Then, in 2014, he decided to take his career in finance to the next level and pursue a professional accountancy qualification from CIMA – The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
CIMA is the largest professional body of management accountants in the world. CIMA supports and gives voice to 150,000 Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMAs) across the globe.
The CIMA qualification is designed in response to employer demand. It extends beyond the scope of traditional accountancy programs – as well as covering technical accounting skills, it focuses on modern, management-focused topics like big data, sustainability, and leadership. CIMA students are assessed through task-based case studies which reflect today’s working environment.
For MBA students, the CIMA qualification is a way to stand out in the jobs market. CIMA offers a Master’s Gateway entry route, a fast-track route for MBA holders which exempts them from 11 exams. John secured his CIMA qualification in less than a year. He’s now a Chartered Global Management Account, ACMA CGMA.
While studying for his CIMA qualification, he joined CAPITA and managed the commercial finance aspects of a $2 billion project to roll out smart meters to energy consumers in the UK.
After completing his CIMA qualification, he landed a top job as finance lead for the UK Government’s Department of Transport. An MBA helped, but he needed the CIMA qualification to get the job. In fact, he wouldn’t be where he is now without it.
Why did you decide to pursue the CIMA qualification?
The MBA is a great qualification and I still use learnings from this experience in my every day work. However, I wanted my career to have a finance focus.
I saw two key benefits of pursuing the CIMA qualification. Firstly, being professionally qualified as well as holding an MBA can open doors for finance positions. There is a certain gravitas with being CIMA-qualified which helps you move in finance circles and develop a finance-led career further. Secondly, I wanted to develop further finance skills which were not covered in the MBA program.
What does a CIMA qualification deliver that an MBA doesn’t?
My experience was that whilst my MBA did cover some of the finance elements of the CIMA course, CIMA carries more in-depth content than the MBA. Certainly, the CIMA strategic level content was excellent in developing further my strategic finance knowledge which I still use now. Some of the new course content, such as big data, was very helpful - and this was never covered in my MBA.
How are you applying your learnings in your current role?
My role involves me in leading on the finance elements in large government procurement contracts in rail franchising.
I regularly use CIMA learnings such as finance risk management, corporate governance, and project management in my day-to-day work. Also, the problem-solving techniques which I picked up on the CIMA course have been invaluable to me in approaching and tackling issues which often involve high levels of ambiguity, complexity, and uncertainty.
How has the CIMA qualification helped you in your career?
Without CIMA, I would not have been able to apply for my current role - being professionally qualified was a pre-requisite requirement.
I think the depth in finance content of the CIMA course and its leaning on being business and problem solving-focused has enriched my existing work experience and qualifications. I am considering leadership-focused finance roles in the future and the CIMA qualification will help support this ambition.
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