CIMA updates syllabus

With the world's economy facing turbulent times, never before has there been a greater need for organisations to train and develop their people to manage the impact of these changes.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) with the new changes in its syllabus effective from 2010 remains true to its long and proud history of providing finance professionals with a different style in management accounting Dr. Robert G. Jelly, Director of Education for CIMA, spoke to the journalists with regards to its new and revised syllabus structure.

Prior to joining CIMA, Dr. Jelly was the Head of Dundee Business School, where his teaching was largely focused on Management and Financial Accounting in addition to his research done with regards to Accounting for Brands.

In addition to this Dr. Jelly was also awarded an MBA from the University of Edinburgh in 1986. Dr. Jelly has contributed towards the field of education in many ways, in the year 2000 he joined CIMA as the Director of Education where in which he undertakes the world-wide responsibility for maintaining the relevance and differentiation of the CIMA qualification.

He also provides his services as a Director for CIMA Enterprise Limited, which mainly deals in publishing, courses and conference activities.

"We are obviously living in a world where businesses are constantly changing and in addition to this the recent downturn experienced in the world economy has largely effected how business enterprises function and operate. Amidst such turbulent economic environments CIMA however remains committed towards upgrading its qualification every 5 years through its research conducted in close coordination with its employers and members located throughout the world.

This time round we have consulted around 12,000 employers representing over 165 countries where we question areas such as 'What do finance professionals require?', 'What areas need more importance and 'What are the areas that require less attention?' It is only after proper analysis that we set out to refresh the CIMA qualification", says Dr. Jelly.

The first examinations under the new syllabus will commence from May 2010. CIMA Global to date has been extremely involved in keeping the qualification relevant to meet the modern industry requirements in addition to grooming business leaders of the future. The CIMA qualification provides equal relevance to management as well as financial reporting therefore CIMA is considered to be not only be an attractive and unique qualification but also one that is relevant, differentiated, and geared to provide young individuals with sustainable careers.

Commenting on the CIMA qualifications ability to keep with the employers demand Dr. Jelly said, "We truly believe that the CIMA qualification is rounded enough to meet employer demands. The Sri Lankan government in particular is looking at attracting direct investment to service BPOs. Organizations such as WNS, Amba Research and HSBC have already been attracted to Sri Lanka due to its large pool of CIMA qualified and part qualified students."

The change in the CIMA qualification will no doubt increase a student's employability in the industry.

This time due to increasing demand the syllabus has largely focused on the areas of Risk Management and Change Management which today are vital areas of growing importance.

In addition to these technical skills, CIMA has also realized the importance employers have emphasized with regards to soft skills which include the areas of communication and negotiations, which have been better covered through its new and revised syllabus structure.

In conclusion Dr. Jelly said, "CIMA is an international qualification which can offer international job opportunities. We are always extremely focused with regards to the CIMA qualifications ability to gain employability, where CIMA professionals have always lead very sustainable careers in a variety of fields.

The latest syllabus introduced will no doubt offer students exciting changes in the areas of international accounting and financial reporting."