CIMA International Qualification – Rethinking the Financial Manager Profession
23/02/17
Globalisation, technological progress and innovation expose business to new challenges. The fight for talent heats up worldwide and the Ukrainian market is not an exception. According to PwC's 20th Annual Global CEO Survey, CEOs realise the need to attract talent and 52% of the respondents plan to increase headcount, however, they raise concerns about the availability of skills. Furthermore, 77% of CEOs interviewed cite the lack of key skills as a threat to their company's growth prospects.
The market offers a rather limited supply of qualified professionals who have in-depth fundamental knowledge combined with developed practical skills and are ready to take on the leadership role to build trust. There is an ever-growing demand for experts who successfully combine industry insight and technical knowledge with business acumen, leadership and collaboration skills.
Therefore, professional development at different staff levels is a key focus of the today's business agenda. A tough question is where to gain a required level of knowledge and to benefit from an access to global best practice and effective operational and strategic management solutions.
An answer to this question may be the CIMA International Qualification Programme PwC Academy has been delivering in the Ukrainian market since 2010. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) was established in 1919. Exam programmes at all CIMA qualification levels are continuously updated and aligned to high-priority business needs.
CIMA delegation headed by the CIMA President Andrew Miskin and the Head of Central and Eastern Europe at CIMA Jakub Bejnarowicz
"CIMA Qualification Programme is a perfect fit for you to address immediate challenges and opportunities in this new business era. It is critical for today's business to decide on what operating model is the best option to drive its sustainable performance rather than to focus merely on product mix. CIMA offers a wide range of effective solutions. Competencies built through this professional qualification programme will remain relevant in a ten-year horizon. After all, economy will always keep changing and business will continue to play its role but the only thing that never changes is that business begins with people"
In its evolution, a business focus shifted from a product-oriented competition and value-added services to effective and efficient operating models that require the highest level of management capabilities in various business processes. There is an increasing demand for a new generation of business leaders and managers who are ready to break stereotypes, drive change and innovation, and grasp and navigate new challenges and opportunities.
CIMA is an international management accounting qualification developed by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). CIMA degree and membership represent one of the best global certificates of quality in financial management recognised by employers throughout the world.
Balance between soft and hard skills
This qualification is distinguished for its unique blend of training programmes combining technical background and industry expertise with improvement of soft skills. Students have an exciting opportunity to rise from an operations manager to a strategic business partner by sharpening their knowledge and skills based on real-life business cases and case studies from numerous industries.
"CIMA is a qualification that looks at a finance function as the basis of the management decision-making process at different levels – from operations to strategy. A finance function, as interpreted by CIMA, encompasses a preparation and provision of financial and non-financial information to external and internal users at the operational management level, interpretation of the information received at the middle management level, and an assessment, control and monitoring of risks inherent in the strategic decision-making process, with a focus on decisions that have long-term effects on the organisation's sustainable performance. Level-to-level focus shifts from technical capabilities to social competencies such as leadership, influencing, persuasion, communication and presentation skills improved through real-life business cases. All of this contributes to development of a professional capable of solving complex issues and understanding an overall business picture rather than a separate business function"
CIMA programmes are regularly updated to respond promptly to a changing business environment. In 2016, CIMA presented its new business management programme for students to gain world-class knowledge and competencies so that they are able to keep abreast of the times and to address business challenges successfully.
This programme is a dedicated study product specifically tailored for the CIS markets, which offers a broad range of accelerated options to proceed to a strategic level of the professional qualification.
"CIMA management team have made an important decision to expand our study programme portfolio in Russian. With this tool, we are able to add significant value to development of financial professionals who are not fluent in English yet. It is hard to overestimate the implementation of this new tool in Ukraine as part of the international finance study and exam programme because education is an important driver of economic growth and innovation"
In addition, CIMA has progressed to the online exam system that makes the testing process faster and easier to access. Evaluation of students' knowledge comprises computer-based tests or development of comprehensive business cases for real-life situations. Migration to new technology of knowledge evaluation enables the testing environment to be set as the real business environment that is increasingly driven by information technology.
Exam question papers that include real life-based case studies and theoretical questions are closely linked to every day professional activities. At the end of the day, executives' efforts are urged to find effective solutions to complex business issues.
PwC Academy is among the first to offer CIMA qualification programme in Ukraine and the CIS.
Upon successful completion of the training and exam programme, students will be awarded a Certificate or a Diploma as well as an access to CIMA membership to unleash their career development potential.
You are required to take P1 and P2 tests successfully to earn your CIMA Performance Management Certificate and Cert PM (RU) designation. You can start preparing for your CIMA P1 (RU) exam with PwC Academy as early as in March 2017 and take your exam in May 2017. Preparing for CIMA P2 (RU) exam starts in September 2017 with the qualification exam to be taken in November 2017.
Those students who passed P1 and P2 modules successfully are eligible for training under the new programme "CIMA Diploma in Business Performance Management in Russian" in September 2017 with the qualification exam to be taken in November 2017. Holders of CIMA Diploma in Business Performance Management in Russian get all operational and management exam exemptions and may proceed to the strategic level in English.
PwC Academy is a compelling provider of quality
PwC Academy has been an accredited tuition provider of CIMA programmes in Russian in Ukraine over many years. PwC Academy is very proud of our students' success: an average pass rate per group in 2012-2016 is 77 %.
As an accredited tuition provider, PwC Academy has delivered over 200 tuition sessions to more than 700 students in Ukraine. All study materials provided by PwC Academy are officially approved by CIMA expert representatives. PwC Academy is a trusted CIMA course provider for years.
PwC Academy encourages you to improve your professional knowledge and skills, and to explore global best practices and management solutions. We welcome you to get started on your CIMA journey.
