SE ASIAVOICEIssue 8

NAf MA – Recognising Malaysia’s Leaders inManagement Accounting

CFOs at the cutting edge of business---------------------------------------------------------------- Employability theme takes the limelight----------------------------------------------------------------‘Instant’ membership – back by popular demand

Dear

CIMAmembers and students

The past few months have been a hectic but exciting time for CIMA SE Asia as we worked towards achieving the region’s goals for 2014. Read more in this 8th issue of SE Asia Voice.

Two high profile events took place in early September. In the CIMA CFO Dialogue, we were privileged to have Professor Mervyn King, Chairman of the International Integrated Reporting Council, as guest speaker. CIMA’s Chief Executive, Charles Tilley, was also present at the Dialogue to provide top insights on the key areas of ‘Integrated Reporting’ and ‘Managing the Board’s expectations’. At the National Award for Management Accounting (NAfMA) gala dinner and awards presentation, Malaysia’s leading business and finance professionals were recognised for excellence in management accounting and business performance.

Several roundtables on the CGMA theme of employability were held in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar to better understand the issues of youth employability in the South East Asia region and how CIMA can help bridge the skills gap. Arising from the findings of these roundtables, individual country reports were published. Singapore will host a similar roundtable in November.

There was an encouraging uptake for the CIMA CFO Programme that was implemented in Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam, and more recently in Singapore. This will have a positive impact on the region’s membership growth. In a boost to membership, the face to face membership assessment that took place in Kuala Lumpur in early September saw 33 Exam Complete students being admitted as Associate members while 21 students had their work experience approved.

Specialised programmes were initiated to enhance student and member growth in the region. These include the dual qualification offer for MBA students of the Arshad Ayub Graduate Business School of Universiti Teknokogi MARA and the CIMA Executive Programmes in Myanmar (for MICPA members) and Vietnam (for CPA and members of other professional bodies). In relation to the CGMA employability theme mentioned earlier, we have implemented the CIMA-TalentCorp Employability Programme, a unique progamme that will prepare ‘business ready’ graduates and ensure a consistent pipeline of talent for employers.

As we move towards the end of the year, two major events have taken place – the launch of the Global Management Accounting Principles, pioneered by CIMA and AICPA and the World Congress of Accountants in Rome. CIMA and AICPA, through the CGMA designation, are proud to be the Imperial Sponsor of the World Congress. The Global Management Accounting Principles will help organisations make better decisions, respond appropriately to risks and protect the value they generate.

Till the next newsletter in January 2015! For constant updates on regional activities, remember to visit our Facebook at www.facebook.com/cimaseasia With best wishes,

Irene TengRegional DirectorSouth East Asia and Australasia

Endorsers

Awarding bodies Main sponsor Supporting partners

Organisation of the Year - Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad (represented by Raymond Tan, Chief Investment Officer, (3rd from left)

CEO of the Year - Datuk Mustafha Abdul Razak of Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Berhad (3rd from left)

Outstanding Contribution to Business Performance - Boonsiri Somchit-Ong of AMD Global Services Malaysia (3rd from left)

Business Manager of the Year - Dr Azman Bin Adnan of Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Berhad (right)

CIMA Star of the Year - Leevanraj Magendren of Maybank Group (3rd from left)

A minute of fun at the photo booth!

It’s music to the ears!

Professor Mervyn King (left) receiving a token of appreciation from Johan Idris, President of MIA, for his celebrity speech during the dinner.

Business leaders and CIMA professionals won the prestigious National Award for Management Accounting (NAfMA) in various categories for excellence in management accounting and business performance. Congratulations to all the winners!

Datuk Ahmad Maslan, Deputy Minister of Finance, presented the awards during a dinner on 8 September 2014 at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur. The awards ceremony was also attended by Charles Tilley, Chief Executive of CIMA and Professor Mervyn King, Chairman of the International Integrated Reporting Council.

NAfMA’s supporting partner, KPMG, shortlisted the candidates and the NAfMA judges had the opportunity of meeting these candidates during a networking evening on 20 August 2014, prior to the awards presentation during the NAfMA dinner.

