Progress through partnership: CMA Canada continues to increase its international visibility and influence through dynamic knowledge sharing worldwide.

Throughout its history, CMA Canada has established a myriad of programs aimed at developing the competencies of its members to compete successfully in the global marketplace and drive demand for the CMA designation. Over the past year, these initiatives have grown and continue to mature, through the organization's involvement in international outreach initiatives and strategic partnerships.

For instance, CMA Canada has been participating in a variety of initiatives championed by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). The organization is involved with the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee to develop three new publications,</p> <pre> "Providing Guidance for the Development of a Code of Corporate Conduct," "Roles and Responsibilities in Producing and Using Robust and Reliable Financial Statements," and "The Role of the CFO in Performance Management for SMEs." </pre> <p>"The demand for this research is unprecedented," notes Steve Vieweg, President and CEO of CMA Canada. "This is reflected in the number of copies being ordered by international associations. This is a positive indication that we are involved in important strategic research."

CMA Canada has also been collaborating with the IFAC Ethics Committee in the ongoing development of ethical standards for accountants in business.

In addition, CMA Canada continues to administer Mutual Recognition Agreements with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). Qualified professional accountants from MRA partners are able to attain the accounting designation of the partner with specified additional credits.

The organization's growing reservoir of intellectual capital continues to be well received overseas. For instance, CMA Canada established an agreement with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for the sale of CMA Canada Management Accounting Guidelines for distribution to the ICAEW Faculty of Management, which has 10,000 members. Over the past several years, the ICAEW has been acquiring an average of two titles per year. A number of other international associations are also expressing an interest in purchasing CMA Canada intellectual capital products.

Joint publications

During the past year, CMA Canada published a new management accounting guideline on Evaluating Performance in Information Technology. Produced jointly with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the new guideline presents an invaluable resource to help organizations measure the return on investment in their IT systems. The guideline describes specific measures to track IT performance on inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes.

"The guideline provides a comprehensive system for accounting and finance professionals that deals with the challenges of performance measurement and control in IT," notes Richard Benn, Vice President of Program Development for CMA Canada. "The guideline is also intended to help CIOs, CTOs and senior IT managers better understand how information technology contributes to higher levels of corporate performance, more easily evaluate the profitability of IT investments, and make better resource allocation decisions."

CMA Canada and the AICPA are also developing management accounting guidelines in the areas of Business Continuity--Planning and Managing Risk, Identifying and Measuring Risk for Improved Control, and Reporting Organizational Risk for Internal Decision Making.

"These initiatives demonstrate how we are expanding continuous professional learning and development opportunities for our members through strategic partnerships with other organizations," says Vieweg.

Strategic education

Another key initiative in this area is the partnership between CMA Canada and the U.S.-based Balanced Scorecard Collaborative (BSC). Founded by Dr. Robert S. Kaplan and Dr. David P. Norton, the creators of the Balanced Scorecard, the BSC is a professional services firm dedicated to the worldwide awareness, use, enhancement and integrity of the Balanced Scorecard as a value-added management process.

During the past year, CMA Canada and the BSC presented a series of professional development seminars on corporate governance for CMAs in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Halifax and Ottawa. The seminars use CMA Canada's management accounting guideline on Measuring and Improving the Performance of Corporate Boards to demonstrate how Balanced Scorecard principles are applied to enhance corporate governance.

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CMA Canada has also established a partnership with BetterManagement.com (BMC), a U.S.-based online service that offers an extensive library of business articles, seminars and courses, focusing on best practices in performance management, change management, risk management and IT management.

Recently CMA Canada, Better Management.com and the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative presented a ground-breaking Web seminar series on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The series, presented by CMA and BSC experts in the CSR field, explored approaches to building value with consumers and investors through application of best practices in economic, environmental and social performance measurement.

"The Web seminars examined the evolution of CSR and its use by organizations, the relationship between CSR and Triple Bottom Line Reporting, and ways the Balanced Scorecard can be used to better align an organization around the drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility," explained Vieweg. "Hundreds of senior financial management professionals from a wide range of international business sectors participated in the online CSR seminar series. Through this initiative, CMA Canada and it members received tremendous exposure in the global market as leaders in an increasingly critical field of practice."

CMA Canada also participated as a sponsor with BetterManagement.com on a Web seminar series focusing on the latest developments in Activity Based Management (ABM). The presenters included CMA experts in the ABM field.

In recent months, CMA Canada sponsored conferences on public sector shared services and international risk management presented by the Conference Board of Canada, as well as a conference on corporate governance in the public sector presented by the International Quality and Productivity Centre.

"CMA Canada will continue to develop relationships here in North America and overseas to give our members the best knowledge assets available," said Vieweg. "Everyone gains from these strategic associations."