Professional Qualifications ? How many are too many ?

I have an ex-office colleague who possess the following qualifications : 1. CIMA 2. MICPA 3. ACCA 4. Diploma 5. Degree 6. Master That was then when I worked in Malaysia. I am not sure what other credentials that he has added in his portfolio today since it has been a while since we were in contact. My first impression upon knowing his credentials ? Impressive !. When I asked him, why so many ? His immediate respond was " People said it is difficult even get one, so I want to prove them wrong ". He is right. Talking from my personal experience. I was struggling to get my CIMA qualification and the same for few others, at least the one that I know. He made it so easy. Then, I moved to Doha, Qatar and on my first day in the bus heading to the office, the fellow passengers introduced himself to me; " Hi I am Venkat and I have professional qualifications- CIMA, ACCA, CPA and all other Cs to in my credentials. What is your name and are you a member of any professional organization ? " " Owh. Hi. I am Irwan and yes I am a CIMA, UK member " This the facts. My organization will only consider candidates with professional qualifications on top of the first degree as one of the criteria to shortlist candidate for interview. Then, I moved to Dubai, UAE and I was asked the same question by my staff on the first day I introduced myself to them " Are you a member of professional organization ? ". " Yes, I am a member of CIMA, UK ". I learned later that all the staff in my department have at least a member of a professional organization, with one is a member of three (3) professional organization. The question or rather questions are ; 1. Does it help to have more than 1 professional qualification in this competitive job market as product differentiation strategy? 2. If the shortlisting criteria(s) are based on the above, aren't the organization narrowing it choices of getting the right candidates with the right quality and capability beyond the qualifications ? One proponent of this, at least the recruitment team managed to narrow down the scopes and shortlisting the candidate is faster, quicker, effective and easier for recruitment team whom being pressured to fill up the vacant positions which being left vacant for as long as the organization exists. My next question, at whose expense ? In the profession and industry that I am in, I would be more happy to settle for the following potential candidates who possess the following as criteria(s) to be shortlisted candidates for interview ; 1. Having first degree from established university in the country of origin; 2. A member of professional organization ; 3. Experience with audit firm as essential [not mandatory] ; 4. Working with organizations that are peer group if not bigger in size and market value; 5. Expected salary [market rate as benchmark] ; The rest are up to candidates performance during interview. So to my question, how many is too many ? One is enough for me.

DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive. Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment. Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!

Featured jobs this week from CIMA

Fri, 27 May, 2011 19:17:46

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Please click here if you cannot view this email. This week we have vacancies in the following job roles: • Financial Analysts • Finance Managers • Business Analysts • Financial Accountants • Assistant Accountants If you're interested in vacancies in your region why not browse some of the jobs below. You can also keep updated by signing up to our job alerts via email or let recruiters work for you and add your CV to our database. Once you've found the job you like why not visit our job search clinic for advice on interview questions, sample CVs and cover letters...more Finance Manager (FMCG) London, £42k - £47k Management Accountant (Charity) Adelaide, $60k - $70k Business Analyst (Finance) Adelaide, $80k - $100k Senior Analyst (Finance) Kuala Lumpur, RM100k Analyst (Finance) Kuala Lumpur, RM72k  Upload your CV | Jobs by email | Careers advice www.cimaglobal.com/myjobs Unsubscribe | Update your details We hope this email has been of interest to you, however, if you do not wish to receive further emails from CIMA please log in to My CIMA and update your communication preferences under My Details.

DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive. Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment. Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants agree to offer new CGMA designation

New AICPA-CIMA designation -- Chartered Global Management Accountant -- to advance knowledge and practice of management accounting worldwide

LONDON / WASHINGTON, DC (May 23, 2011) – The governing bodies of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, headquartered in London, today agreed on creation of a new professional designation, the Chartered Global Management Accountant, that will be a worldwide standard of professional excellence in management accounting.

With approval now given by the AICPA and CIMA councils, the two accounting bodies will create the new CGMA designation to give management accountancy a higher profile in the United States and promote the professional development of management accountants across the globe. Backing the new CGMA designation will be an AICPA-CIMA joint venture with international resources and experience in management accounting, business and cultural knowledge.

CIMA president George Glass said: 'We are delighted that management accountancy is to be given a strong new global impetus by this joint venture. This advances our strategic aims and will ensure management accountants, committed to strict ethical standards, will receive world-class support in a fast-globalising world.'

'This is truly an historic moment for management accounting and the accounting profession worldwide.' AICPA chairman Paul Stahlin said. 'Our joint venture with CIMA creates long-term strategic value for our members and literally opens up the world for US CPAs in management accounting.'

