ACMA to FCMA: The achievement of fellowship

Stuart Wayment FCMA CGMAMembership Assessor

To set the scene...the philosophy

• Fellowship is not “a given” thing - it is awarded only when

someone has appropriate experience

• CIMA does not automatically upgrade from Associate

Membership

• CIMA has always believed that Fellowship should reflect

tangible achievement ….. and be subject to an assessment

process

What I will cover

• Eligibility – What is CIMA looking for?

• Qualities – Have I got any?

• Fellowship Benefits – What’s in it for me?

• Opportunities – The competitive element

• The application and assessment processes

• Discussion, questions and answers

Eligibility

• Applicants must have acquired, and be able to provide

evidence of, at least three years of senior relevant leadership

experience (in addition to the three years submitted for

ACMA) in one or more of the three CIMA experience

categories – Strategic; Operational/Functional; Technical

• Smaller companies may allow you to demonstrate a broader

range of experience and abilities

• Larger companies and organisations may allow you to

demonstrate depth of knowledge and specialist experience

Gaining Experience

In smaller organisations,

roles tend to be more

wide ranging with

greater influence.

In larger organisations,

roles tend to be more

focused upon specific

outcomes.

e

Typical FCMA Qualities

• Broadly drawn senior and strategic experience demonstrating

the ability to have influenced business or organisation

direction

• Strong personal and interpersonal skills demonstrating

leadership abilities

• Confidence and maturity

Eligibility

Categories of Senior Experience

• Strategic Leadership

• Operational/Functional Leadership

• Technical Leadership

Quality

Strategic Leadership

Experience of contributing input to original strategic

decisions which the organisation adopts and which affect

and influences its future direction and success. (Note: It

does not include the implementation or updating of processes

deriving from such decisions.)

Examples

Relevant types of strategic leadership include:

• Formulation or control of strategic management and financial

plans

• Formulation or review of management and financial policies

and procedures

• Planning the provision of management information services

and/or systems to monitor strategic decisions

• Analysing, interpreting and presenting reports on the

performance of your organisation …….. to Board level

Quality

Operational/Functional Leadership

Experience of successfully leading and developing significant

operational and functional areas within an organisation and

being accountable for achieving business objectives at Board

level, or to directors and senior managers who themselves are

at Board level.

Examples

Relevant areas of operational/functional leadership include:

• Finance; IT; Marketing; Business Development; HR

• It’s likely that holders of such senior posts will be responsible

for leading and developing large teams of staff

• Experience of directing and motivating staff

Quality

Technical Leadership

Experience of successful technical thought leadership within an

organisation and being accountable for providing advice on

technical issues and matters at Board level, or to directors and

senior managers who themselves are at Board level.

Examples

Relevant areas of technical leadership include:

• Development of new management accounting or financial

management concepts and processes

• Development of new strategic management techniques

• Systems development resulting from changes in legislation

• New procedures and processes in specific technical areas

and specialisms

• Planning, leading, contributing to and appraising major

projects

Benefits

• Personal Development

• Proof that strategic experience has been gained, validated and

formally recognised

• Increased “employability value” at higher levels within

organisations

• Public and business perception of “Fellow” - increased prestige

• Eligibility to sit on CIMA Council

• Minimal differential in annual subscription …. despite the higher

value

What sort of opportunities?

Fellowship can provide the “extra edge” that enables you to

compete for:

• Finance Director and other more senior level positions

• Professional ‘consultant’ or ‘contractor’ type openings

Marketplace Opportunities

• Constantly changing – looking for both breadth and

depth of experience

• Evidence tells us that FCMA is recognised as being

earned

• Companies want to feel they have the best people at the

top

Business Quotes ....

“FCMA encourages ACMAs and part qualified staff to strive

for the top ……”

“FCMA speaks for itself …..in terms of strategic experience

….”

