The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the world’s largest body of Management Accountants, sustained an unparalleled expansion efforts throughout 2015 and continued to build on its past growth rate.
During 2015, CIMA celebrated its 100,000th member, a milestone that is a testament to the organisation’s continuous commitment to nurturing diverse talent. Furthermore, students’ performance improved with GCC achieving a remarkable pass rate of 76 per cent.
Geetu Ahuja, Head of GCC, CIMA said: “2015 has been a successful year for us. Through strategic partnerships we have expanded our presence and reached out to a larger group of students and professionals, empowering them to become better equipped in today’s business while developing their proficiency in business and finance. Globally, we achieved the landmark 100,000th member milestone this year, strengthening nine decades of expertise, knowledge and capabilities that has transformed CIMA into the world’s leading professional body of management accountants.”
The CIMA qualification is designed to deliver a strong understanding of all aspects of business allowing professionals to contribute across many areas of an organisation, not just in finance. In addition to strong accounting fundamentals, CIMA teaches strategic business and management skills, equipping professionals to give advice on business strategy and risk management. The CIMA syllabus is built around the core accounting skill, but has expanded to include ‘Big Data’, sustainability, integrated reporting, finance function transformation, as well as costing and cost management.
CIMA also contributed to the growth of the Islamic banking and finance industry and prepared members for a career in Islamic finance through its Islamic Finance Qualifications, which covers Islamic Commercial Law, Banking and Takaful, Islamic Capital Markets and Accounting for Islamic Finance Institutions. As a testament to its contribution towards the development of skilled talent in the field of Islamic Finance, CIMA was awarded the Best Training Institution Award at the 2015 Islamic Business and Finance Awards, the sector’s longest established awards programme.
CIMA has also been playing a strategic role in bridging the employability gap in the region. CIMA worked closely with prominent entities in the Middle East including Unilever, Mars, Mashreq Bank, Emirates and Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), and forged new partnerships with ADNOC, DU, Nestle, Union National Bank and Damas in 2015. Furthermore, CIMA conferred the Premier Partner for Training and Development to Mannai Corporation, Qatar, in recognition of their support in providing career long training and development to the CIMA members and students in their organisation. The year also saw the appointment of Amir Al Janahi (FCMA, CGMA), Director, Plant Finance at EGA as the Chairman of CIMA’s Middle East, South Asia and North Africa (MESANA) regional board.
As part of its ongoing mission to be a facilitator of higher education and research in the business and finance profession, CIMA launched an earnings calculator based on a 2015 salary survey. This new informational tool enables members and students to calculate average salaries according to different career factors. The calculator uses data from the 2015 CIMA salary survey and enables users to quickly compare average salaries by industry, job role and level of experience in their respective countries.
CIMA hosted several professional development workshops across the GCC for Integrated Strategy, Budgeting and Performance Management as well as Information Technology and Strategy. It also supported key events such as the CFO Awards and golf tournaments. In addition, CIMA actively supported ACT Middle East Annual Conference in 2015, and continued to build on existing tie-ups with educational institutions in the region, which include Abu Dhabi University, Manipal University, American University in Dubai, University of Wollongong (UOWD), University in Bahrain, Skyline University, Emirates International Banking and Finance, College of Banking and Finance, Amity University and signed MOUs with University of Dubai and Manchester Business School Dubai.