Read More CIMA Global

Below are some of my reaction with regards to the above ;

1. It boosts and enhance CIMA qualification as it is now recognized beyond CIMA traditional market and make CIMA qualification more attractive and appeals to North America including Canada market;
2. Support the efforts of "normalization" of Accounting Standards between IFRS and GAAP;
3. The buzzword now is globalization, leveraging, networking and bigger . With the combined members of both institutions, it will make the syllabus and qualification more relevant in today's world;
4.Branding, positioning and marketing of the qualifications will be more aggressive and I suppose reducing and optimizing the cost. Shall I anticipate lower membership fees and more access for CPD requirements ;
5. No issue of "American " or " British" system as those who choose to become member of this institute will enjoy the best of both system

My only feedback is why the designation is quite long ? Is it being diplomatically correct when they agreed what designation it shall be ?

DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive. Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment. Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!

Volunteering with AFID: First step- Done !

I did mention in my earlier post, that I need to make the first step in order to materialize my plan, of which I did immediately after posting my thoughts for the day and weekend. I received email reply, and here it is ;

Hi Irwan

Thank you for your interest, its great to hear you are considering sharing your much needed skills and experience. You will find lots of information about our programme on our website www.afid.org.uk including FAQs, blogs, interviews, assignment costs and the details of our partners work. There is also a number of recent news items on our Facebook page. If its something of interest I would recommend reading through the website and if its still of interest that we schedule a call to discuss the programme and your interest in more detail. Im sure you have lots of questions.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Neil

Even though I have done that reading, but I guess I should have browsed and explored every pages of the website, which I will do ..

Wish me luck !

DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive. Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment. Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!

Part 1 -MyVu: Do I Believe in Performance Management System ?

Image by colemama via Flickr

This what I read from Chartered Institute of Management Accountant, UK about Performance Target ;

"Performance targets will not serve as an effective management process unless managers make certain that their targets are:

1. clearly defined and communicated so everyone understands them;
2. neither too high nor too low;
3. allocated appropriately across individuals and teams;
4. consistent with each other, with the company’s economic and competitive environment and with business strategy;
5. based on rigorous data analysis that takes into consideration more than just past performance;
6. periodically reviewed;
7.owned’ and accepted by the individuals that have to attain them;
8. followed by a specific action plan;

Performance Target

I have been in and out of the Performance Management System for the past 12 years. I must admit that the system has evolved since then,  not so much of the essence or the substance of the system though, but rather the forms of the system. If you ask me how is it been in the system for past 12 years ? My reply will be as simple as " The system is as good as the people ". If you read the literature about the system, reading reports from the consultant or being briefed by the owner of the system [ in this case HR], it all lead to one i.e. to create a superior performing organization. It is all rosy and nice and soothing to our ears that the system is developed with the people development in mind. However, that is all truth in theory, but naked lie in the reality [ you may say I am in such a sulk mode] , but given a choice and opportunity, I would have done it differently of which I shall share with all my readers towards the end of this blogging series.

Let me relate my experience been in the system in support group. I am not be able to relate the core business group, as I have never been in any calibrations involving the other groups. When I mentioned support group, I make reference to Finance, Supply, HR, Legal, HSE, Planning  and Public Affairs. Just for clarity, in any organization set up, there are always "core business functions" and "support  functions" depending on the nature of the business of the organization. In organizations that I have worked before support functions refers to those mentioned earlier. 

In my observation, support functions always struggle to come out with a very concrete performance target and very often the performance target disconnects or off tangent from the company core business target i.e. lack of item "No. 4" as above. It is very subjective and vague. The deliberations always ended up ugly with lots and tonnes of dissatisfaction and grouses among the staff, especially who felt they are not being treated fairly and equally. They perceive , from the day the objectives and performance target is set up, they already know who will be rated and get what . 

Why factors that contribute to such a disappointment in the system ?

No. 1 - The people. 

The system is as good as the people. People is the core of the system. If the people "half heartedly believe in the system", it will result in many setback, defects during the implementation and it will be far more than perfect. It is lacking in components "No. 1 "," No. 7" and "No.8" so to speak. In this instance, I do not pointing into the system, but would rather point at the people - from the top management till the lowest rank in the organization. To make the situation worse, often people with power do take advantage of the system and find the loopholes in the system to benefits "certain group of quarters". This is especially so, when the organization really make a real distinctions between high performers and non-performers in terms of financial rewards. As a result of that , the objective and performance targets has become very academic for the sake of getting the system implemented.

A case worthy to mention and share that I know. 

Mr. A joined Company ABC in April 2009 as an analyst in support function. The performance management cycle ran from January-December 2009. The fact that Mr. A joined the organization before September 2009, Mr. A would be evaluated based on performance management cycle that was currently running. In June 2009, he sat down and agreed with his management on his performance target for the next 6 months based on  tool use by his company " Balance Scorecard" in setting up the performance target and objectives . 

