Be Proud of your CMA - And Help Us Reach New Heights!!!

I am writing here more as a former SBU CFO at AT&T and CMA candidate more than as the president and CEO of IMA.

First, anyone who holds the cherished CMA should be proud of their accomplishment.  The new CMA exam (the last update was July 2004) is at least as rigorous as previous exams and will require AT LEAST 300 hours of study to pass the 2 parts.  The rigor has been validated by statisticians and psychometricians.  Dennis Whitney, Senior Vice President of ICMA, and his team have done a fabulous job in balancing rigor and the needs of the marketplace.

The new exam tests the competencies required by today's CFOs, financial and accounting professionals in business.  There is deep and intense focus on financial planning, budgeting, risk management, internal controls and decision support (in fact, the emphasis on risk management and internal controls has nearly doubled).  How do we know these are the critical competencies?  We asked the market.  We conducted a 2-year study which included CFO surveys from Wharton and The Economist and our own surveys and focus groups of CFOs and finance managers around the globe.  This is what THEY told us.  The new exam is more focused and aligned with today's market.  It is a challenging exam.

Why did we make the change?  One, every credible certification body re-aligns its curriculum to market needs every 4 to 6 years.  Secondly and most importantly, we truly believe that this new exam - combined with a supply chain approach which includes stepping up marketing, corporate development, learning systems and technology enablement - will allow the CMA to reach its true potential around the globe.  The new exam is not competitive but rather complementary to the CPA, MBA and other advanced certifications and degrees.

But we need one more ingredient to make YOUR ASSOCIATION AND YOUR CERTIFICATION reach its true heights - YOU and the power of viral marketing.  I am confident you will help us in spreading the word - be proud of your CMA!  The more credible CMAs we have on the global stage, the greater voice we have to influence our careers, our organizations and economic development.  Nothing less should be expected of us.

Thanks,

  Jeff Thomson

   IMA President and CEO