Two major accountant professional development groups, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), are teaming up to create a new association that better represents the breadth of the accounting profession. The new association will be launched in 2017 and is expected to represent over 600,000 professionals in the accounting field.
This group is designed to ensure that members will benefit from the additional relevance, resources and global reach that comes from integrating the activities of two of the world’s most influential accountancy bodies. Students will also have access to more learning tools, as well as benefitting from increased recognition of the qualification they are studying towards.
CIMA’s President Andrew Miskin says, “We live in a time of rapid change and increasing competition. Responding to this, I am delighted that CIMA and the AICPA members have endorsed the proposal to create a new association so that we can stay ahead of market changes and developments. We will build on the history and strengths of both CIMA and AICPA, which will enable us to accelerate our strategy, and to expand the opportunities for CGMAs around the world.”
The new group will be designed to complement rather than replace both constituent organisations. CIMA and the AICPA members will retain membership of their existing member organisation but will gain additional membership of the new Association.
The formation of the Association represents a deepening of the joint venture that CIMA and AICPA have had since 2011, which has expanded management accounting within the USA as well as a new global designation, Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).
AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon says, “We are excited about crafting a path forward that reflects how the world is changing. At the same time, we will be extraordinarily mindful of protecting our collective history and the strong reputation both organizations have built over the past century. This is about building on what is great – and addressing an exciting evolving world.”
