IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants) in April hosted a very successful hybrid in-person/virtual event in China. The event, titled “Tianfu Financial Talent Summit & IMA Management Accounting Practice Summit,” was co-organized with the government of Tianfu New Area, a national-level economic development area in China that is promoting economic growth in Chengdu and Sichuan Province. More than 200 participants attended in person while approximately 470 attended virtually.

Followed opening remarks delivered via video by Jim Gurowka, CAE, IMA senior vice president of global development, and presentations by leading speakers, the event featured the signing of a new cooperation agreement between IMA and Tianfu New Area. This is the first such agreement that IMA has signed directly with a local government in China. Under the agreement, Tianfu New Area and IMA opened a new IMA Management Accounting (Southwest) International Communication Center in Tianfu New Area, which will provide office space as well as a gathering place for future China Elite Club events and seminars.

Jim Gurowka delivered opening remarks via video.

“This Communication Center will serve as an excellent meeting place where IMA members and CMAs can come together for networking activities,” said Richard Li, IMA vice president and chief representative in China. “We’re so pleased to have signed this cooperation agreement with Tianfu New Area and appreciate their support of IMA’s management accounting education initiatives.” 

The event featured C-suite keynote speakers and panelists from prominent companies, including China Southern Power Grid, Deloitte, Sichuan Development Holdings, and Maoye Commercial. Other prominent speakers hailed from top universities, including Xi’an Jiaotong University and Southwest University of Finance and Economics. 

Among the speakers, Professor Tian Gaoliang, deputy dean of the School of Management of Xi’an Jiaotong University and member of the IMA Academic Advisory Committee, delivered a keynote presentation on the topic of “Smart Digital Times.” He emphasized that companies must grasp the development opportunities of digitization, networking, and intelligence, and realize financial transformation in a timely manner, from high-speed expansion to high-quality development, from controlled finance to enabling finance, and from process-driven to data-driven.

Professor Tian Gaoliang gave a keynote address.

Senior officers from the Tianfu New Area government – the Chief Accountant and the Director of Accounting – also spoke.

“We wish to thank everyone who helped in making this event a success—from the organizers to the speakers and from the attendees to the sponsors. We are especially encouraged by the progress we have made in our relationship with the Tianfu New Area government over the past year and look forward to continued cooperation and collaboration. As an organization, we will continue to seek out other similar opportunities in order to expand the influence and value awareness of IMA, the CMA, and management accounting in Chendgu and all of Southwest China,” said Richard Li. 

Please visit the IMA website to learn more about IMA China.