MyCIMA

Am I really surrounded by the next crop of leaders… you guys?

Posted: Thursday 22 April 2010 by Ana Barco
Replies : 3
Category: Career talk, Networking and social, Professional development, Studying CIMA
Keywords: career, leadership, promotion, research
Ana Barco's picture

It seems that people that undertake advisory or management accounting roles are better prepared for leadership in finance and this is now backed by some large scale global research.

The CIMA Centre of Excellence at the University of Bath School of Management is researching finance transformation and the development of the finance function and its people and found that finance leadership roles require an interplay of both technical finance skills and business or commercial competencies.

Nothing unusual there I thought, and certainly not groundbreaking, but then the research seems to show that the levels of the technical and business competencies that advisory roles and management accounting roles have are very closely aligned to those of leadership ones – far more than other finance roles - such as financial / general accounting or systems ones.

This would indicate that management accountants are best placed to move up the organisation faster and more effectively. Not only that, but provide an edge at the recruitment stage when looking for a new job or career advancement.

With the global input of over 4500 finance professionals and senior managers into the research we can safely say that it is official, shout it from the rooftops!

Finance transformation is evolving and the requirements and skills needed from its people ever changing.  To get full information and hear from senior peers about the skills required in finance and to ensure your skill set and experience maintains you fit for purpose, order the report ‘From ledgers to leadership: A journey through the finance function’. 

[A CIMA research output supported by Hays Senior Finance.]

 

Nice thought ... but ...

Posted by Adrian Rutter on Sunday 23 May 2010 11:03

It's £95.00 ... coincidence it was published on 1 April?

Some people have already taken CIMA's claim that our qualification is equivalent to an MBA to consider the two are interchangeable, and it would be a shame if the very real benefits of a CIMA qualification became blurred into it being seen by some as more than it is - the leading qualification in management accountancy.

I'd agree that the technical and business competences of management accountants are very closely aligned to those needed to succeed in general management. But I've worked in large multi-professional finance communities for quite a while now, and empirically haven't seen any direct correlation proving that management accountants per se are best-placed to move up through organisations. Once you get beyond the basic technical competencies, it's the personal and 'soft' skills that give you the edge.

Of course, it's perfectly plausible that people with those skills are by nature inclined to the analytical and advisory opportunities of management accountancy rather than other types of finance work. And I'd be interested to read the research and see if it establishes that correlation.

But not at £95!! 

  • Reported

CIMA's head start

Posted by Ana Barco on Monday 24 May 2010 09:02

Thanks Adrian, you are certainly right it is never that simple and it is not a given but I like to think of it as a head start.

The research highlights that it is the skills and competencies developed by management accounting and advisory roles that provide the edge as they are closely related with those required for finance leadership roles. However development of commercial and interpersonal skills were also highlighted as important - across all roles -  as is the will to move up that ladder.  It was highlighted that many finance professionals need to be more proactive and make time and action development activities if they are to succeed in building that interplay of technical and commercial skills for leadership.

The report is based on a large and reiterative global research campaign on finance transformation, part of the CIMA Centre of Excellence at the University of Bath School of Managament work. We do understad that for many people the full report may not be required and so we have articles and commentary based on the research to be published over the coming months in Insight and FM to provide our stakeholders with more insight. We also have a webcast interview with a global CFO discussing some of the trends from the research in development which will be streamed at the end of June - all will be available to CIMA stakeholders (and at no cost). 

Those that do still wish to review the full report and are CIMA members also qualify for a significant discount and can receive the full report at £70.

 

  • Reported

A head start's always useful!

Posted by Adrian Rutter on Monday 31 May 2010 11:00

Thanks, Ana. It sounds as if the report is another useful confirmation that most of us need to put as much energy into learning communication, analytical and leadership skills  as we did in learning our basic debits and credits. And, given that most of the CIMA people I've met are interested in doing things with numbers as well as producing them, I do agree that CIMA provides a head-start.

So I'll look out with interest for the stakeholder communications you mention.