MONTVALE, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2021 / In a year of challenging market conditions, IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants) was resilient and remained committed to the management accounting profession as displayed in its annual review for the 2021 fiscal year (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021), titled 'A Purpose-Driven Organization Built on Trust.'

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, IMA continued to maintain its membership and the CMA^® (Certified Management Accountant), IMA's flagship certification for financial professionals, and provided ongoing opportunities for members. Key achievements for the 2021 fiscal year include:

• A record high of 46,859 active CMAs with 12,926 new certifications earned in the past fiscal year. Additionally, 29,589 new CMA candidates were added to the program.
• 13 percent of all CMAs were certified in the past fiscal year, 50 percent were certified in the last five years, and the year ended with IMA closing in on the 100,000th CMA since the program's inception.
• A growth of 28.5 percent year-over-year in Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits awarded, with a 14.2 percent increase in the number of unique participants. Webinar attendance increased by 13.4 percent.
• An offering of 155 hours of free CPE as a benefit of membership.
• IMA membership being at similar levels as the end of the 2019 fiscal year before the pandemic. Globally, IMA membership has increased 71 percent over the last five years.

'As organizations reconfigure themselves for a new normal that is constantly evolving, I am confident the entire IMA community will meet the multitude of challenges with courage, care, and conviction of purpose,' said Jeff Thomson, CMA, CSCA, CAE, IMA president and CEO. 'I have tremendous optimism about the future because I know our members are steering their organizations in the right direction and helping them adapt to the volatile and uncertain global environment that we all face.'

Offerings

IMA offered virtual conferences and meetings that enabled networking and learning opportunities for accounting and finance students and professionals wanting to help to continue their professional development despite the impacts of the pandemic. Globally and in each of IMA's regions (China, Middle East/India, Europe, Southeast Asia), virtual events were highly popular and successful with a larger reach of participants being able to participate from home.

Initiatives

In a year where organizations and society grappled with racial inequity, IMA partnered with accounting organizations nationally and globally to produce research revealing a significant diversity gap in the accounting and finance profession. IMA remains committed to improving these diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) gaps and plans to issue global research DE&I reports, a solutions report in response to the original research, and additional strategic partnerships.

Additionally, as the profession, investors, and stakeholders are asking for more nonfinancial information related to climate disclosures, IMA expanded its thought leadership on sustainability and formed a Sustainable Business Management Global Task Force to advocate on behalf of the management accounting profession before governments, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders. IMA provided guidance on disclosures, measurements, and decision making for professionals in relation to sustainable business metrics.

The report, available for download on IMA's website, features commentary from Thomson and FY 2021 Chair of IMA's Global Board of Directors Paul Juras, Ph.D., CMA, CPA.

About IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants)
IMA^® 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. Twice named Professional Body of the Year by The Accountant/International Accounting Bulletin, IMA has a global network of about 140,000 members in 150 countries and 350 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.

CONTACT:
Giuseppe Barone
IMA
201) 474-1681
giuseppe.barone@imanet.org

Taylor Fenske
Stern Strategy Group
(908) 325-3866
tfenske@sternstrategy.com

SOURCE: IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants)