About fifteen years ago, the Institute of Management Accountants decided to become a ‘strategic finance’ organization, moving away from costing.  A regular column in their Strategic Finance magazine on costing, written by Robin Cooper and Regine Slagmulder lasted about another year.  The IMA has found a regular source of revenue in their Certified Management Accountant designation, but unfortunately, at least in the US, industry has not readily accepted the CMA.  Those of us who are management accountants have felt safer pursuing MBA’s.  The IMA has been expanding by offering it’s CMA in more countries and lately has been aggressively marketing in Asia.

Now the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, in a joint venture with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants will begin offering the Chartered Global Management Accountant designation.  Since the CGMA will be offered initially to voting members of AICPA we have to assume that it too is meant as a revenue generator and not something to boost the standing of Management Accountants.  It certainly is unlikely to ever achieve the standing of CIMA in Europe or Management Accounting certifications in many other countries.

Does any certification adequately capture the essence of what it means to be a costing professional?  For those on LinkedIn, the ‘Management Accountant +’ discussion suggested that Cost Management professionals require much more knowledge than accounting, see the professional development section on our website.  Another good source for continuing education is the Management and Accounting Web.

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