Tired of not getting the recognition that your reporting efforts deserve?  Then it's time you did something about it.  CIMA has just opened nominations for their 2010 Annual Awards and for the first time there is an award for Annual Report of the Year. 

I am particularly interested in this award as it relates to the explanation of strategy in the narrative section of the Annual Report, which is an area that I have been following for some time.  It continues to be a key element of the effective reporting message flowing from our Report Leadership work which started in 2005.

And you don't need to be a large multi-national to win this award.  We will be looking at all types of organisations, large or small, public-sector or private-sector, which most clearly describes their strategy in the narrative section of their annual report either online or in printed form.  The winning organisation's report will provide

• - a clear and transparent description of their organisation's strategy demonstrating a thorough understanding of the organisation's business model and how it interacts with the external market place
• - a clear link between strategy, performance (KPI's) and risk within the report
• - innovative use of graphical representation which could include the use of bar/bridge charts, statistics and trend analysis to explain the organisation's strategy to stakeholders.

If you want more information including a nomination form for this award or any of the other 15 awards then go to the CIMA Awards webpage

If you are keen to blow your own trumpet but the plush, glitzy award ceremony approach is not your cup of tea then there's another initiative that you might be interested in.  We are looking for a number of case studies demonstrating the benefit of employing a CIMA qualified accountant either in terms of the management accounting toolkit that they bring with them or simply the benefit of the management information they provide.  In fact whatever makes you feel proud about the work that you do or a project that you delivered on - we will be interested to talk to you.

We are interested in talking to management accountants about their roles:

• - advising managers about the financial implications of projects
• - explaining the financial consequences of business decisions
• - formulating business strategy
• - monitoring spending and financial control
• - conducting internal business audits
• - explaining the impact of the competitive landscape.

If you are interested to talk to us about a current or past role or project then please email me at nick.topazio@cimaglobal.com .

I look forward to either applauding you as you receive the 2010 CIMA Best Annual Report award or chatting to you about the management information that you provide to your decision-making team, your role in shaping part of your external reporting suite or the innovative way in which you have analysed a particular business segment.