The following extracts are taken from the website of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. The leading global professional body of Management Accountants.

CIMA is the world's largest professional body of management accountants. We offer the most relevant finance qualification for business. Management accountants interpret financial information to make business decisions. Top CFOs, CEOs and management consultants are chartered management accountants. CIMA has equipped business pioneers with the skills to achieve exceptional things - for their employers, and as individuals.

Member profiles

CIMA member Simon \(\mathrm{H}\) spearheaded an initiative to implement a single system to enable a major oil exploration company to define strategies for asset groups and report clearly on risk profiles and likely returns.

In a scientific instrument company, CIMA member Michael T's war on waste saw percentage of products delivered in three weeks rise to \(70 \%\) (from \(57 \%\) ) and inventory costs down by a third (\$44million).

In a global conglomerate company my team and I are putting information in front of decision makers every day to really guide this business to go forward. We grow very quickly. Our competitors grow very quickly. Our customers' needs change. So every day we have to take a new look at ourselves and a new look at the market situation. Management accounting does that for you.

Discussion points

1 Imagine you are working as a management accountant in a company that is planning a project to establish a wind farm to generate renewable electricity. What kind of work might you contribute to the project?

2 Imagine you are working as a management accountant in a company which is unprofitable because its labour costs are higher than those of its competitors. How might you contribute to improving the profitability through controlling the labour costs?