IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) played a prominent role at the midyear meeting of the American Accounting Association’s Management Accounting Section (MAS) this year, held January 6-8. What was originally planned as a hybrid meeting was shifted to an entirely virtual format due to COVID-19 concerns. The changed format offered an opportunity for more members of the academic community to attend, and they heard insights about IMA’s resources, opportunities, and initiatives in support of IMA academic members and management accounting research.
On Thursday, January 6, more than 50 Ph.D. candidates participated in the IMA Doctoral Colloquium. This day-long event is sponsored by IMA and provides a forum for doctoral students to interact with their peers and to hear from a variety of experts on topics that are relevant to their careers. Susie Duong, Ph.D., CMA, CPA, CIA, EA, IMA’s new director of research, and Laurie Burney, Ph.D., CMA, CSCA, CPA (inactive-TN), associate professor of accounting at Baylor University and IMA professor-in-residence, delivered an informative presentation on “Advancing Research Development,” which covered the importance of rigorous applied research and research opportunities for members of the academic community.
On January 7, IMA led two sessions. The first was a panel discussion, “Essential Management Accounting Competencies for All Entry-Level Accountants,” featuring an overview of IMA’s recent management accounting competencies research report. The panel, moderated by Duong, included Burney, Monte Swain, Ph.D, CMA, CPA, CGMA, Deloitte professor of accounting, Brigham Young University; and Roopa Venkatesh, Ph.D., CMA, professor of accounting, University of Nebraska at Omaha and chair of IMA’s Committee on Academic Relations.
Also that day, Burney and Lisa Beaudoin, CMA, CSCA, CAE, IMA senior director of business development, delivered a presentation titled “Leverage IMA Resources for Research and Teaching.” Their talk provided an overview of IMA’s recent research initiatives and covered the many teaching and development resources available for IMA academic members. Resources discussed included the IMA Educational Case Journal (IECJ®), the Campus Influencer program, the CMA Scholarship and CMA Opportunity programs, the IMA Higher Education Endorsement Program, and more.
“IMA is launching a plan to create even more opportunities for academics eager to advance the profession. This important midyear gathering of the MAS was an excellent forum to unveil some of these new opportunities,” said Loreal Jiles, IMA vice president of research and thought leadership. “In addition to funding opportunities available through the IMA Research Foundation, we will be issuing a call for academics to partner with us to lead projects that deliver academic journal submissions and articles for practitioner-focused outlets. We expect this expanded strategy will allow us to strengthen relationships with academics, bolster offerings to students, and propel the profession forward.”