2019 UAE Business Awards

32 MEA MARKETS / 2019 UAE Business Awards , Best Financial Services Professional Development Organisation 2019 & Leading Providers of Accountant Training Programs 2019 Feb19498 IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) is one of the largest associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession by supporting its members career development through the CMA® (CertifiedManagement Accountant) certification and providing access to an active professional community, continuing education, valuable information, and resources. We are profiling the organisation to find out more. For more than a century, IMA has helped its members navigate the trends, threats, and opportunities of their profession. Robotics, artificial intelligence, and data analytics are not passing trends. Every business must pivot towards technology and that requires the support of a community. That community is IMA. IMA is committed to prepare its members for the changing demands of the profession, specifically seizing the opportunities presented by technology. IMA’s CMA program is taking the lead in helping members upskill with competencies that are not easily automated; e.g., decision support, and planning and analysis. The CMA program aligns closely with the skills management accounting and finance professionals need now and will need in the future. In January 2020, the CMA exam will be updated to test competencies that are increasingly important to the management accounting profession, including information systems, data governance, technology-en- abled finance transformation, and data analytics. The updates to the exam are being made to ensure the CMA remains relevant in the ever-evolving environment of the management accounting profession. Today, the CMA’s global status and influence created a common qualification that paves the way toward equal opportunity for people from developed and developing countries alike. The U.S.-based CMA program has certified professionals within more than 100 countries and is recognized by some of the world’s largest employers, including Caterpillar, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, and Cummins. In the region, CMAs can be found working in many global organizations including Aramco, Nestlé, Mubadala, Cerner, among others. These companies recognize that CMAs are valuable assets to their global finance teams. As such, it makes a CMA holder more appealing to global organizations and can be their figurative “passport” to other countries. With the CMA, employers know they have the skills for the job, whether they’re in Boston or Beijing. Thus, it can be said that the CMA is the ultimate global engine of mobility for the management accounting profession. Looking to the future, IMA will be continuing to drive the CMA program and support even more members throughout the UAE and around the world. IMA (Institute of Management Accountants): Contact: Hanadi Khalife, Director, ME and India Operations, IMA Website: http://www.imamiddleeast.org/ “IMA is committed to prepare its members for the changing demands of the profession, specifically seizing the opportunities presented by technology.” “The CMA program aligns closely with the skills management accounting and finance professionals need now and will need in the future.”