Attached are remarks I made recently at the 38th Annual Norman Meonske/Ohio Council professional development event. It is a great event which attracts over 400 professionals, enabled by a great volunteer group comprised of members from the IMA Ohio Council.
The highlights are:
1. Our profession is healthy and resilient. What great career opportunities to enrich organizations and society with the value and skills that management accountants bring to the table!!
2. We must do better as educators and professional associations in meeting the talent gap - employers saying they have critical competency gaps in the areas of financial planning and analysis, risk management, decision analytics, and more.
3. Is the current trend toward accounting associations creating joint ventures and even mergers in the best interests of the profession? Time will tell. In some cases, such as the AICPA and CIMA JV, credentials are essentially given away (in return for a fee) with no testing or assessment. Is that what is best for employers to feel confident that they are filling their competency gaps??
4. IMA is growing and will continue to grow. We will be FIERCE competitors, putting mission and members first. We will be respectful but courageous in all we do. You as our members should expect nothing less.
5. NO association in the world has the commitment to community, culture and values that IMA has. That is thanks to our volunteer ambassadors around the world, and our communities with 180 chapters in the US, 85 student chapters which has doubled over the past two years, and 22 chapters outside the US and growing rapidly. Stay tuned!!
At the annual meeting of members in Las Vegas on June 24, we will have some exciting announcements including new partnerships to better serve our societal mission while expanding our global footprint.
Let me know what you think.
Jeff Thomson, CMA - the gold standard of management accounting for 40 years.