How will a CMA change my life?

Flexible Career Choices

As most people know, the current generation of workforce employees will change jobs and even careers many times before they retire. Consequently, many of us are choosing to invest in a broad skill base that can be carried to different employers, different sectors, and even different countries. Ideally, this is paired up with a specific skill set where a deeper base of knowledge can be tapped. Within the world of business, CMA offers a unique opportunity to have both sides of this equation to provide unparalleled career flexibility. It’s the combination of:

• The broad knowledge managerial skills necessary for senior management positions, and
• The specific accounting skills required for high-level finance positions.

While many CMAs do choose traditional roles such as VP finance, controller, etc..., a growing number move “up” to become company presidents, board directors, and entrepreneurs or “over” to take roles as heads of marketing departments and human-resource departments. Generally speaking, people that pick the CMA route are looking for the combination of “flexibility” and “senior-level” roles, often producing innovative results and re-inventing roles for themselves where they can.

Employers also recognize the flexibility of a CMA, often choosing to place them in leadership and cross-functional roles, because of their wide set of skills. CMAs can work in public accounting if they wish, but most choose to work in industry, government, or the not-for-profit sectors. It’s common to find a CMA in a company that requires broad-management skills combined with financial expertise – which is to say just about any mid- to large-sized company in the marketplace.

Here are a few examples of roles staffed by CMAs in Atlantic region:

• Aliant Inc., CFO & VP
• Bacardi International, Manager of Finance
• Boston Bruins, Director of Marketing
• Eastlink, CFO
• ExxonMobil Canada, Joint-Venture Analyst
• Government of Nova Scotia, Controller
• EMC Medical Care Inc., CEO
• Emera Inc., Treasurer
• Irving Moncton Group, VP Finance
• McCain, VP International
• Mount St. Vincent University, VP Administration
• NL Hydro, CFO & VP Finance
• Sobeys, VP Finance and Transformation
• Trans-Atlantic Media, VP Finance

Recognition and prestige

As a rule, accounting designations around the world are protected by provincial, state, or national legislation. However, this does not prevent CMAs and other designated accountants from working in other countries. While many accounting bodies have reciprocal, international arrangements, in most cases this is not as important as having your employer know you have a recognized designation (usually, this means by the International Association of Accountants, also known also as IFAC). The exception to this are jobs in public accounting, where detailed knowledge of local tax and audit regulations is a prerequisite.

CMAs are well recognized throughout the world and carry with them an excellent reputation. Currently CMA has members in most countries of the world, with a heavy emphasis on English-speaking countries that have a vibrant financial sector: such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Bermuda, Barbados, Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands, to cite a few examples.

In Canada, CMA is the undisputed leader in strategic management accounting, with a growing membership that never quite meets the supply demand of employers – which again, is great news for our CMA membership.

Financial benefits

Not surprisingly, employers pay quite a lot of money to have CMAs on staff. In our most-recent promotional brochure, you’ll see that having a CMA designation (versus not having designation) makes almost 100 per-cent difference in your salary, especially as your career begins to progress. In Atlantic Canada specifically, the average CMA makes about $90,000, but senior CMAs make a lot more, with the top 10 per cent making between $125,000 to $250,000 per year.

Knowledge

While all these other benefits are quite convincing on their own, it’s easy to forget that the CMA is primarily about obtaining the skills and knowledge that allows everything else to fall into place – both for your job and your career.

In short, the combination of broad management skills and high-level finance skills opens the doors to positions that would otherwise require many more years of experience.

As a final note ... while many CMAs might not say it out loud, virtually all would admit that getting the CMA was probably the most significant investment of their careers and likely also the biggest confidence-builder for them personally.

Talk to a CMA – they’ll inevitably say they were astonished by all they could do upon graduating the program.