Sand Dollars and Sense - IMA

Sand Dollars and Sense
Southwest Florida Chapter
May 2010
Volume 1 Issue 5
June 9 Spring Seminar:
8 CPE: $ 120 for Members, $ 135 for Non-members,
$ 60 for Unemployed and $ 30 for Students/Retirees
Inside this issue:
Member Spotlight
2
The Spring Seminar hosted by SWFL Chapter of IMA has been rescheduled
to Wednesday, June 9. It promises an enriching whole-day event ( 8 am
to 4.45 pm ) with remarkable speakers covering hot topics in accounting,
audit, fraud, leadership, financial planning, and banking.
Calendar of Events
3
Board of Directors
3
May 12 Chapter Meeting
4
Ethics Helpline
4
The IMA prides itself on being the leading resource for developing, certifying, connecting and supporting the world’s best accountants and financial professionals in business. SWFL Chapter has been very flexible in terms
of the fees willing to promote and facilitate knowledge, networking and
continuing education for IMA members, other financial professionals and
students.
IMA’s Inside Talk Webinar
5
New Exam Registration
5
CMA Challenge
5
LinkedIn & LinkUp IMA
6
And more...
Hope to see you there!
Location:
Time: 8 a.m.- 4.45 p.m.
Holiday Inn at Gulf Coast Town Center
CPE credits: 8
9931 Interstate Commerce Drive
Register online:
The Institute of Fort Myers FL 33913
Management
239.561.1550
Accountants
Southwest
Florida Chapter
#414
13091 Cross
Creek Blvd #305
Fort Myers, FL
33912
(239) 898-7529
swfl.imanet.org
swfl.imanet.org
Record-breaking Response to New CMA Program
The past few months
have been hectic ones
for the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA®).
Since announcing the
launch of its revised
two-part CMA® exam
last December, ICMA
has experienced record-breaking enroll-
ment in the CMA program.
From December 2009
through March 2010,
more than 7,700 new
candidates have decided to become
CMAs. Candidates
include both those
joining the new two-
part CMA program as
well as those signing
up for the previous
four-part program,
enrollment for which
ended on February
28, 2010.
―The new CMA program focuses on the
(Continues on page 4)
Member Spotlight — Bill Dabroski
Bill Dabroski, current President
of the SWFL chapter for 200910, is a business consultant
who resides in Fort Myers, FL. A
licensed CPA in Florida, Bill’s
professional
experience includes
financial analyst
positions with
General Electric (GE)
and Lee County
Electric Cooperative
(LCEC) as well as
controllerships at two
local companies.
His experience has
concentrated in sales & use
tax compliance, financial
analysis at the
company level, accounting
operations as controller and
quality initiatives at several
companies.
Bill has been of
member for 7 years
and current president
of the SWFL IIA and
has presented to the
FGCU Accounting
Society. He is a
member American
Institute of Certified
Public Accountants
(AICPA), Florida Institute of
CPA’s (FCPA) and the Institute
of Internal Auditors.
Record-breaking Response to New CMA Program
(Continues from page 1)
critical skills of financial planning, analysis, control, and decision support,‖ said Dennis Whitney, CMA, CFM, ICMA senior
vice president. ―The new program has been well received
by the marketplace, with thousands of new CMA candidates
enrolling in just a few short
months.‖
Another promising trend is the
rise in registrations to sit for the
exam, which is the next step
after enrolling in the program.
Registrations are up 84 percent
for the recent DecemberMarch period compared with
the corresponding period last
year. ―Not only has
Volume 1 Issue 5
enrollment in the CMA program
increased significantly, but we’re
also seeing a surge in registrations
for exam parts,‖ said Mr. Whitney.
―What sometimes happens is that
candidates enroll in the program,
yet never sit for any exam parts.
By naming a deadline, instituting
testing windows, and the
increasing demand in the
marketplace, candidates are
making a commitment to sit for
the exam.‖
Interest in taking the CMA exam
has come from both U.S. and
international quarters. In fact,
international enrollment in the
CMA program is up dramatically
compared with last year.
