September 2018

Canton IMA

 STARK RAVINGS
    The Newsletter of the IMA Canton Chapter

   September 2018

http://canton.imanet.org

Jeff Walters, President
Cullen Bahler, Editor


  In this issue:

   Student Night
   Strategic Finance Tips
   Webinar Schedule
   Upcoming IMA Technical Sessions

 

 Connect with Us!

 Do you have info to share with our     chapter? Email it to info@cantonima.org


 Please Join Us!

 Student Night
 Tuesday, September 18, 2018 | 5:00 - 7:30 pm

  Walsh University Business Barrette Conference Center
  2020 East Maple Street North Canton, OH 44720 
(directions)

Deadline registration: Monday, September 10, 5:00 pm

click here for more info | click here to register

 



Pre-Dinner Technical Session (5:00 - 6:00 pm):

Managing Distractions

 
Presented by Andrew Onslow, CPA, and
  Jennifer Grossman, CPA, CliftonLarsonAllen

 



After-Dinner Technical Session (6:30 - 7:30 pm): 

How Data Analytics is Changing the Landscape of Accounting and Finance?

 Presented by Christopher Holmes, Senior
 Manager, Finance Technology & Analytics, 
 JM Smucker Company

 

 

Strategic Finance
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING EDUCATION: NEW IMPERATIVES

By RAEF LAWSON, PH.D., CMA, CSCA, CFA, CPA, CAE

Technology is redefining the role of the management accountant while changing the business landscape and the management accounting profession at an unprecedented speed. To prepare future professionals, management accounting education must change as well. The newly revised Management Accounting Competency Framework, published by IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants), can help provide guidance on how to accomplish this feat.

CURRENT MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK

In 2016, to help its members, students, and the profession at large prepare for careers in management accounting, IMA published its Management Accounting Competency Framework. The Framework is a continuation of IMA’s ongoing research that explores the changing role of management accountants and competencies these professionals need for career success. This research has documented the ongoing evolution of the role of the management accountant from an accumulator and reporter of financial information to being a more strategy-oriented business partner.

THE CHANGING PROFESSION

Since the publication of the Competency Framework, the field of management accounting has experienced considerable change.

We can think of this change as being four “lines of sight” for finance teams: oversight, insight, hindsight, and foresight. Oversight, a traditional CFO role, includes resource allocation, ensuring a healthy financial profile for future investment, and more. Hindsight entails looking backward to influence the future in a positive way—in other words, using historical data for future projections. Insight involves turning information into intelligence; it’s where business partnering begins. Foresight is where finance professionals play a leading role in anticipating the future and helping their organizations envision the future. It includes strategic planning, competitive moves, and innovation. For today’s finance functions, being able to provide foresight is increasingly important and expected.

A key factor driving this change is the relentless evolution of technology. While technology has always been an important part of the management accountant’s skill set, that importance is increasing dramatically. Technological advances are reducing, and in some cases eliminating, many of the routine tasks performed by management accountants, freeing them to add more value as business partners with the rest of the organization. Strategic management, which includes strategy formulation, validation, and implementation, is becoming an essential competency for management accountants to possess.

To succeed in their evolving role, management accountants will need to employ more sophisticated analytics. In the past, they provided descriptive and diagnostic statistics. Today, as shown in Figure 1, they must move to the higher end of the analytics continuum—to predictive, prescriptive, and adaptive analytics. But they require new competencies to be able to perform this type of analysis. Therefore, it’s essential that management accountants acquire these skills in order to be relevant and “fit for purpose,” not only today but also for the future.

This is an abstract. To read the full article, click here: http://sfmagazine.com/post-entry/august-2018-management-accounting-education-new-imperatives/

 

 
  Webinar Schedule

You will earn CMA and CPE credits
when you attend any live webinar.
Replay webinars are available in the
archive but do not earn credits.
Advance registration is recommende
—IMA webinars are popular and fill up
quickly.

Be Strategic or Be Gone:
Developing Your Strategic
Thinking and Planning Capabilities
Leadership Academy

August 27, 2018 01:00PM - 02:00PM

Expense Management: How 2018
Trends Affect Your Company

Inside Talk
August 29, 2018 01:00PM - 02:00PM

Improving Back Office  Productivity
Inside Talk
September 5, 2018 01:00PM - 02:00PM

Building Your Leadership Brand:
Delivering on Your Brand Promise

Inside Talk
September 6, 2018 01:00PM - 02:30PM

7 Best Practices for Pain-free
Global Supplier Payments

Inside Talk
September 13, 2018 01:00PM -  02:00PM

Data Visualizations Decoded
Inside Talk
September 17, 2018 01:00PM -
02:30PM

Register for Any Webinar

 
  Join Us at IMA Technical Sessions

  2018-2019 tech sessions will be held at Kozmo's Grille with the exceptions noted below. There
  are two hour-long sessions beginning at 5:00 and 6:30 and dinner in between.

  • September 18, 2018 - Student Night - Walsh University Business Barrette Conference Center
  • October 16, 2018
  • November 13, 2018
  • December 18, 2018
  • January 15, 2019
  • February 19, 2019
  • March 19, 2019
  • April 16, 2019
  • May 21, 2019

  Cost for dinner is $30 for members/guests and $15 for students. Please look for invite emails with
  registration information prior to each meeting.

  Schedule:

  • Social/Networking at 4:45 pm
  • Pre-Dinner Technical Session at 5:00 pm
  • Dinner at 6:00 pm
  • Post-Dinner Technical Session at 6:30 pm (excluding Student Night)

© 2010-2018 Institute of Management Accountants - Canton Ohio Chapter # 155. All rights reserved.
info@cantonima.org

The mission of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) is to provide a forum for research, practice development, education,
knowledge sharing, and the advocacy of the highest ethical and best business practices in management accounting and finance.
Please join us as we promote this mission in the greater Canton, Ohio, area.