Updated CIMA 2019 Professional Qualification Syllabus to stay ahead
In order to meet the demand of a constantly changing workforce with digitalisation, big data analysis and robotic technologies, local accountants must embrace them and apply them in their respective organisations to stay relevant, a top official of a global accounting professional qualification body said.
Dr Noel Tagoe, Executive Vice President- Research & Curricula Management of the Chartered Institute o f Management Accountants ( CIMA), was in Colombo this week to brief the local accountant workforce on the recently updated CIMA 2019 Professional Qualification Syllabus, on how the global accountancy industry is changing rapidly with new challenges and demands.
Dr Tagoe believes that the updated CIMA syllabus is a timely decision taken in order to strengthen global body's commitment to employability needs of both businesses and people. Focused as a bridging of digital skills needed for modern day management accountant professionals, the new syllabus was revised after in-depth study of the changing industry and other relevant stakeholders.
The updated syllabus includes how the digital world affects finance and sets out to meet the increasing demands of the rapidly changing industry, (which has become more digital savvy) and robotic technology in the workforce. New topics such as cyber security and business models have been included in the new CIMA curricula.
Dr Tagoe, who strongly recommends a CIMA professional qualification which meets the industry’s latest needs, sat down with Education Times on the changes made to the updated syllabus. Following are excerpts from the interview. This interview is edited for clarity. workforce and ensure people are employed adequately, along with robots. To give an example, when spreadsheets were introduced in the US, it took away 400,000 bookkeeping jobs but, at the same time, it created 600,000 new jobs. When things change in industry, human beings will have to find new skills in order to co-exist with machines that took away jobs previously held by humans. If they manage to do that, they will still be in the job. If they can't do that, they will be out of a job and replaced by machines.
When it comes to Sri Lanka's accountancy industry, how do you evaluate the human potential and resources compared with global standards?
when difficult questions are posed. Sri Lanka, which is already well placed in this scenario, has to prepare itself for it. Its young population, which is highly educated, understands digital and mobile technology.
What are the key changes included in the revised CIMA syllabus 2019? Can you explain how these changes are incorporated into various stages of the professional qualification?
cyber security and reporting financial strategic risks. At the moment we know that 80% of businesses are in what we call intangible work, not tangible physical work. We have put more emphasis on this kind of intangible business model.
For those who have already obtained their CIMA professional qualifications, how can they bridge these new skills in the new revised syllabus?