“There is nothing wrong with
change, if it is in the right direction”
Winston Churchill
Bill is a graduate of SUNY at
New Paltz with a Bachelors of
Science in Accounting and an
Masters of Business
Administration (MBA).
He enjoys biking, the great
outdoors, traveling,
volunteering in his spare time.
Mr. Whitney attributes to the
popularity of the CMA exam
among international professionals to several factors, including
the large number of review
course providers operating
overseas and the ongoing desirability of gaining a U.S. certification in countries where not
many certifications are available.
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a
habit.
Aristotle
Page 2
2010 Event
Calendar
Board of Directors
President
William Dabroski, CPA
June 9
wdabroski@yahoo.com
SWFL Chapter of IMA Spring Seminar — 8 CPE (details)
VP of Membership
June 5-9
lippertjosh@yahoo.com
Joshua Lippert
IMA 91st Annual Conference and
Exposition
Baltimore, MD
June—July—August
Summer Board Meetings
Secretary
September 8
Denise Vidal, CMA
First Fall Chapter Meeting
Denise.vidal@lcec.net
October 1-2
Treasurer
IMA Florida Council Meeting
Boryana Boteva, CMA
Palm Beach County
Boryana.boteva@gmail.com
One way to achieve distinction is to
earn both the CMA and CPA credentials. Accounting certification in
general – and dual accounting
certification in particular – also pays
off quite well financially.
Students are being encouraged to
initiate both the CMA and CPA
exams and complete soon after
graduation. For corporate audiences, CMA and CPA credentials
are complementary with emphasis
on different but related topics in
the accountants’ value chain. In
both cases, the CMA credential
allows for career growth, career
opportunity and significant salary
increments in financial planning
and analysis, budgeting and forecasting, risk management, and a
foundation of ethics.
Volume 1 Issue 5
Directors
Lyubomir Dimitrov, CMA
lyubomirdimitrov@yahoo.com
Dave Teets, CPA
Merlin33159@comcast.net
Dr. Ara Volkan, CPA
avolkan@fgcu.edu
Emeritus Committee
Lou Vlasho, CMA
Cosmos Trapani, CPA
Michael Roth, CPA
Tom Byrne, CPA
Randy McHenry, CMA, CFM, CIA
Page 3
Robert Half developed a global survey
of hiring and retention
trends worldwide that
was conducted by an
independent research
firm. The survey drew
over 4800 finance and
human resources respondents in 21 countries.
Overall, results reflected that hiring challenges
persist, retention concerns remain, hiring processes are more thorough, employees are experiencing higher stress and heavier workloads, and accounting and finance departments are adapting to economic conditions.
Successful hiring practices in the current economic conditions include internal and external networking, enhanced or alternative
compensation options, highlighting a company’s advantages, and working with a specialized recruitment firm. The executive attributes in highest demand are industry-specific
experience including an understanding of
international markets, regulatory compliance
expertise, and legal backgrounds.
Employee retention concerns were high
among respondents. Proven methods to retain top performers include advancement
opportunities, praising outstanding perform-
Retrospection of May 12 SWFL Chapter Meeting
Topic:
Presenter:
Global Financial Hiring Trend
Robert Half International
ance, maintaining
communication, and
providing access to needed
resources. Additionally,
employees are experiencing
much higher stress levels
which employers can counter
by redistributing workloads,
increasing communication, and postponing projects.
There is light at the end of the tunnel though and most
respondents to the survey expected their economic
condition to begin to improve this year. Those
employers that will be most successful in hiring and
retaining employees in today’s economic condition will
continue with extensive hiring processes, protecting
productivity, maintaining
employee morale, focusing on
retaining top performers, and
maintaining strong
management practices.
The Institute of Management Accountants offers an ethics helpline service. Members of IMA and other
financial professionals may contact this helpline for free, confidential guidance on ethical issues. Please
call 1-800-245-1383 for this service. Individuals outside of the U.S. and Canada may have to dial another toll-free access code first before dialing the ethics hotline. Please follow the instructions below:
The purpose of the helpline is to provide guidance to those in the profession
that find themselves in an ethical dilemma.
