IMA’s Higher Education Endorsement Program continues to grow in global reach with the recent endorsement of its first institution in Mexico, ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México).

IMA’s Higher Education Endorsement Program acknowledges accounting and finance programs that meet rigorous educational standards, enabling students to prepare for careers in management accounting and pursue and earn the CMA^® (Certified Management Accountant) certification. To qualify for endorsement, accredited institutions must substantially cover the CMA program content, invest adequate faculty resources to deliver this content, and be accredited by a recognized accreditation organization. More than 100 institutions of higher learning are now part of the program.

ITAM, located in Mexico City, is a private university and one of Mexico’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning. Established in 1946, the school has approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offers 38 academic programs, organized into five academic divisions. ITAM’s Academic Division of Management and Accountancy offers a BA program in Public Accounting and Financial Strategy, which has approximately 170 students. The faculty in the division puts a particular emphasis on developing analytical critical thinking, decision making, IT, and soft skills. The participation of accounting specialists in the courses and practitioner-faculty help to link the courses with practice and integrate knowledge with an international perspective.

Ana Maria Díaz Bonnet, director of the Public Accounting and Financial Strategy program, noted that the school has recently seen an increased interest in management accounting, especially from a strategic perspective. That’s one of the reasons why the university sought out endorsement under the IMA program.

“Our department knows the important role that certification plays in the growing global economy, and we want to ensure that our accounting students have the tools they need to bring to their careers,” she explained.

Díaz Bonnet said that the process to earn endorsement started first with a thorough review of the content of the program’s curriculum. Once the school confirmed that its curriculum was aligned with the established objectives of the IMA Higher Education Endorsement Program, Díaz Bonnet and her team began the formal process of completing the IMA application.

Díaz Bonnet said that completing the application and going through the steps towards endorsement helped the department to implement many continuous improvement practices. Plus, despite the application and the review process being conducted during the COVID pandemic, she is grateful the university was able to advance through the approval process until it had gained recognition.

For Díaz Bonnet, achieving recognition under the program has a singular distinction, one that will benefit the university as well as its students.

“The fact that our Public Accounting and Financial Strategy program has been approved as a Higher Education Endorsement Program by IMA affirms the quality and excellence of the content of the program. We’re also especially proud that we are the first school in Mexico that has earned this seal of quality, which demonstrates that our students have the knowledge and skills the profession requires,” she said.

To learn more, please visit IMA’s Higher Education Endorsement Program.