The report, entitled Ready for Business - Bridging the employability gap, is based on numerous employer interviews that were conducted during the CIMA syllabus review process.
Samantha Louis, regional director of CIMA Africa, says they have taken a direct approach with employers by conducting comprehensive research into the roles of management accountants, the skills employers expect of them and how these are changing. "We then developed an updated competency framework around which the more recent syllabus update took place. As a result our syllabus has been revised to strengthen competencies and aspects which were highlighted by employers as critical for employability."
"It's becoming evident that in many disciplines, not just accounting, that a combination of core technical skills and a solid understanding of how businesses operate is becoming increasingly invaluable in the world of work. The work which CIMA does in keeping its syllabus relevant to employer needs is what improves the employability of management accountants," Louis says.
The report also covers the changing role of finance, or as CIMA and AICPA refer to this, the finance function transformation. It highlights current hot topics in the role of the finance function as being risk management, finance transformation, big data and analytics, sustainability, integrated reporting, cost leadership, tax in decision making, global awareness and ethics.
The top three areas scored as emerging important roles for management accountants were analytics and data mining, developments in accounting MIS, and competitive strategies. Analytics and data mining scored highest amongst surveyed respondents, with 65% saying it was very or quite important that this is covered in accounting education and 83% saying that employers would expect this to be covered at an intermediate or advanced level.
Regarding developments in MIS, 59% said it was important to cover during education and 89% felt that employers would expect finance employees to be competent in this. Understanding competition and competitive strategies scored similarly at 58% and 88% in third place, while understanding financial reporting standards fell in fourth place with 60% and 81%.
"It's clear that the roles of finance professionals in business are changing. Management accountants need to be prepared to lead this transformation. The role of the management accountant has become so broad that it can be described as being about improving decision making," Louis says.
"While financial accounting skills remain essential, it is the ability to combine financial expertise with a thorough understanding of the business and the ability to deliver performance analysis that supports real time decision making that is the key to future-proofing a career in finance. The finance role in organisations is no longer just about transactions and accounting, finance employees need to be equipped and ready to be business partners to management teams in order to drive the success of the organisation," she concludes.