NAfMA is awarded by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and CIMA, with Public Bank as the main sponsor. The supporting partners of NAfMA were KPMG and Universiti Teknologi MARA while the endorsers were the Accountant General’s Department of Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia, EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The winners of NAfMA 2014, flanked by Charles Tilley (4th from left), Chief Executive of CIMA; YB Datuk Ahmad Maslan (5th from left), Deputy Minister of Finance; and Johan Idris (4th from right), President of MIA.

NAfMA 2014 winners

Organisation of the Year Astro Malaysia Holdings BerhadCEO of the Year Datuk Mustafha Abdul Razak of Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia BerhadCFO of the year Faisal Mansor of Malaysia Airport Holdings BerhadOutstanding Contribution to Business Performance Boonsiri Somchit-Ong of AMD Global Services MalaysiaBusiness Manager of the Year Dr Azman Bin Adnan of Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia BerhadCIMA Student of the Year Wong Yew JinCIMA lecturer of the Year Arshad Adam Salehmohamed of FTMS GlobalCIMA Star of the Year Leevanraj Magendren of Maybank Group

Recognising

Malaysia’s best in Management Accounting

The VIP line-up at the CFO DialogueFrom left: Dr Noel Tagoe, Executive Director of Education, CIMA; SK Yap, Chief Operating Officer, MIA; Dato’ Rosini Abdul Samad, Deputy Accountant General; Professor Mervyn King, Chairman, International Integrated Reporting Council; Johan Idris, President, MIA; Datuk Mohd Nasir Ahmad, Chairman of Professional Accountants in Business Committee, MIA; Irene Teng, Regional Director, South East Asia and Australasia, CIMA; Prof Datin Dr Suzana Sulaiman, Chairperson, Malaysia Country Branch, CIMA; Charles Tilley, Chief Executive, CIMA.

Professor Mervyn King, Chairman, International Integrated Reporting Council (left), Guest Speaker at the CFO Dialogue, and Charles Tilley (right), Chief Executive, CIMA.

A packed audience at the Hilton ballroom.

Panellists at the session on ‘Integrated Reporting’.

Panellists: Y Bhg Datuk Mohd Nasir Ahmad, Chairman of Professional Accountants in Business Committee, MIA, and Puan Raja Faridah Raja Ahmad, Chief Financial Officer, MSM Holdings Bhd (Subsidiary of FELDAGlobal Ventures)

Panellist: Christopher Tiffin, Chief Financial Officer, Celcom Axiata Bhd

Panellist: Dato’ Amrin Awaluddin, Group Managing Director,Media Prima Berhad

Dr Noel Tagoe, Executive Director of Education and moderator of the dialogue, engaging the audience during the two panel discussions.

CIMA’s Chief Executive, Charles Tilley, was also present at the Dialogue. He spoke mainly on the changing external environment, the new demands of business and what this meant for the skills and competencies required by ‘cutting edge’ CFOs to support business success.

The CFO Dialogue is jointly organised with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA). About 100 CFOs attended the event. Dr Noel Tagoe moderated two panel discussions on ‘Epitome of Integrated Reporting’ and ‘Managing Board’s expectations’. High level panellists for the two sessions included Dato’ Mohammad Faiz Azmi, Chairman of MIA’s Capital Market Advisory Committee, Ainol Yaacob, Tax Director of BP Business Services Centre, Datuk Mohd Nasir Ahmad, Chairman of MIA’s Professional Accountants in Business Committee, Dato’ Amrin Awaluddin, Group Managing Director of Media Prima, Raja Faridah Raja Ahmad, CFO of MSM Holdings and Christopher Tiffin, CFO of Celcom Axiata.

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Launch of Malaysia’s consolidated report ‘Ready for business – Bridging the employability gap: The Malaysian perspective’From left: Charles Tilley, Prof. Dr. Arham Abdullah and Johan Merican.

Breakfast Talk prior to the launch of the employability report.

Roundtable on employability in Myanmar on 24 July 2014.

Roundtable on employability in Vietnam on 12 August 2014, in collaboration with TRG International.

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CFOs who attended the CIMA CFO Dialogue on 8 September at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur were privileged to meet Professor Mervyn King and hear his presentation on Integrated Reporting (IR). Professor King is the Chairman of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC).

