(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Peninsula
Doha: The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), a worldwide association of accountants and financial professionals in business, yesterday announced a historic milestone of awarding 100,000 Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certifications.
The 100,000th CMA was awarded to Abdul Naser Parkar from Qatar, making him part of a fast-growing group of individuals who have added this prestigious certification to their professional qualifications. The timing of this achievement comes just two years after IMA's 100-year anniversary celebrations.
The CMA– IMA's flagship certification, helps aspiring and established finance and accounting professionals develop key skills such as strategic thinking, sensitivity analysis, scenario planning, and insight into the workplace, and has become recognised for helping finance and accounting professionals leverage the data gathered by automated processes to drive better decision making.
Hanadi Khalife, Senior Director of MEA & India Operations at IMA said:“This is a great milestone and I would like to congratulate Abdul Naser Parkar on becoming IMA's 100,000th CMA. The milestone is of significance not just for IMA, but for the entire finance and accounting profession that has faced unprecedented challenges on account of the global pandemic. As regional economies look to emerge out of the shadow of COVID-19, it will increasingly fall to finance and accounting professionals to drive this growth and CMAs will spearhead and enable this. The milestone represents not only a need in the marketplace but a tremendous commitment from IMA's volunteers, partners, and staff to support the profession”.
IMA reached this milestone through strong growth across each of its regions – the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and India, and Europe. International markets, especially, were high-growth areas in recent years despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Such outcomes were thanks to IMA's ability to deliver value through a global network of corporate and academic partners to empower the finance and accounting profession by bridging the growing skills gap amid much fluctuating economic times.
“As economies develop, more skilled finance and accounting professionals are needed to offer insight and foresight to businesses and governments,” added Khalife. While globalisation has been a significant driver for continued expansion, IMA also expects membership growth to accelerate due to automation, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, which are replacing repetitive tasks and opening opportunities to use higher-level advisory skills.
Parkar said:“With advancements in technology and ongoing changes in the profession, it is very important for professionals to upskill themselves to accomplish their career objectives and meet the competency expectations of employers. The CMA certification helps professionals to better prepare and remain competitive in the future as automation disrupts our profession. I would like to thank IMA for all the support and resources which helped me in my journey to complete the certification”.
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