The Institute of Management Accountants returned to an in-person format for its annual conference this week and put a spotlight on how accountants are dealing with challenges like inflation and supply chain shortages at their organizations.
“What used to be a disruption far away from our organizations is now having significant impacts, both today and tomorrow,” said Russ Porter, CFO and senior vice president of strategy, technology and analytics at the IMA, during a panel discussion Tuesday. “We as management accountants need to think broadly about our enterprises and very broadly about the factors that affect us, from the macroeconomy to political instability to technology and innovation, and how they’re going to affect us going forward.”
Sandra Clarke, executive vice president and CFO at Blue Shield of California, explained her approach. “One of the biggest roles I play is to be the voice of reason,” she said. “I sometimes call myself Debby Doom, making sure that we are taking the fuzzy great idea up here and getting clarity around how we’re actually going to get there, taking the vision into the strategy plan and then the strategic execution.”
Omar Choucair, CFO of financial software company Trintech, often helps companies with M&A transactions. “What we tell people is really get into the business,” he said. “That’s really important. Ask as many questions as you can because the more the finance team really understands the business, whether it’s marketing or product development or R&D or custom success, all of those are critical. The more that our folks can understand the business, we have a lot better opportunity to work on the strategy.”
His company often works with the executive leadership team, CEO and board of directors on their finances. “All of that hangs together as we think about strategy and mission,” he said. “It’s not just the actuals vs. the budget, whether it’s the monthly or quarterly. It’s much more than that.”
AARP treasurer Karen Mercer focuses on changing the perceptions about aging. “We’re all living longer, so the way we live and the things we’re involved in are different from previous generations,” she said. “For instance, when my dad got out of college, he worked for one company for 40 years. I’ve actually had four different careers. I was a banker, I worked for Imperial Sugar, I worked in higher education and now I work for AARP. There are the changing nature of different generations. One of the things we think about strategically is not only what the current generation’s needs are, but also future generations. In my role, I try to build financial structures that not only are for our current resources, but also think about what the organization is going to do in the future to support future generations.”
She is also executive sponsor of AARP’s women’s employee resource group, where she works to empower women to succeed in their careers.
Porter asked how accountants and finance people can help organizations gain a wider perspective. “How do you develop these kinds of skills within these organizations?” he asked. “What should accounting and finance professionals look to learn and how might they approach the development of their softer skills?”
“One of the things I was told when I first became a financial analyst at Imperial Sugar was I had to get sugar on my shoes, which basically meant I had to get out there and get dirty, understand the entire operation from planting to growing to processing to packaging and logistics to the customer,” said Mercer. “So I did and that really helped me understand the entire organization. Then when we looked at bottlenecks and what customer needs were and different aspects of raw materials, I had a much better understanding of what needed to go into that so I could then model it out.”
Award winners
The IMA also recognized a number of its volunteer leaders in the U.S. and other parts of the world with special recognition awards. IMA Champion Awards went to Lisa Book of the the Louisville (Kentucky) Chapter, Loudie Jay Falguera of the Philippines Chapter, Javvadi Rao of the Hyderabad (India) Chapter, Tara Shawver of the Pennsylvania Northeast Chapter, and Nancy Schroeder, who chairs the institute's Financial Reporting Committee.
The IMA Exemplary Board Member Award went to Di Wu of the Los Angeles Metro Chapter. The IMA Exemplary Young Professional Award was presented to Maria Alyssa Aguilar of the Philippines Chapter and Qing (Jude) Zhu of the Nanjing (China) CMA Elite Club. The IMA R. Lee Brummet Exemplary Educator Award went to Daniel Siciliano, who supports IMA student case competitions, and Wendy Tietz of the Akron (Ohio) Chapter.
“A hearty congratulations to all of IMA’s global award winners,” said IMA president and CEO Jeff Thomson. “The generosity of these volunteer leaders cannot be overstated. As we often say, volunteers are the heart and soul of the organization. They’ve given their time, expertise and passion to management accounting and IMA, and I am so grateful for their many contributions.”
“What separates the IMA from all the other organizations is the opportunity to engage, to build a relationship, so take advantage of that,” said Steve McNally, IMA global board of directors chair for 2021-2022. “It is my privilege to recognize these IMA volunteers who have given so much of themselves to our organization.”
