“With CIMA, management accountants can better understand not only finances, but the key drivers of strategy and performance.”
Dubai, United Arab Emirates-Wednesday 26 September 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]
Knowledge
is power, and more knowledge allows one to make better decisions. For
Endre Szakacs, the desire to equip himself with relevant knowledge is
what ultimately drove him to pursue his Chartered Institute of
Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification via the C-suite programme.
Knowledge
is power, and more knowledge allows one to make better decisions. For
Endre Szakacs, the desire to equip himself with relevant knowledge is
what ultimately drove him to pursue his Chartered Institute of
Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification via the C-suite programme.
“The most
interesting part of my role is to really understand the key drivers of
the company’s performance and to identify trends in the market. On a
regular basis, these findings need to be reviewed and carefully
considered in order to direct the regional strategy of the company,”
says Endre from Dubai, where he functions in his role as Business
Manager at Credit Agricole’s Corporate and Investment Bank.
“When I researched the CIMA qualification, I saw that it would help me a lot in this,” he adds.
Endre’s career has taken him to interesting places. He started his career at Credit Suisse in London in 2006, before joining Credit Agricole’s Corporate and Investment Bank in 2015 in Dubai. He first came across CIMA when he wanted something different to the accountancy qualifications that his colleagues and friends sat for.
Endre’s career has taken him to interesting places. He started his career at Credit Suisse in London in 2006, before joining Credit Agricole’s Corporate and Investment Bank in 2015 in Dubai. He first came across CIMA when he wanted something different to the accountancy qualifications that his colleagues and friends sat for.
After much
research, he decided on CIMA because CIMA was not just about “numbers
and accounting”, but its syllabus enables students to have a strategic
insight into a company. “My friends work in various banking positions,
from management, finance, COO, audit to product control. I discussed
with them their experiences while also researching on it myself, and
finally decided that I wanted to get my Chartered Global Management
Accountant (CGMA) designation,” he explains.
“In my work, I
work with lots of information. The world today is all about data. With
this data, we make decisions to drive the business. There are so many
considerations to take into account, such as legal, risk, audit, front
office and so on. CIMA allows me to even better understand the big
picture,” Endre adds.
Endre was
able to obtain his CIMA qualification within a short space of time
because his experience allowed him to enter the C-suite programme. Under
CIMA’s eligibility, the C-suite is open to executives such as CFOs and
senior management personnel who have had 10 years’ of relevant work
experience in finance functions. He received his CGMA designation almost
immediately after passing his examination.
What
impressed him most about the CIMA programme? “CIMA frames their topics
and case study discussions very well. In our day-to-day jobs, these
considerations are very real and relevant to us. The material speaks
exactly about how these topics affect our decision-making every day,
it’s about real life scenarios,” says Endre.
Throughout
the programme, Endre also enjoyed the experience of mingling with
professionals from different industries, which provided him with lots of
value as a Business Manager. Mainly, he saw the different approaches
that other finance professionals took to solve their problems,
especially those from different industries.
“For example,
the finance and banking professionals brought a more
compliance-oriented perspective, while other professionals such as from
oil and gas and transportation looked at problems from a more
business-driven perspective. I met a lot of interesting people during
the programme, and I hope we keep in touch,” he recalls.
Endre says
that going back to studying required some adjustment for him, but it
wasn’t a problem in the end. “It was like an extended university exam,
though it has been a long time since my last university sitting!” he
says with a laugh. “At the beginning, I felt it would be a huge
challenge as I could only spend hours in the evenings and maybe half or
one day during the weekends to study. I felt that I wouldn’t have enough
time to cover all the topics before the exam, but I managed to revise
all the required areas and topics.”
“The
questions were very well-structured and straight to the point,” says
Endre, adding that the mock papers helped him tremendously because the
papers were from the previous years’ exams. “But some of the questions
were also tricky – you needed to understand what it really was that they
wanted. If you follow the mock papers, the exam shouldn’t be a
problem.”
His biggest
takeaway is the skills that he has gained during his CIMA time as well
as his membership in CIMA, which he considers extremely valuable. “CIMA
helps me in identifying new strategic ideas and opportunities, not only
to gain more market share or increase profitability, but to streamline
and rationalise internal processes and controls,” he says. “I am now a
member of a global accountancy organisation that is well-known and
recognised everywhere.”
Endre says
that he would recommend the CIMA qualification to management accountants
wanting to distinguish themselves for the future. “Management accounts
have the ability to not only understand the finances, but to oversee the
whole organisation. Today, computers and software can take care of the
majority of the finance requirements without too much human touch. As a
consequence, accountants need to understand not only finances, but the
key drivers of strategy and performance.”
“I would certainly recommend this qualification for any management accountant looking to get their career to the next level!”
About The Association
The
Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the
Association) is the most influential body of professional accountants,
combining the strengths of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) to power
opportunity, trust and prosperity for people, businesses and economies
worldwide. It represents 667,000 members and students in public and
management accounting and advocates for the public interest and business
sustainability on current and emerging issues. With broad reach, rigor
and resources, the Association advances the reputation, employability
and quality of CPAs, CGMAs and accounting and finance professionals
globally.
About CIMA
The Chartered
Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), founded in 1919, is the
world’s leading and largest professional body of management accountants,
with members and students operating in 177 countries, working at the
heart of business. CIMA members and students work in industry, commerce,
and the public sector and not-for-profit organisations. CIMA works
closely with employers and sponsors leading-edge research, constantly
updating its qualification, professional experience requirements and
continuing professional development to ensure it remains the employers’
choice when recruiting financially-trained business leaders.
About CGMA
CGMA
is the most widely held management accounting designation in the world.
It distinguishes more than 150,000 accounting and finance professionals
who have advanced proficiency in finance, operations, strategy and
management. In the U.S., the vast majority are also CPAs. The CGMA
designation is underpinned by extensive global research to maintain the
highest relevance with employers and develop competencies most in
demand. CGMAs qualify through rigorous education, exam and experience
requirements. They must commit to lifelong education and adhere to a
stringent code of ethical conduct. Businesses, governments and
nonprofits around the world trust CGMAs to guide critical decisions that
drive strong performance.
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Issued by The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association)
Contacts
Adenike Olayande (Specialist – Business Development, Dubai), +971 4368 9432
adenike.olayande@aicpa-cima.com
Diyana Kamar (PR Manager – Asia Pacific), +6012 220 4627
diyana.kamar@aicpa-cima.com