Let us do the checklist based on the above criteria(s) ;

1. clearly defined and communicated so everyone understands them; YES
2. neither too high nor too low; YES
3. allocated appropriately across individuals and teams; YES
4. consistent with each other, with the company’s economic and competitive environment and with business strategy; UNCERTAIN
5. based on rigorous data analysis that takes into consideration more than just past performance; UNCERTAIN
6. periodically reviewed; YES
7.owned’ and accepted by the individuals that have to attain them; YES
8. followed by a specific action plan; YES

Mr. A delivered all the tasks assigned to him, superbly. Within 6 months, Mr. A became the key player in the accomplishment of his department objectives. In other words, if the management had asked him to run, Mr A responded with " how fast ?" If the management had asked him to jump, Mr. A responded with "how high ?" However, during the year there was a minor reorganization exercise took place and yet Mr. A performance target was no reviewed and amended accordingly, in line with the organizational change. During the performance evaluation cycle, after various calibration meetings Mr A final rating was just meeting the expectation of the company. Even though, on paper he had exceeded all this objectives very well still if compared with Mr. A peers, Mr A was rated as meet the requirement. Mr A asked the management on the reasons of the rating as he would like to improve it further, but the only explanation given to him, that Mr A was a new staff who had been with the company of less the 8 months.

Mr. A argued that the essence and spirit of the performance management system of the company is not based on seniority, but rather based on his performance during the period under review, the answer given to him still hold true, it it was based on "ranking system." Mr. A was new and the calibrators from other department did not or know little about you, so that have affected somehow your ranking. 

Mr A further asked for clarifications on how could one rank the staff with different objectives and performance target as a result of the reorganization exercise [ i.e. not comparing like-to-like or comparing apple -to-orange] . The answer that he got, it is based on quota system ! The % quota for excellent and very good have been met this year, and unfortunately Mr. A was part of the quota and those ranked above Mr. A did good job too and they are seniors in the organization.

So, do you think that ;

1. Mr. A was fairly being assessed ? Why ?

2. What psychological impact and perception that Mr. A would have in the system ?

3. As a result of this, what would be Mr. A strategy for the next performance appraisal ?

4. Do you think the system will change in the next performance cycle, given Mr A maintain its superb performance ?

5. What have gone wrong ?

To be continued ........................

DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive. Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment. Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!

Finally : CIMA introduces new pricing

CIMA wants to give students and professionals around the world every opportunity to succeed in their career.

We’ve lowered our entry price from £150 to £60. All new students will now have their first subscription fee waived, saving £90 upon registration.

Whether you aspire to climb the management ladder, want a career that crosses international boundaries, or simply want more career options, the CIMA qualification is now more accessible to you.

Read more at CIMA Global


I remember very well back in 2003/04 [ if not mistaken] for CIMA to revisit the fees for students, as I felt it was simply too high relative to other professional qualification like ACCA. My argument, that the latter shall not be the case, as CIMA should operate more effectively and efficiently, and an increase in fees every year might send wrong signal that CIMA might not manage effectively. I did check with my other friends, who chose ACCA over CIMA, and one of the consideration was the fee and cost. 1GBP to RM 6-7 then, making CIMA qualification beyond the reach for ordinary Joe who just started his career.As such, CIMA is regarded as " exclusive qualification for selected few ".

It was then, that organizations back in Malaysia, preferred ACCA and other qualifications, over CIMA. CIMA was regarded as not really relevant in the accounting fraternity and industry in Malaysia. However, that was changed in later year as CIMA aggresively promoting it as the most relevant qualification in the business world, and its qualification transcends beyond accounting fraternity. Employer in UK prefer CIMA members, but in Malaysia, still the acceptances and perception among the Malaysians Inc like PETRONAS is/was still low, even though PETRONAS was recognized as one of the CIMA training provider.  It is kind of catch 22 situation in Malaysia. However, one thing did not quite change was the fees. Then what made CIMA change its mind in Year 2010. However, the picture is different with SHELL and other multinational organizations.

It will be bit shallow, if I say decision to have CIMA over other professional qualification is solely based on the cost factor alone. However, it does count as one of the important factor to consider. To a Malaysian, why shall I choose CIMA when it is more expensive to complete at the same time, not the qualifications preferred by Malaysia Inc. and big 4 audit firms ? I think it is a fair choice and reasonable consideration.

It will also not quite right to consider Malaysian market only, but the fact that Malaysia is consider as one of the key and focus country, may in one way or another influence the rest in the regions to follow. While CIMA is regarded as " professional qualifications accepted worldwide" still the reality is that it is not easy for CIMA members in Malaysia to work in other countries and cross border mobilization is very much case to case basis, unless you are working in a multinational organization like SHELL, TESCO and HP.

At least now, there are changes happening and interesting development in CIMA that will make it more relevant qualification of choice. The introduction of Islamic Finance course, lower cost to register as CIMA student, collaboration with local accounting bodies and local institutions in Malaysia show that CIMA is indeed moving into the right direction. More could be done, perhaps the introduction of business controls to be part of one of the strategic level papers [ risk, governance , statutory audit, self-assessment, internal audit ] may make CIMA appeals to the mass not only the commercial organization, but also specific industry like advisory and audit firms.


DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive.