Globe trotter: there's little doubt that Aubrey Joachim is the institute's most travelled president. The first Australian to accept the honour tells Ruth Prickett how he plans to increase CIMA's influence internationally.
| Author | Prickett, Ruth |
| Position | Interview |
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You're the first CIMA president from outside the UK and Ireland. Does this affect what you bring to the role?
I was born in Sri Lanka and now live in Australia. In between I've lived in the Middle East, East Asia, the UK and even had New Zealand residency for a short time. I run my own training company, so I travel the world meeting financial professionals with a huge range of qualifications and backgrounds, so my perspective is international. I think this should reinforce one important message: the skills for business success remain the same irrespective of your location. The ubiquitous language of management accounting is unaffected by national differences in standards and regulations. We need--and are getting--a new type of financial manager who wants to work in different parts of the world, much like Medecins sans Frontieres. I want to spread the message that CIMA's qualification is a passport to wherever you want to be.
Is this common language really enough to overcome national barriers?
I recently ran workshops in Tehran. The organisers wanted the same course on three consecutive days: one for local government; one for the health sector; and one for education and other industries. Over ( (150)) people attended each day and almost ( (90)) per cent didn't understand English--we used a simultaneous translator. Despite this, the standard of their questions was unbelievably high. All participants were well educated (most had a master's degree) and understood the universal financial management concepts. The same was true in China. It's not a question of what language you speak.
How is the institute planning to spread this message?
CIMA is talking to businesses in South America, India and China. India has huge potential, because its businesses already have excellent financial accountants but need management accountants to drive them forward. We need to pitch the message to business communities and political leaders that the way forward is not conformance alone but performance as well--ie, not increased regulation but more informed decision-making that largely mitigates regulatory lapses.
How has the global recession affected CIMAs aims for the coming year?
The institute was founded 90 years ago at perhaps the peak of the industrial age--an era that posed its own challenges, then was to bring a different perspective o organisational management. Today, management accountants have another chance to contribute to enhancing business models, operations and processes to help their organisations create value. CIMA is doing that by giving its stakeholders the best...
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