Themed ‘The cutting edge CFO’, the CIMA CFO Dialogue provided CFOs with the latest insights on ‘Integrated Reporting’ and ‘Managing Board’s expectations’. Professor Mervyn King’s keynote address focused on the six capitals in the IR framework - financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and relationship, and natural. IR was developed because of increasing concerns that existing reporting frameworks and conventions do not enable a company to fully reflect how they create long-term value or help companies adequately connect all the value creating activity within their organisations.

The ‘Cutting Edge’ CFO

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CIMA SE Asia promoted the CGMA theme of employability through several roundtables held in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam between the months of June to September 2014. The roundtables gathered views from business leaders on the issue of graduate employability, the needs of employers and the role of academia in producing employable graduates. The roundtable in Vietnam was organised in collaboration with TRG International.

Malaysia’s roundtables that covered insights from three different sectors of shared service organisations, multinational companies and government-linked companies, were co-organised with TalentCorp. These insights were consolidated into a report which was launched on 8 September 2014 by Charles Tilley, Chief Executive of CIMA, Johan Merican, CEO of TalentCorp and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arham Abdullah, Director of the Industry Relations Division, Ministry of Education. Prior to the launch, a select group of industry leaders attended a breakfast talk where they discussed the findings in the three sector specific roundtables.

The employability reports are now available and if you wish to have a copy, please contact Winnie at winnie.ng@cimaglobal.com

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Employability theme takes the limelight

Promoting CIMA and CGMAin Myanmar

Meeting with the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) of the Union: Held on 22 July 2014, the meeting with the Auditor General, U Thein Htaik (5th from left), was to initiate a fast track programme for senior accountants and explore other areas of co-operation. CIMA SE Asia was represented by Venkkat Ramanan (3rd from left), Head of SE Asia, and Michael Yii, (left), Country Manager for Emerging Markets.

CGMA Award Ceremony: The award ceremony was held on 21 July 2014 at the Sule Shangri La Hotel where deserving students received scholarships to pursue the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting (CBA). Students who have successfully completed CBA also received certificates of recognition.

Congratulations to Dr Tin Latt on his elevation to FCMA: Dr Tin Latt achieved his CIMA Associate membership and the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation in 2012. In May 2014, he was elevated to FCMA. From left: Dr Tin Latt, Managing Partner, MAT Audit and Professional Services, U Win Thin, Steering Committee Member, MICPA; Venkkat Ramanan, Head of SE Asia, CIMA.

Promoting CIMA at an education fair: CIMA’s booth at the 2nd Career and Education Fair held on 20 – 22 June 2014 attracted many enquiries on the CIMA Professional Qualification.

CFO Residential Workshop: Candidates of the MICPA-CIMA CFO Programme attending a residential workshop on 2-3 August 2014 to prepare for the last exam of the CIMA Professional Qualification. The workshop was conducted by Akila Gunarathna, a top CIMA lecturer from Sri Lanka.

CIMA SE Asia implemented an executive programme for members of the Myanmar Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA). They will fast track to the CIMA Professional Qualification by completing only the final four papers.

MICPA-CIMA Strategic Executive Programme

CIMA Singapore implements CFO ProgrammeCIMA Singapore has recently implemented the CFO Programme, a fast track route for eligible candidates to become members of CIMA and Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA).

The programme is open to CFOs, CEOs and senior management who have at least 10 years experience in finance or business functions and whose work experience meets the requirements for CIMA membership. They will be required to sit only for the last paper of the CIMA professional qualification

Strong interest in the CFO Programme is seen in all four countries in South East Asia that have implemented the programme, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

CIMA Strategic Executive Programme for VietnamIn collaboration with FTMS Vietnam, CIMA SE Asia is offering this special programme for eligible candidates to complete the CIMA Professional Qualification by sitting only for the final five exams.

This programme is open to:• members and passed finalists of professional bodies who are members of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), or• holders of an MBA or masters degree in Accounting:

For more information, please visit www.ftmsglobal.edu.vn/cima/cima-strategic-executive-program or contact:

Truong Thi Thuy VanBusiness Development ManagerFTMS Ho Chi Minh CityT. +848 3930 1667E. vantruong@ftmsglobal.edu.vn

A research project by a team from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Malaysia, has won an Honorable Mention Award in Korea. The research was sponsored by the CIMA Centre of Excellence (COE) for South East Asia.

