Letters.

Financial Management, 63 Portland Place, London W1B 1AB; [e-mail]

Angry? Overjoyed? Want to share your views? Financial Management welcomes correspondence from readers. We reserve the right to edit letters for publication

Presentation copy

Congratulations on the new version of the CIMA magazine. Financial Management is a great presentational improvement on Management Accounting, which always seemed to have a "cut and paste" finish to it. Before, I always had the impression that every article submitted was printed in full and the typeface adjusted to fit the available space.

Now we have a product that clearly shows evidence of strong editing and focus on content and message. Perhaps a few more headline "hooks" on the front cover to attract non-accountant business managers ? Otherwise, well done to everybody involved.

Philip Dean FCMA Secretary, CIMA West London branch

Veg but no meat

I have received my copy of Financial Management and, for the first time, CIMA's magazine has gone straight in the bin. It lacks the "meaty" semi-technical articles which usually warrant retention and re-reading. It is a disappointing start -- I hope that future editions will improve.

Vincent O'Brien ACMA 

EQ quality

I have just finished reading September's Financial Management and would say that it is the first time for some years that I have read the CIMA monthly publication completely. Very often presentation is everything and, in this context alone, the magazine is a much more inviting read than Management Accounting.

However, on the evidence of this issue, the content is also more appealing and relevant to the issues we face today in the working environment -- the article on EQ being particularly interesting. I wish you success in continuing the development of the magazine.

Trace L Norton FCMA

Cold shoulder

The first edition of FinancialManagement leaves me cold. If I wanted lots of white space, colour pictures of little relevance and few articles that give me relevant information, I would subscribe to other management journals. For the first time since I became a member over 25 years ago, nothing on the title page indicates that this journal is from an institute of accountants. Where are the relevant management accountancy articles? And where is the student section?

I regularly read Accountancy and find this gives more relevant news and items that interest me as a management accountant. Can we have "accountant" or "accountancy" put back on the title page -- for example, "FinancialManagement: the journal for management accountants"-- and improved content?

Dr JK Ashford FCMA

First past the post

I was fascinated with the new appearance and content of Financial Management. My congratulations to the whole team. For a moment I thought it was the Harvard Business Review. The change of name from ManagementAccounting to Financial Management was a superb idea. Wonderful. I am glad you got to pick this title for the magazine before any of the other accounting bodies.

Merrill Cassell FCMA

Creative license

It was a surprise to receive Financial Management in September. A new magazine or a re-hash of the monthly journal? My immediate reaction was "Good to see a change", but disillusionment set in when I studied the cover and editor's letter. In my experience, the role of financial management has always been limited, whereas management accountants have been widening their involvement in management. The choice of title will have the opposite impact to that intended. The article by David Allen confuses the issue and "the magazine from CIMA," rather than the "journal of the CIMA" is a retrograde step.

The term on the headline "Creative accounting" is well known to managers and accountants. It does not refer only to attempts to improve financial performance in the arts world. Shame on you -- or am I missing some clever comment? Do you have an accountant to advise you, or is this the new editorial remit? Is this a positive step in publicising CIMA to a wider business audience?

The legal article on sexual banter prompts me to comment on the nude form on the cover. Why a male and why a statue? I am hoping to have 50 years' membership recognised in 2003 -- will this now be confined to a supplement in December of that year?

Ray Barrington FCA FCMA FBCS (retired)

Worthy praise

Well done, it was time the old ManagmentAccounting was consigned to the bin. The new magazine looks as though it is produced by an organisation worth belonging to. Thanks.

Tony Boucher FCMA FD, Haldex Brake Products

Congratulations

Congratulations on the excellence of our new-look journal.

Joe Flamingo FCMA ATII FCIS 

Canadian compliments

I have enjoyed and appreciated the September issue of Financial Management. I like the new title, the editorial (especially the resolution not to appeal solely to minority groups), the layout, design and style, and the interesting content, which achieves the fine balance between news, institute news and comment. Compliments from along-time reader.

Kenneth Foley FCA ACMA Canada

Web-enabled

I fully support the face-lift on our magazine. I look forward to the day we can download the whole thing from the web. Our local newsletter is already electronic and members can receive it electronically or physically.

Paul C P Yeung FCMA HK branch

Size matters

I received the new format magazine and, while generally contented with the changes, can I ask why the size change? It sticks out of its space in my magazine rack -- is this to make an impact? CIMA standing out from the crowd again?

