IMA aims to grow accounting pipeline at annual conference
The Institute of Management Accountants is holding its annual conference this week in Minneapolis as the organization showcased ways to bring the accounting profession to a wider array of people.
The IMA went through a restructuring last year and named a new president and CEO, Mike DePrisco, who succeeded longtime leader Jeff Thomson in April (see story). DePrisco brings a background in association management and education, having worked at the Project Management Institute and the Art Institutes.
“We did a restructuring earlier this year, and Mike coming in is a real big change,” said IMA CFO Russ Porter. “He comes in with a very different perspective. Not being a practitioner, he comes in with some new ideas, and what he’s seen across his career, focused on education, but also on the association space. And he’s got some ideas on how he wants to take the association forward in terms of growth and member service. We’re actually going into our annual strategy session, and this year just takes on a different significance. We’re going to do what I recommend lots of people do: an offsite strategy session with the leadership, really looking at the long term, and where we want the association to get in that long term. We’re going to see some changes there.”
Gwen van Berne, chair of the IMA’s global board of directors for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, has begun working with DePrisco during the transition. “We’re really happy that Mike has joined our organization,” she said. “Mike brings such a strong background in association management, which really helps. He does bring a fresh view on things, which I think is good and healthy. The finance profession is changing because of ESG and automation, but the same goes for our own organization, so the internal organization has to adapt to make sure that we provide global membership value in the best way possible. Mike brings really good, fresh ideas. On the other hand, we do respect our 100-plus year history. We don’t expect an enormous overhaul. That’s not going to happen. We cherish what we have, but we want to stay relevant. And I think Mike brings that. It was a good moment, with all the changes going on in the profession, to have somebody that will help us to adapt to changing circumstances. It will be a good balance.”
She works with a group of outgoing and incoming chairs of the IMA who ensure a smooth leadership transition. “One of our key strengths is the leadership, both the leadership from a staff perspective, and being biased, even more so the leadership from a senior volunteer perspective,” said Steve McNally, chair-emeritus of the IMA’s global board of directors for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. “I think we have a very unique governance model. Gwen knew who her successor was before she even became chair. Likewise, Rich Brady will become chairman on July 1. He knows who his successor is already, and that’s a key part of the continuity, to be able to work together. With Mike, I actually had the honor of leading the search committee that hired Mike. As part of that process, it became very clear to us one of the main reasons he was the right person at the right time is his focus on community and members. He is absolutely going to help us really focus on members and member value and community, which is going to make all the difference. But more generally, as a profession, IMA has always been behind thought leadership. Certainly ESG is a big issue now, and we’ll be working there. We need to ensure that our profession remains relevant.”
Thomson has also been working with DePrisco to ensure a smooth transition. “Thank you so much for allowing me to be your CEO for almost 15 years,” he said to the audience at the conference. “I’m really excited that we have a brand new CEO in Mike DePrisco. I hope you all have the opportunity to meet Mike and get to know him, because he’s absolutely going to help the board take the IMA to the next level.”
On Tuesday, the IMA showcased its work on sustainability, including a recent report on how COSO’s internal control framework can be applied to sustainability, and how it is working with standard-setters like the recently formed International Sustainability Standards Board, with ISSB member Jeff Hales talking about the role of sustainability.
“The ISSB is setting out to do its work and the goal is to be a global baseline for reporting on sustainability issues,” said Hales. “The things that investors want to know about often don’t stop at borders. Investors often are trying to form global portfolios. What we’ve heard from investors is that they want to be able to get reliable information from companies on the relevant issues to their business in a way that reflects all of the companies in their portfolios. We think that there’s demand to get agreement on what those issues are going to be in capital markets around the world.”
Companies too are learning how to combine sustainability reporting with financial reporting. “In March of last year, we had just issued our sustainability report,” said Kristin Proos, director of global finance strategy and ESG reporting at Whirlpool Corporation. “I was super excited. We had gotten assurance on our greenhouse gas metrics for Scope 1, 2 and 3, and we had increased the number of metrics from two metrics in the prior year to almost 100. And we issued our sustainability report at the same time as our annual report, which meant we took six weeks out of the reporting process, which was in this space right now, ahead of many other companies who haven’t even released their sustainability report. I was feeling great, but that didn’t last for very long, because then the SEC issued their 500-plus page proposal on climate-related disclosures. And in reading that, a lot of things were starting to concern me. One is reasonable assurance on Scope 1 and 2. So I started doing some research and I said, ‘OK, how can I improve the integrity of the numbers, the metrics and the data that goes into the sustainability report.’ I found the 2013 COSO framework guidance and two things stood out to me. One is it was very intentional that you use the word nonfinancial. And two, it puts the controls environment at the top.”
Sustainability reporting may be one way to attract students to careers in accounting. “Students overwhelmingly ask me to talk about sustainability and sustainability reporting because they see a future in that,” said Bob Herz, former chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and now a professor at Columbia University. “I think curriculums are going to have to adjust as well. You can see the light in their eyes.”
ESG reporting and the use of advanced technology may also draw young people to the profession when accounting has not been an attractive career option for many young people. McNally recalled a recent conference at Kent State University in Ohio. “Just generally, they’re seeing fewer students that are interested in accounting, which I find very unfortunate,” said McNally. “I began as a CPA. It was a great launchpad for my career. Accounting is the language of business and is relevant to all the functions within a business. We need to make sure that students are aware of what a wonderful profession it is. Unfortunately, when I went to school, all the professors spoke about was public accounting and the CPA and, therefore, that’s the only path I knew existed. All these years later, in many schools, that hasn’t changed.”
In some ways, the accounting profession is being redefined as advanced technology like data analytics takes on a growing role.
“A lot of people are lamenting the decline of accounting students in universities,” said Porter. “Yes, traditional accounting is pulling back a little bit, but where are they moving to? They’re moving into financial management. They’re moving into data analytics. So from my perspective, our umbrella is still intact. We may be calling it different things. But the scope of skills and capabilities that we’re looking for in management accounting really hasn’t changed. It’s just that they’ve got a different name.”
While the IMA has seen its numbers decline to some extent in China as a result of the pandemic lockdowns, it has been growing in other parts of the world, especially in China and the Middle Eastern countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“In the Middle East, we’re strong and growing in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, and other parts,” said McNally. “We’ve got a team on the ground, and we’ve actually opened some new offices. China is still recovering, and hopefully over the next six to 12 months, they really start thriving again. And then India is clearly our hottest market at the moment with the enthusiasm and excitement there. But the Middle East is right there, too. Between enthusiastic members and enthusiastic staff, I think we’re on our way.”
“There are a lot of job opportunities now and also a lot of education opportunities for us,” said van Berne, “but there is also a huge need for finance professionals there to upskill.”