The winning research on ‘Knowledge management: A new measure for competitive advantage’ was conducted by Lee Voon Hsien (principal researcher) and her team comprising Alex Foo Tun Lee, Leong Lai Ying and Professor Dr Ooi Keng Boon. Their research paper earned the Honourable Mention Award during the Technology Innovation and Industrial Management (TIIM) Conference held on 28-30 May 2014 in Seoul, Korea. This conference was organised by the Seoul National University of Science & Technology and supported by Kasetsart University (Thailand) and Korea Management Engineering Society.

Lee’s research covered one of COE’s thematic areas of ‘Sustainability in SMEs’. Her paper was selected out of 118 research papers submitted by academicians from 26 countries. Congralutations to Lee and her team!

(CEOs) and senior management who wish to enhance their professional standing with the

A programme by:

The Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) is a global management accounting designation that recognises the competencies and expertise of management accountants who have the skill and discipline to drive strong business performance. CGMA is created by the joint venture between the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the American Institute

world’s most prestigious accounting bodies.www.cgma.org

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, founded in 1919, is the world’s leading and largest professional body of Management Accountants, with more than 218,000 members and students operating in 177 countries, working at the heart of business. CIMA members and students work in industry, commerce, the public sector and

www.cimaglobal.com

Accountants (AICPA) is the world’s largest association representing the accounting profession, with more than 394,000 members in 128 countries and a 125-year heritage of serving the public interest. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. www.aicpa.org

into any job role, including mine in AML compliance. The skills developed, and supported through CPD, have enabled me to manage performance and drive key business decision-making.”

Danny Lee, ACMA, CGMAVice President, Regional AML Compliance, Citibank, Singapore

The more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous our world becomes, the more society needs corporations to have CFOs at the helm who have great values, high standards and strong technical skills. These will be borne of personal integrity but hugely underscored by being part of a profession. Where too

trust, we need to be 100% trustworthy. In this way we serve our shareholders and we serve society.

James Bruce, FCMA, CGMACFO, Vice President Finance, South East Asia & Australasia, Unilever

THE CIMA CFO PROGRAMME

Nguyen Thi Thu HaManagerFTMS HanoiT. +844 3573 5577E. hanguyen@ftmsglobal.edu.vn

Michael YiiCountry Manager, Emerging MarketsCIMAT. +6010 400 2962E. michael.yii@cimaglobal.com

Lee Voon-Hsien (centre) receiving her award from conference director, Binshan Lin (right). On the left is Professor Dr Ooi Keng Boon.

COE’s research team wins Honorable Award

Tomorrow’s businesssuccessThe International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) released the Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework on 13 December 2013. This was in response to an urgent need of change in current corporate reporting as it no longer achieved the objective of communicating how a business is using the full range of resources available to it, to create value over the short, medium and long term.

That was why more than 100 businesses and 50 institutional investors in 25 countries were involved in the IIRC’s work on IR – global names such as PepsiCo, Hyundai, Tata Steel, Unilever, Deutsche Bank and HSBC.

The guide on ‘Tomorrow’s Business Success’ is part of a project by Tomorrow’s Company, CIMA and the IIRC, and it draws on discussions with CEOs and other members of boards and senior management as well as a wider range of stakeholders. It outlines how IR adds value to business success.

IR is far more than just a reporting framework. It helps a company:• create value – by better understanding and connecting the disparate sources and drivers of long-term value to enable better strategy formulation, decision making and implementation through their business model.• tell the story – of how value is created more effectively, both internally and externally, in a succinct way in order to win trust and secure reputation by encouraging better relationships with investors, employees and other stakeholders.

A copy of the guide is available at:http://www.cimaglobal.com/Thought-leadership/Research-topics/

CGMA was the Strategic Partner of an international symposium organised by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, an international centre for research in global economic affairs and economic education. GES 2014 was hosted by Universiti Teknologi MARA in Kuala Lumpur on 6-8 September.