After a preliminary discussion of the problem to determine the kind of ethics matter being reported, an
ethics counselor will respond to the caller. Confidentiality is maintained at all times. The counselor will
not provide a specific resolution but will explain how the dilemma relates to the provisions of IMA's
Statement of Ethical Professional Practice.
Volume 1 Issue 5
Page 4
IMA's Inside Talk© Webinar brought to you by Ajilon Finance!
Program Title: Finance and the Cloud: How SaaS Supports Best Practices in Corporate
Performance Management
Date: Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Eastern Time
Presenters: Keri Brooke, VP Marketing , Host Analytics, Inc.
Spreadsheets have failed, on premise has failed - Finance executives
are looking for the solution that will finally help them achieve their
highest priority goals: driving fact based decision making throughout
the organization and putting rigor into financial processes.
Exam Registration
for New CMA
Program Now Open
In May, 2010 the Institute of Certified management Accountants
(ICMA) began testing domestically and internationally for Parts
1 and 2 of the new 2-part CMA
exam program and Transition
Exam Part T. For more information and to register online visit
www.imanet.org. Candidates
must first enroll in the CMA program and receive approval of
enrollment before registering for
exam parts.
The new CMA program consists
of a two-part exam format. Part
1, Financial Planning, Performance and Control, and Part 2,
Financial Decision Making. Each
exam part is four hours in length.
Exam parts can be taken in any
order during three testing window periods.
For the latest information about
the CMA, visit the Certification
section of IMA’s website at
www.imanet.org/certification.
Volume 1 Issue 5
Price: FREE
CPE Credit: 1 Credit
Field of Study: Business Management & Organization
Program Level: Basic
Program Prerequisites: None
Advance Preparation: None
Instructional Method: Group-Internet
Click here to register! (login required)
To view all of our current webinar information
IMA PR Highlights: Articles on CFO.com, Accounting
Today, Treasury and Risk Magazine
IMA has had some fantastic PR highlights recently, including
interviews for IMA Board of Directors William Knese and
Hubert Glober with Treasury and Risk Magazine and work
with American Society of Women Accountants.
CMA Challenge
Cash prizes will be awarded
to two CMA test takers that
are members of the SWFL
IMA. To learn more, visit the
certification area of the
SWFL IMA® website.
Page 5
Are you connected with fellow IMA members in your area?
The Southwest Florida (SWFL) Chapter of the IMA now has a group presence on
, the premiere professional networking site. Today’s professional has the
opportunity to maintain an online career profile on LinkedIn that is becoming increasing popular
and have the SWFL IMA displayed prominently on their profile.
To add the SWFL IMA group to your online profile, click here. Register on LinkedIn, click here.
About 50 chapters and councils are represented on another professional networking
website — LinkUp IMA. Members are connecting with each other and local leaders are
disseminating information on upcoming events, chapter news, and resources. Login to
LinkUpIMA.com using your member id and password. Then, select your group from the list on the
left. Be sure to join your local group so that you can participate, receive customized content,
and alerts.
LinkUp IMA IMA's exclusive online network, has more than 9,000 IMA members who are
networking, sharing ideas, and answering each other's questions. The community is your social
networking website, where you can connect with fellow accountants and financial professionals
without annoying games, ads or dating advice… just business. LinkUp IMA features discussions, a
blog, events calendars, a searchable library, member interest groups, and an international job
board.
Be sure to check out all groups including Subject Matter Groups such as Financial
Management, Career Advancement, IFRS, LEAN, and XBRL plus CMA Study
Groups and Regional Groups.
LinkUp IMA Council Groups:
Carolinas;
Florida;
Golden West;
Gulf South;
Lincoln Trail;
Mid-America;
Northeast;
Northern Lights;
Ohio;
Pacific Northwest;
Wild West
Volume 1 Issue 5
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