Douglas Johnston ACMA

Premier division

It is good news about CIMA's performance in the City (Aspiring Manager,). CIMA has marketed itself very well and I am proud to be part of it. I would like such marketing to be extended to division level. I want to see CIMA as a premier qualification in South Africa where I live.

Is the rumour true that CIMA intends to get rid of the word "accountant" in its name and that its main specialism will be financial management? That would be a brilliant decision. I suggest employed members should become "chartered financial managers" and those in practice should be "chartered financial consultants".

Robert Likhang Lesotho Centre

Unchartered waters

I am extremely concerned about the future of our institute and its moves away from accountancy towards management. Recent comments about dropping "accountant" from our title and moving the qualification towards a financial MBA, and news that our journal is now called Financial Management, force me to write.

Our competitive advantage is that our institute is a chartered accountancy body specialising in industry and commerce and that is the reason why I studied for this qualification. I am 34 years old and have worked in industry since 1983, so the CIMA qualification was the obvious choice.

After gaining my AAT and CIMA qualifications, I went on to do an MBA at Heriot Watt University and this complimented my CIMA training. It looks as if the accountancy element of CIMA will be watered down in favour of management -- but other bodies already do this. My CIMA qualification helped me to become a group financial director at 31 and an MBA alone wouldn't have done this. I urge you to ballot the members and students (or at least the branches) before such changes take place.

Paul Hooper-Keeley FCMA MBA FInstD FMAAT G & J Spencer Group

Name shame

While I found the new Financial Management an improvement in design on ManagementAccounting, I was sorry to see the title change. Is this a prelude to dropping the word "accountant" from the institute's name? I hope not!

In spite of jibes about being boring, I am proud of being an accountant, having worked for a number of years in practice before qualifying in industry. Is there not a risk of alienating the members whose work is "bread and butter" accountancy, ie month-end accounts, annual budgets and statutory accounts?

In any case, having only recently acquired the right to call ourselves chartered management accountants, do we want to become mere chartered managers? This debate must go on.

Mark Jones ACMA

Letters of credit

I do not think it is a good idea to equate the CIMA qualification with an MBA. Instead, we should try to differentiate the qualification from others such as CA, ACCA and MBA.

"Management accountant" describes us well. It maintains the link with the accountancy profession, keeps CIMA eligible to membership of the CCAB and is well understood outside the UK. If the council thinks a new title is needed, I suggest "chartered financial consultant". This makes it clear that we are financial specialists, while emphasising the fact that most members are consultants, rather than simply accountants.

Yu Kwong Wong ACMA FCCA 

Mike Jeans, CIMA president, replies: What's in a name (or in an acronym)? In recent years, the institute has sought to gain recognition for CIMA as a brand, and the new logo and corporate image reinforce this. The advantages are that it is: less cumbersome; not linked directly to any language; less restrictive in its meaning; and easily attached to products and services.

CIMA has moved along way since the days when it was the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants. Members are now found in most sectors and in an increasing number of countries. The syllabus continues to evolve, reflecting the needs of employers who need people who understand and can produce the information for decisions, but who also understand the management context. This is likely to be the role of the finance professional of the future, while the accounting function, as such, is eroded by IT advances, outsourcing, shared service centres, web-based transaction processing etc.

Management and accounting are the twin pillars of the CIMA qualification. The importance of the former has increased and our practical experience requirements reflect this. But does the name matter? How many people say "I am a master of business administration" rather than "I am an MBA"?

So the question about CIMA's name may be irrelevant. The associations made by the outside world are far more important -- I hope people see CIMA as a body of professional financial managers capable of operating in all sectors across the world, and at the top of any organisation.

Ethical dilemma 

I am writing about the ethics of recruiting new staff. A few weeks after joining a new firm, I have been forced to reapply for a role that I don't really want. I consulted a recruitment agency which agreed that the move puts my career back 18-24 months.

What makes this more annoying is that the people who interviewed me were aware of the changes. If they had told me, I wouldn't have taken the job. It is hard to discuss the situation with my employer as my trust has been shattered and I don't want to rock the boat when I need to pay my mortgage.

This behaviour is unethical. The firm should have delayed recruiting until the new structure was decided. I have spoken to others in similar situations. Shouldn't it be dealt with in the ethical codes of accountancy bodies?

Name and address supplied