TORONTO BRANCH PRESENTATION 11 NOVEMBER 2006 Fellowship of Our Institute “What, Why, How & When” Gordon Grant, Deputy President David Stanford, Chairman

TORONTO BRANCH PRESENTATION 11 NOVEMBER 2006

Fellowship of Our Institute

“What, Why, How & When”

Gordon Grant, Deputy PresidentDavid Stanford, Chairman of Membership Board


Format of this talk

• Facts, Figures & Philosophy

• The Detail Section

• Parting Advice


Facts and Figures

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

FCMA ACMA Passed Finalist

-5,000

10,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,00075,000

1974

1977

1980

1983

1986

1989

1992

1995

1998

2001

2004

Associates

Fellows

58,000 Associates12,000 Fellows


Organisation Chart

Council

Policy CommitteeLife Long Learning

Other PolicyCommittees

AppointmentsCommittee

Support Committees

MembershipBoard

ExecutiveCommittee

EducationBoard

ExamOversight

MembershipPanel Of

Assessors


The Philosophy

• Fellowship is not “a given” thing - it is awarded only when someone has appropriate experience and therefore reflects tangible achievement

• CIMA does not automatically upgrade Associate Membership

• It is earned.


The Detail Section

Eligibility

Benefits &Opportunities

Processes

Safeguards


Safeguards

Questions we ask ourselves:

1. What Controls exist?

2. How are assessors chosen?

3. What does Cima’s organisation structure look like?


SafeguardsGeneral

• The process is impartial and fair - if an assessor knows you, they will not assess your application - it will be sent to different people

• The requirements for Fellowship are generic and are applicable to any business sector

• Assessment statistics are regularly monitored by staff and the Membership Board to ensure consistency in the assessment activity


SafeguardsThe Assessment Process

• All assessments are conducted by trained assessors who are FCMA’s

• Applications are assessed by two assessors, one after the other (they need to agree with each other)

• If assessors are in disagreement, applications are sent on for adjudication

• ISO Quality standard process underpins it.


Benefits &Opportunities

What do I get out of it?

What does CIMA get out of it?


Benefits and Opportunitiesto the Individual

Formal Recognition of

greater experience

Extra Edge for

Employability

Increased Prestige

Eligibility for higher CIMA

duty

Personal Self Esteem

Employer pride

Only marginal increase in

subs


Benefits and Opportunitiesto the Institute

Our members reflect upon each other …. therefore the wider the recognition is of each individual’s achievement, the greater the better reflection will be upon us all.

It provides the Institute an opportunity to ‘see’ its membership and to sing our collective praises by way of promoting ourselves.


Processes

The Application FormThe Body of the CVHow Much should I write?How far back should I go?What do I need to send?


ProcessesThe Application

• All FCMA applications are made in CV format

• Use the first page to provide personal details:– full name and CIMA reference number– home and work addresses– telephone numbers, e-mail, fax etc– date of birth, age– date when you became an ACMA or PF


ProcessesThe Body of the CV

• Organise your jobs in chronological order

• For each job show, as side headings, your title, precise dates (from and to) when you held the post, and the company/division name

• If there are employment gaps, please give details of what you were doing

• Details of CPD activities undertaken


ProcessesHow Much should You write

• 4 pages is probably too little, 12 pages is probably too much… but it really does depend on what you want to say!

• Entries (one for each post containing strategic experience) ….. will vary in length according to the complexity and duration of job

• Describe the whole job, each time (i.e. for each post)


ProcessesHow far back should you go?

• Start with the first post which contained any strategy, and work forward

• Describe all the work involved in each job, but ensure that you carefully explain the strategic work you did in each job

• If there were any jobs which contained no strategic work, just give the side headings (title, company, dates etc)

• Important …….... provide the full picture … ….. start when your ACMA experience left off (concluded)...


ProcessesWhat you need to send

If you are already an Associate:

• your detailed CV (about five pages)

• the application fee

• two references from employer(s), endorsing your application and briefly mentioning your strategic work

• an endorsed organisation chart


ProcessesThe Two References

• Ideally from people for whom you have worked in the more strategic roles (if you are in consultancy, this might be major clients)

• Alternatively from existing FCMAs who have detailed first hand knowledge of your work over a period of years


ProcessesWhat the references should say

• They need to confirm the period of time you have worked for them….plus…. the name of the company and what the relationship between the two roles was at that time

• They need either to confirm the content of your CV, or briefly refer to the senior strategic work you did during that time (……….a few paragraphs are often sufficient)


ProcessesThe Organisation Charts

The chart(s) must:

• Graphically show your position in the company

• Show all the levels above your post and at least one level below

• Give titles of all the posts shown and clearly indicate which is yours

• Be signed and dated by your immediate superior/manager


Eligibility

Gaining Experience StrategyExamples


EligibiltyGaining 3 Years Strategic Experience

e

• In larger organisations, roles tend to be more focused upon specific outcomes.

• In smaller organisations, roles tend to be more wide ranging with greater influence.

Therefore it’s perhaps easier to gain the experience

in a small to medium sized company rather than a larger

company.


EligibiltyStrategy

What does strategic actually mean?

• Contributing input to original decisions and/or to the plan adopted by the organisation that influences its future direction and success

Or in other words… Making a Difference!


EligibilityLevels of Control in Business

Strategy

Tactics

Operations

‘What’ the business is about

‘How’ it manages the business

Actually ‘doing’ things


EligibilityExamples of FCMA work that you should have

• Formulation, implementation, control & review of strategic management and financial plans, policies and procedures

• Planning the provision of management information services and systems

• Planning, contributing to, and appraising major projects

• Analysing, interpreting and presenting reports on the performance of your organisation …….. to Board level

• A commitment to continuing professional development, with evidence of courses and activities undertaken to keep up to date with technical developments


Parting Advice

• Re-cap• Tips• Pitfalls to avoid


Typical FCMA Qualities

• 3 Years Senior Experience– Broadly drawn strategic experience– Influential

• Strong Personal and Interpersonal Skills– Presentation– Communication– Confidence


Strong FCMA Applications

• Professional looking layout and presentation.• Good use of examples of senior experience that

combine directional choices and outcomes.• Maturity (unlikely to be aged under 30)• Working at Director or equivalent level• Making a difference


Poor FCMA Applications

• Solely financial or management accounting experience

• managing a small “support” department, such as Accounts or Finance

• Bullet points used instead of clear explanations• Lack of maturity• Sloppily presented


Finally…..

• Your Fellowship certificate will be sent with a confirmatory letter

• If you are deferred, assessors will suggest:

– what needs to be done to meet the requirements

– what period of time might be appropriate before re-submission


The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants26 Chapter StreetLondon SW1P 4NPUnited Kingdom

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Documents

TORONTO BRANCH PRESENTATION 11 NOVEMBER 2006 Fellowship of Our Institute “What, Why, How & When” Gordon Grant, Deputy President David Stanford, Chairman