CIMA signs quality training partner agreement with WB

CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) has become the first UK-based accountancy body to enter into an agreement with the World Bank to train finance and accounting employees in its professional accountancy qualification.

The designation of CIMA Quality Training Partner status will be awarded to the World Bank, a development body, at a ceremony in Washington DC, US, where the bank is headquartered.

This is CIMA's first Quality Training Partner agreement with an organisation based in the US.

The agreement with the bank's Resource Management (RM) function, which performs the financial and management accounting role at the bank, complements RM's existing suite of qualifications and training options. Before the agreement, a team from the World Bank came to the UK to visit existing Quality Training Partners and assess the appropriateness of CIMA and its qualification. Previously, links with UK-based institutes have not included training staff in a professional qualification in the bank's headquarters.

Charles Tilley, Chief Executive of CIMA will present a certificate to Fayezul Choudhury, Vice President, Corporate Finance and Risk at the World Bank to mark the occasion.

Charles Tilley commented: 'We are delighted with this agreement with the World Bank. This is an organisation with exacting professional standards and it has a critical role in fighting world poverty. We feel the CIMA qualification will give the relevant people in resource management the broad-based business and above all strategic focus that is so essential in the bank's work in more than a hundred countries. This agreement builds on our previous work with the World Bank, notably in Bangladesh where we are sole expert supplier to strengthen the local accountancy body.'

Fayez Choudhury commented: 'The Resource Management (RM) function has a crucial role in making "every dollar count for the poor" as we support the Bank in maximizing its development impact in client countries.