Innovation: Now in IMA’s DNA

The IMA® Global Board of Directors and staff have made innovation a priority so we can sustain our growth in members, CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) holders, respect, and influence around the world. Innovation is now an integral element of IMA’s Core Values, experts have facilitated training for staff, and employees created the IMA staff Innovation Council. IMA has helped bring the ideas of its employees and members to life while inspiring a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and entrepreneurism to enrich careers, organizations, and the public interest.

This innovative spirit helped foster a culture where employees were free to explore new possibilities while following Cynthia Barton-Rabe’s credo, “Don’t let what you know limit what you can imagine,” which resulted in the release of new products, more efficient processes, and new services. Some ideas came from a formal planning process, while others came from grassroots impromptu thinking that leveraged cross-functional assets, creating continuous agility, creativity, and responsiveness.

Specifically, IMA has launched many customer-facing innovations, including the IMA Accounting Honor Society (IAHS); three new online, on-demand courses in its Financial Planning & Analysis series (Strategic Planning, Strategic Budgeting, and Forecasting Techniques); and a student leadership experience where students from schools in IMA’s Higher Education Endorsement Program attended the local Dallas Fort Worth Area Chapter dinner meeting; had breakfast with past, present, and future IMA Chairs; and attended Board committee meetings. Without the courage and conviction of our staff and members to think of and share these ideas, IMA wouldn’t have as big an impact on members and the profession as it does today.

But as an old saying goes, “With every ending comes a new beginning.” IMA’s staff Innovation Council has since disbanded, but this is only a bump in the road on IMA’s innovation journey. Innovation has been built into our DNA, our genes. Our Core Values state, “We believe innovation and a spirit of continuous improvement are engines that keep us relevant, vital, and growing,” and we look forward to living that value day in and day out. You should expect nothing less.