New Reports Highlight Advantages of Professional Certification Amid Digital Transformation
Giuseppe Barone
IMA
(201) 474-1681
giuseppe.barone@imanet.org
Taylor Fenske
Stern Strategy Group
(908) 325-3866
tfenske@sternstrategy.com
Montvale, N.J., September 5, 2019 – IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) released two reports today outlining the advantages pursuing a professional certification provides for both employers and employees amid rampant technological change. The reports, “Achieving Competitive Advantage in the Digital Age – The Value of Training and Certification” and “Increasing Your Value in the Digital Age – The Impact of Professional Certification,” explore how the digital transformation can be leveraged by organizations and by finance and accounting professionals.
According to the findings, the greater an organization values certification, the more likely that organization is to have a highly effective finance and accounting function. Further, from an employee perspective, professional certification can determine promotion decisions.
“For organizations, training and certification will allow them to strengthen their finance functions amid technical change, and for employees, it will allow them to jump the skills gap and increase their prospects for career advancement,” said co-author Raef Lawson, Ph.D., CMA, CSCA, CPA, CFA, CAE, professor-in-residence and vice president of research and policy at IMA. “Ultimately, the report underscores the importance of professional training and certification for both organizations and employees.”
Additionally, the surveys reveal:
- Professional certification is viewed as the most effective avenue for preparing employees for the shifting business environment, followed by individual courses to develop specific skills.
- Over 75 percent of survey respondents said that their employer’s support of certification would affect their decision to remain with their company.
- Professional certification is an important factor in promotion decisions for 40 percent of organizations.
- Just 13 percent of survey respondents believed their organizations’ finance departments to be sufficiently prepared for technological change.
This research follows the release of IMA’s enhanced Management Accounting Competency Framework, an educational resource that identifies six domains of core knowledge, skills, and abilities that finance and accounting professionals will need to remain relevant in the digital age, and revisions to the CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) exam, which will adjust for the increased impact of technology on the profession.
To read the full reports, visit here for the “Achieving Competitive Advantage in the Digital Age – The Value of Training and Certification” report and here for the “Increasing Your Value in the Digital Age – The Impact of Professional Certification” report.
About the Authors
Raef Lawson, Ph.D., CMA, CSCA, CPA, CFA, CAE, is professor-in-residence and vice president of research and policy at IMA. Toby Hatch is a senior product marketing director for enterprise performance management with Oracle Corporation. Denis Desroches, an enterprise performance management specialist since 1993, has supported organizations with the selection, implementation and knowledge acquisition of scorecard, performance management and activity-based management solutions.
About IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants)
IMA®, named the 2017 and 2018 Professional Body of the Year by The Accountant/International Accounting Bulletin, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) and CSCA® (Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis) programs, continuing education, networking, and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 125,000 members in 150 countries and 300 professional and student chapters. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/India. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.