Future-proof your career in 2011

Future-proof your career in 2011
January 2011

In order to set our CPD priorities and future-proof our careers, we need to be alert to how organisations’ expectations of their management accountants are changing. This article provides an overview of key trends and developments and is linked to a joint CIMA/Kaplan free webcast. By Peter Simons, technical specialist, CIMA.

As 2011 begins, it is time to reflect on how we’ve performed over 2010 and make resolutions for the future. It is therefore a good time to consider our CIMA professional development (CPD).

Members will be aware that compliance with the CIMA professional development requirement is a condition of membership. Fortunately, tthis is not an onerous obligation. CPD is not about spending a prescribed number of hours reading or on courses: we are simply obliged to document what most of us would have done anyway.

CPD is about ensuring we take a practical approach to future proofing or enhancing our career prospects. This can include learning through either actions or study. New skills, experience or expertise can be acquired while working – for example through participating in projects – or through reading, listening to webcasts, researching, training courses or more formal study.

We are required to keep CPD records for a minimum of three years on a rolling basis. The CIMA CPD planner is a good way of doing this but elaborate CPD records are not necessary. The requirement is to be able to show how we have undertaken the steps in the CIMA professional development cycle.

We tend to think of the technical accounting aspects of our roles as being the priorities for our CPD. These are important. However, if you look at job advertisements for senior roles, you will find that there is a real demand for management accountants who have, in addition to their core finance and accounting skill set, a combination of commercial awareness and inter-personal skills.

CIMA’s research into the future of the finance function would suggest that we should all consider how the following three areas might impact upon our career plans.

Relentless pressure to reduce the cost of finance
Accounting operations are becoming ever more efficient. Many large organisations already centralise accounting operations in shared service centres (whether in house, offshore or outsourced) so that systems can be standardised and processes streamlined or even automated.

Expertise in process management, systems and team leadership is required. Additionally, using lean (eliminating waste or unproductive effort), six sigma (reducing error rates and re-working) and kaizen (engaging people in continuous innovation) principles is increasingly important.

Shared service centres are extending their role to provide more end to end processes. The purchase to pay process, for example, can be extended to include procurement and supply chain management.

Also, having reduced the cost of transaction processing and basic financial reports, the same principles are now being applied to providing more detailed and higher value management information, analysis and decision support.

Management personnel expect better information
In today’s volatile conditions, more responsive re-forecasting and predictive modelling are often required. Developments in applications are enabling this. The format and range of management information is also changing, with online, self service access, and the ability to interrogate, increasingly expected.

The traditional financial information pack may no longer suffice. Financial metrics are about outcomes. Decision makers need better information about the drivers of cost, risk and value, including leading indicators about an organisation’s competitive position, performance, risks and opportunities.

More influential finance business partners
In larger organisations, there is a real need to cascade strategy implementation and performance/risk management throughout the business to ensure it is run in the long term interests of shareholders and other stakeholders. As management accountants we can be expected to apply professional objectivity and our code of ethics.

Good governance at board level is essential but not enough. Management accountants can provide the governance framework, and therefore the essential link between the board and the business, filtering information and cascading influence.

Cost leadership is needed. As economic conditions are volatile, companies are keen to make their cost base lower and more variable. Trimming the cost of finance can give accountants the credibility to tackle costs across the business.

Pro-active performance and risk management based on a combination of (a) business understanding, (b) financial expertise and (c) influencing skills can help to cut costs selectively and to identify opportunities to innovate and create value.

Conclusion
Management accountants have important roles to play in helping organisations to improve both operating efficiency and strategic effectiveness. Our organisations need to balance maximising current performance and continually developing competitive positions to ensure sustainability.

The same principles apply to our own personal professional development. The first step in the CPD cycle is to define our present role and career objectives, recognising the expectations of employers, clients, regulators and the public.

Most organisations need management accountants with different skills and qualities to perform a range of roles. Finance is usually a team game. What role do you want to play now and in the future?

I hope your CIMA qualification and CPD help you achieve a prosperous 2011 and beyond.

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