Advocacy

IMA serves as a strong voice on critical issues of interest to our members and the profession around the world. We strive to ensure that developments in legislation, regulation, or financial accounting practices are consistent with the demands faced by our members in managing their organizations effectively.

Advocacy at IMA consists of active efforts to work with standard-setting bodies and other organizations on matters that affect the profession. We have several technical advocacy committees that represent your voice on key issues affecting our profession globally, including financial reporting standards, small business issues, and private company disclosures, to name just a few. Thanks to these volunteer-led committees, IMA has grown in respect and influence with global bodies that provide regulations, standards, and/or guidance, such as the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

Recent Advocacy Efforts

• ­Our Small Business Financial Reporting Committee (SBFRC), the voice of IMA members working at small and midsize organizations, mostly privately held, provided input to the FAF regarding the establishment of a Private Company Council to improve the standards-setting process for private companies.

• ­IMA’s Financial Reporting Committee (FRC), which represents larger constituents, provides meaningful input to standards-setters to ensure effective, transparent, and relevant financial reporting. The FRC continues to collaborate with the SEC, FASB, and IASB with significant input on issues, including U.S. GAAP and IFRS convergence.

• ­Our XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) Committee provided significant input to Congress in support of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act), which allows for external performance data that is more timely, accurate, and comparable. Additionally, the XBRL Committee led the development of IMA’s comment letter on integrated reporting, which strives to produce external disclosures that are more relevant, concise, and actionable.

• ­IMA’s COSO Advisory Panel has provided practical input and examples to COSO’s refresh of its landmark 1992 Internal Controls Framework, helping to create stronger and more ethical organizations. IMA is a founding member of both COSO and XBRL.

• ­Finally, our Managerial Costing Conceptual Framework (MCCF) Task Force developed a technically sound, foundational framework for the discipline surrounding costing of products, services, and markets (e.g., cost causality, resource allocation, and treatment of overhead costs).