Representing CIMA at GES 2014 were Dr Noel Tagoe, Executive Director of Education, and Irene Teng, Regional Director of South East Asia and Australasia. Dr Noel presented a paper on Integrated Reporting while Irene Teng spoke and participated in a discussion on ‘The future of jobs’.

MBA students of the Arshad Ayub Graduate Business School (AAGBS) of Universiti Teknologi MARA will now be able graduate with an additional CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting by

sitting only for the Management Level Case Study during their final semester. This was made possible through an addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between CIMA and UiTM in late 2013.

After completing the MBA programme, graduates can proceed to complete the CIMA Professional Qualification and become Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA).

AAGBS-CIMAcollaboration offersdual qualification

Global Economic Symposium (GES) 2014

CIMA’s ethics e-learning tool helps members and students to deal with an ethical dilemma. Available at www.cimaglobal.com/ethicstool, the tool takes you through seven scenarios of global scope, loosely based on real events. You get a chance to explore what the outcomes of your actions may be, and what it means to be ‘doing the right thing’.

Since its launch 12 months ago, the tool has been completed by over 800 individuals. Our feedback survey found that 70% rated the tool as ‘excellent’, and 67% said the tool made them think differently about how they would address ethical issues in the workplace.

A survey respondent said, ‘The tool brought a world of knowledge in a few short scenarios, and has given me encouragement and made me a lot more positive in knowing that I can uphold my own personal ethical

values, which are backed by a professional body and legislation as a whole. That I don’t have to ‘go with the flow’ so to speak, but can choose a course of action that will uphold my ethical standing.’

CIMA’s Ethical Checklist is also useful when facing an ethical dilemma. View the checklist at www.cimaglobal.com/Professional-ethics/Ethics/Responsible-business/Ethics-checklist/

Dealing With an Ethical Dilemma

Congratulations to all our newly admitted Associate members from Malaysia and Singapore!

They earned their membership status during the face to face membership assessment held on 6 September 2014 at the CIMA office in Kuala Lumpur. Elaine Richardson, Chairperson, and Jim Callander, Vice Chairman of the Membership Board were present to evaluate membership applications. 24 exam completed students from Malaysia and nine from Singapore were delighted to receive their membership ‘on the spot’.

In addition to this, the Membership Board approved the work experience of 21 Strategic Level students and CFO programme candidates. They will immediately become members upon passing the T4 case study exam.

We acknowledge with sincere thanks the assistance provided by the local assessors during the face to face assessment. The local assessors were Francis Chan, Felix Chin, Alex Koay, Ng Foo Keong and Lim Kian Hui. The face to face membership assessment is held annually. If you have missed this session, look out for the next one in August or September 2015.

Membership assessors, Elaine Richardson (right) and Jim Callander (left).

Dato’ Michael Eow (left), board member of the South East Asia Regional Board, congratulating Wong Chiun Chiek (right), CFO of IBM Malaysia, on his successful admission to CIMA membership. Wong is on the fast track CIMA CFO Progamme recently implemented in Malaysia.

Earning their stripes

Sri Lanka clinchesGBC championship titleTeam Corporate Consultants from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, clinched the CIMA Global Business Challenge (GBC) championship title at the global final held in Mumbai, India, on 6-7 August 2014. More than 14,000 students worldwide took part this year.

The competition was judged by some of the world’s top finance professionals at companies including Barclays, Siemens, SABMiller and CIMA. According to the judges, the Sri Lankan team’s ‘consistent outstanding performance’ made them the clear winners. The team was judged best of 24 teams where students delivered a business case study solution. The first runner-up was Team Market Maker from University of Auckland, New Zealand, while third place went to Team Synergy Consultants from Wroclaw University of Economics, Poland.

Victoria Wang of Team AMIC5 from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, won the Future Business Leader Award. The video competition on promoting the benefits of studying the CIMA qualification was won by Universal Consulting Group from the Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ireland (People’s choice) and Team M2M from University of Sydney, Australia (Judge’s choice)

The 2015 GBC is now open for registration. Visit www.cimaglobal.com/gbc

The champion team from Sri Lanka, with Keith Luck (centre),President of CIMA.

Second placing went to the New Zealand team (1st to 4th from right). A total of 24 teams took part in the GBC global final in Mumbai, India.

Victoria Wang (centre), the Future Business Leader.