“Identifies … someone who is commercially astute and

who sees the bigger picture …”

Framework of submission

Section 1 –Application Form

• Full name

• CIMA Contact I.D

• Home Address

• Work Address

• Contact numbers

• Date of Birth

• Date you became ACMA

Section 2 –Employment Summary Form

• Chronological

• Job titles

• Precise employment dates

• Company name

• Business Sector

Section 3 - Senior Experience Profile

• Details of activities

Framework of submission

Section 4 – Organisation Charts

• Graphical display

• Clearly show your position in company

• All levels above you

• At least one level below you

• Give titles of all positions shown

• Signed and dated by senior person

Section 5 – References

• At least two, on company headed paper, signed and dated

• Ideally, most recent employment

• From senior people to whom you have reported

• Confirm period of time, employment relationship and profile content

• Endorsement of senior and strategic elements

• Exceptionally, from others who have direct knowledge of your work

• In consultancy, major clients

How much should you write

Start from either earliest strategic experience, or ACMA date

Identify 1st role that had strategy

Say 4 to 5 pages in length

Describe the whole job

Explain the strategic work you did

How far back do I go?

• Start with the first job which contained any relevant

experience and move forward

• Describe the work involved and ensure that you

carefully explain the relevant senior and strategic

experience

• If there were jobs which contained no relevant

experience, side headings are sufficient (title, company,

dates)

• It is important to give the full picture, not just the bare

minimum.

Assessors’ Tips

• Personalise the information – don’t give us a standard job description

• Don’t rely on bullet points alone – they rarely provide enough relevant information

• Make the assessors want to read your profile – an interesting, tidy and legible document

• Make it an attractive Sales Presentation – e.g. use variations in font, highlights and layout

• But remember, the content is the most important element!

A good example

MD and Finance Director, EMEA (May 06 to present)

I report to the MD EMEA, who in turn reports to the CEO XXXX Group

Overview

Responsible and accountability in all operational governance and financial matters for

XXXX EMEA region which includes leadership and support to all Country Managers and

Finance resource and consolidating Financial reporting across the UK, Middle East, Italy,

Spain, Russia, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Netherlands and France. In conjunction with

MD, I attend and present at all budget, forecasting and business reviews with XXXX

Group CEO and Group Finance Director. I work closely with MD EMEA and Business

Stream Directors in a matrix organisational structure to shape and implement the strategic

plan for XXXX EMEA. I have specific responsibility and accountability for the EMEA

region for the Group software tool and Netherlands. I currently hold full statutory

directorships in Spain and in Italy.

A good example

Detail

Created and implemented with MD an EMEA wide Strategic Plan FY

2010-2015 focused on “Regional Operating Hubs” structure enabling

greater local market engagement at senior management level focusing

on solution propositions with ambitious growth targets. Presented to and

approved by XXXX Group Executive.

EMEA sponsor on a Global Initiative Group which is chaired by the Group

Marketing Director where I have significantly contributed to product and

solution propositions development and launch go to market programmes

whilst working in partnership with Group Marketing.

I am a member of the Information Technology Committee, a senior

management forum where all major IT projects are debated, presented

for sign off and approved. This committee is chaired by CEO.

A good example

Detail (cont’d)

I am a member of the Group Workflow Committee, a senior management

forum where all operational workflows are debated, enhanced, globalised

and then implemented in order to gain consistency, efficiency and

effectiveness throughout the Group. All changes to workflows must be

signed off and approved by the committee which is chaired by the Group

Finance Director.

I am chair of the bi-weekly XXXX EMEA operational governance

management meeting, where all the EMEA directors meet up to discuss all

the current business issues, in particular the trading performance of the

business and decisions are taken in order to maximise opportunities and

mitigate risk on the short term day to day running of the operation.

I report to the MD EMEA, who in turn reports to the CEO XXXX Group

The assessment process

• Applications are currently only accepted in hard copy

• All assessments are conducted by trained assessors

who are FCMAs – 105 worldwide

• Applications are assessed by two assessors,

independently of each other (and they need to agree

with each other)

• If assessors are in disagreement, applications are sent

on for adjudication by a third assessor – usually the

Chairman of the Membership Panel

Safeguards

• The process is impartial and fair - if an assessor knows

you, they will not assess your application and it will be

sent to another assessor

• The requirements for Fellowship are generic and are

applicable to any business sector and size or type of

business

• Assessments and statistics are regularly monitored to

ensure consistency in the process and assessment

activity

and then…… the results

• Your Fellowship certificate will be sent with a

confirmation letter

• If you are deferred, assessors will suggest:

• what needs to be done to meet the requirements

• what period of time might be appropriate to gain

further relevant experience before re-submission

To find out more visit the

CIMA website at

www.cimaglobal.com/fellowship

謝謝！Спасибо!

Dziękujemy!

لكشكرا !

Thank you!

Stuart Wayment FCMA CGMA