launching of the International Management Accounting Collaborative (IMAC). The ICMA is the founder charter member of IMAC which is now the global organization for the management accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. Representations were made over the year to form further alliances with the following bodies: (1) Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI); (2) Asia Pacific Management Accounting Association (APMAA); (3) Institute of Certified Professional Management Accountants of Indonesia (IAMI). These discussions are ongoing.
Publications: The Institute’s website is now significantly updated and incorporates a Member’s Section that could only be accessed by current financial members. I urge all members to make use of the membership fees they have paid, and go to this member’s section as it provides a wealth of information. The eNewsletter On Target continued to be published and the web-analytics indicates that it gets on average 2,000 visits and 3,000 page views per month.The ICMA continued to publish a world-class academic research journal, the Journal of Applied Management Accounting Research (JAMAR). Two issues were published in the year in both print and online modes. The latest JAMAR issues are also only available to current financial members.
Research & Library: Research and professional development also continued in the two organizations set up by the ICMA: (1) The Institute of Certified Carbon Analysts and Auditors (ICCAA) and (2) The Institute for the Advancement of Corporate Reporting and Assurance (IACRA). The Library now has over 12,000 texts and professional and academic publications, and has now one of the best libraries in Australia in the professional areas of management accounting and risk management
Membership Services: The Institute Secretariat continued to provide the following services:
- Providing Continuing Professional Education (CPE) to members via Calwest University in the USA and the Academy of Finance and Management Australia (AFMA).
- Maintaining the corporate website that was in keeping with the enhanced international profile of ICMA
- Designing and maintaining a Member’s Only area on the website.
- Publishing 6 copies of the On Target eNewsletter.
- Increasing the holdings of the Library by over 200 texts and professional and academic publications during the year.
- Having a World-Class Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to handle the membership, invoicing, examinations and accounts.
- Conducting Examinations in all Branch locations and in over 20 countries where students undertake the CMA program online.
- Setting up an ICMA Blog, with links to Facebook and Twitter
- Continuing with the links to CEO Institute for Members
I wish all members Happy Holidays!
Best Wishes
Michael Tse, FCMA, CGBA
President, ICMA
