As IMA® Chair, I had the privilege in August of attending the annual meeting of the American Accounting Association (AAA) for the first time. The meeting, held in San Francisco, Calif., enabled me to witness the dedication and commitment of leading minds in the field of management accounting. (It also gave me the opportunity to reconnect with Ginger White, IMA Chair-Emeritus, who is now serving as the chief operating officer of AAA and thriving in the new role.)
The meeting was remarkable in many respects. Most memorable for me was the induction of Major J. Lee Nicholson, one of the founding members of IMA (known then as the National Association of Cost Accountants), into the Accounting Hall of Fame. I provided my comments along with Ginger, former IMA Chair Sandy Richtermeyer, and IMA Chair-Elect Paul Juras about the impact that Nicholson has had on our profession.
I also attended a special Management Accounting Section luncheon that included the presentation of two esteemed awards sponsored by IMA: the Jim Bulloch Award for Innovations in Management Accounting Education, which recognizes an outstanding teaching or curriculum contribution to the area of management accounting education, and the Management Accounting Section Dissertation Award, which honors outstanding dissertation research in the field of management accounting.
These awards exemplify the ways that IMA supports the work of academics who advance the profession of management accounting. Specifically, through our IMA Research Foundation, we sponsor and provide financial support to doctoral students as well as senior researchers as they explore innovative practices and techniques that can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the work performed by practitioners. These endeavors aren’t mere abstractions or isolated academic applications: You’ll find the results of many of these research studies appearing within the pages of this magazine, offering valuable advice and insight for accounting and finance professionals around the world (in this issue, for example, the article “Old Technology as a Strategic Advantage” is based on research funded by the IMA Research Foundation).
And there are other ways that IMA members benefit from this commitment to research. Through our chapters, councils, webinars, conferences, and other continuing education opportunities, IMA provides the resources members need to excel at their jobs and progress in their careers. As we head into fall, I encourage you to take advantage of the many educational resources available to you through IMA.
I welcome your comments on this or any other topic at christian.cuzick@imanet.org.
September 2019
