New Scheme Elevates Local Accountants’ Employablity and the Profession – A Fast Track to Global Management Accounting Designation

Singapore, 17 March 2015 – The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) today to establish the ISCA-CIMA Pathway for Singapore accounting professionals.

The ISCA-CIMA pathway scheme is a fast track for ISCA members to become CIMA members and be conferred the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation. The globally recognised CGMA designation is a prestigious title jointly awarded by CIMA and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

ISCA members with three years of post-qualification working experience can qualify for this scheme. Upon passing an interview with CIMA, ISCA members will be granted exemptions for 16 modules under the ISCA-CIMA Pathway Programme, and only need to take the final paper of the CIMA Professional Qualification, where they are tested on their readiness to apply management accounting knowledge in real-world business situations. Once qualified as a CIMA member, they will automatically be entitled to the CGMA designation.

Management Accountants play a role in the identification and exploitation of business opportunities, while at the same time managing costs and risks, ensuring successful business operations. With the rapidly evolving business environment, there is an increased demand for professional accountants in business (PAIBs) to be strategic partners to their organisation’s Chief Executive Officers and Boards.  

Mr Lee Fook Chiew, Chief Executive Officer of ISCA, said, “More than half of ISCA members work in businesses across varied industry sectors. The CGMA qualification, together with the Chartered Accountant of Singapore designation, will complement each other by enhancing the management accounting competency and business acumen of Singapore accountants. This will enhance the employability of our members, strengthen the talent pool in the accountancy sector, and help to sharpen the competitiveness of our business. As companies continue to strive ahead in an increasingly complex and challenging environment, it is important to equip our accountants with management accounting knowledge so that they continue to meet the growing needs of the economy.”

Ms Irene Teng, Regional Director, SE Asia and Australasia, CIMA, commented: “The VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world that we are now living in has had a great impact on the transformation of the finance function towards more business partnering roles. This has created new challenges for finance professionals – they need the skills to ‘connect the dots’; to use financial and non-financial information, qualitative and predictive information to guide critical business decisions and drive strong performance. Chartered Global Management Accountants are recognised worldwide as having the skills to do so and CIMA is pleased that the ISCA-CIMA Pathway is now established to complement the skills of ISCA members.”

For more information, go to http://isca.org.sg/member-services/isca-cima-pathway/

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JOINTLY ISSUED BY INSTITUTE OF SINGAPORE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AND CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS 

About Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) is the national accountancy body of Singapore. ISCA’s vision is to be a globally recognised professional accountancy body, bringing value to our members, the profession and wider community.

Established in 1963, ISCA shapes the regional accountancy landscape through advocating the interests of the profession. Possessing a Global Mindset, with Asian Insights, ISCA leverages its regional expertise, knowledge, and networks with diverse stakeholders to contribute towards Singapore’s transformation into a global accountancy hub. Our stakeholders include government and industry bodies, employers, educators, and the public.

ISCA is the Administrator of the Singapore Qualification Programme (Singapore QP) and the Designated Entity to confer the Chartered Accountant of Singapore - CA (Singapore) - designation.

It aims to raise the international profile of the Singapore QP, a post-university professional accountancy qualification programme and promote it as the educational pathway of choice for professional accountants seeking to achieve the CA (Singapore) designation, a prestigious title that is expected to attain global recognition and portability.

There are over 28,000 ISCA members making their stride in businesses across industries in Singapore and around the world.

For more information, please visit www.isca.org.sg

About Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

TheChartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA),founded in 1919, is the world’s leading and largest professional body of management accountants, with over 227,000 members and students operating in 179 countries, working at the heart of business. CIMA members and students work in industry, commerce, the public sector and not-for-profit organisations. CIMA works closely with employers and sponsors leading-edge research, constantly updating its qualification, professional experience requirements and continuing professional development to ensure it remains the employers’ choice when recruiting financially-trained business leaders.

Professionalism and ethics are at the core of CIMA’s activities with every member and student bound by robust standards so that integrity, expertise and vision are brought together.

CIMA has formed a joint venture with the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to establish the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation. CGMA is the global quality standard that further elevates the profession of management accounting. The designation recognises the most talented and committed management accountants with the discipline and skill to drive strong business performance.

CIMA is proud to be the first professional accounting body to offer a truly global product in the fast-moving area of Islamic Finance.

For more information about CIMA, please visit www.cimaglobal.com   

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