Wednesday, 20 September 2017

CIMA President David Stanford in Town

In the framework of an official visit to the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (especially) the world markets, especially the President of David Stanford arrived at what, sigma, in Sri Lanka yesterday, and will be in the country until the 24.

Among the most important milestones of his meeting with the Prime Minister visits Ranick Wickremesinghe, Finance Minister Mangala Samarouira, Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Andrajit Coomaraswamy.
He will also be a great guest in 2017, especially the call to be held on September 20, and will host the participants and especially his companions for dinner at Kingsebre on September 21.
And has more than 20 years resident experience in particular, Stanford will also participate in the face-to-face evaluation of member meetings to be held on September 22nd.

Stanford's focus on the country's obligations to strengthen management accounting, and how it will add value to local businesses to pay off quite successfully in the long run, which is beneficial to people and the environment.

Stanford was elected as the 84th President of the Sima Society. He has established a 50 year career including a number of senior finance roles in industries such as electronics and retail. Stanford has given much appreciation to the Commission, working on CIMA P1 exam questions Board of Directors and several local, regional and global committees. Throughout this period of more than 20 years, the organic orientation, especially the students, was his passion.

It serves as the president to promote the new Association of Certified Public Accountants - an association formed by the beginning of 2017 the core body of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Accountants (Aeekpa). Sima members are now part of a global network of more than 650,000 professionals and students in 179 countries.

Thursday, 31 August 2017

U.S. Business Executives Cite Scarcity of Skilled Personnel as Top Concern, AICPA Survey Finds

Corporate executives maintained their generally optimistic outlook for the US economy and improved expectations of earnings and revenue growth over the next 12 months, according to the AICPA Economic Outlook Survey. In the third quarter, which reviews CEOs, top executives Financial officers, controllers and other certified public accountants in US companies. Which perform senior management functions and executive management. But there is a dark cloud on the horizon: the growing shortage of suitable candidates.

 For the first time, the "availability of qualified personnel" was cited as the main challenge for companies, starting in the second quarter. Seventy-five percent of respondents said they saw at least an increase in competition in recruitment efforts, with 21 percent reporting a significant increase. By the end of 2014, the last time this survey question was asked, only 16% reported a significant increase in hiring competition.

"One of the company's five executives says their company has lost the best job candidates because of increased competition, and a majority say they are struggling to find the right candidate to start," said Arleen R. Thomas, CPA , CGMA, General Director of the Market of the Americas, Global Offers & CGMA Exam, Association of Accounting Management of International Professional Chartered Accountants. "For some companies, the shortage of skilled workers could have an impact on productivity and growth over time."

Despite the recruitment challenges, half of the business leaders said their companies had the right number of employees. Nearly one in four (24 percent) said they plan to hire immediately, just like the last quarter, while 15 percent said they had very few employees but hesitated to hire. Business leaders who reported that their companies had too many employees increased from 8% to 7% in the quarter.

 Sixty-four percent of business leaders said they were optimistic about the 12-month outlook for the US economy, such as the last quarter. Revenues and profits have returned to levels since the beginning of the year after expanding the last quarter. Business executives now expect revenue growth of 4.3% over the next 12 months, up from 3.9%. Profits are expected to increase by 3.5%, compared with 3.2% in the last quarter.

The AICPA survey is a prospective indicator that monitors contracting and business expectations for the next 12 months. By way of comparison, the August employment report of the United States Department of Labor, scheduled for release tomorrow, reflects the hiring trends of the previous month.

The CPA Outlook Index - an overall assessment of executive sentiment in the AICPA survey - rose two points in the third quarter to 77, a score below a post-recession of 78 established in the fourth quarter of 2014. Index is a composite of nine equally weighted survey measures drawn on a scale of 0 to 100, with 50 neutral and greater representing a positive sentiment.

Other Key Results of the Survey:


Sixty-six percent of the company's executives expressed optimism about their own business prospects over the next 12 months, an increase of two percentage points over the previous quarter.
The percentage of company executives who expect their business to grow over the next year has increased from 64% to 65% in the quarter, but remains below the level reported at the beginning of the year (67%).
In addition to the "availability of qualified personnel", the three main concerns of enterprises are "regulatory requirements and changes No. 2" and "national competence number 3". "Employee costs and profits, meanwhile, have fallen from the top of last quarter to number 5.
Interest rates have risen from 22% in the last quarter to 15%.
IT remains the strongest category for planned spending in the coming year, with an expected growth rate of 3.5 percent.

Tuesday, 18 July 2017

Belfast businesswoman elected inaugural chair of European board of accountants



Belfast's wife Sharon McCue became the first chairman of the new European Council of Accountants.

Mrs McCue, who works in Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Trust, was elected Inaugural President of the Association of Professional Accountants (AICPA) European International Council and was awarded the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) silver medal.

The award recognizes outstanding contributions to your professional body.

Sharon McCue began her career in the CIMA accountant practice program with Short Brothers and Harland Ltd, now Bombardier Aerospace. He then led a government-funded initiative to stimulate the emerging software industry before joining the public sector to integrate management accounting into local communities. He is currently the Executive Director of Finance and ICT for Northern Ireland Trust Ambulance Service.

The AICPA is the worldwide organization of newly created accounting professionals to represent the combined interests of CIMA and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. It has 650,000 members and students worldwide.

Wednesday, 28 June 2017

Ken Kelly Named Chair of Maryland CPA Society Board

Kenneth Kelly, CPA, CGMA, former Senior Vice President and Comptroller of the S & P 500 McCormick and Company giant, has been appointed Chair of the Board of Directors 2017-18 of the Maryland Association of CPA.

Kelly was installed as president at the annual MACPA meeting on June 26th in Clarksville, Maryland. His term of office runs from July 1 to June 30, 2018. He succeeds Lisa Cines, CPA.

"I am incredibly honored and humbled to be named president of this incredible institution," said Kelly, currently a founding consultant at KK Advisory, LLC. "MACPA is one of the most advanced organizations I know, and my vision - to help accounting and finance professionals around the world become ready in the future - excites and energizes me. It's an exciting time to be a CPA, and I'm ready to set myself up and work. "

Kelly has been a strong supporter of the profession and a visionary for her future. He served on the Board of Directors which guided the recent joint venture between the American Institute of CPAs and the Certified Institute of Management Accountants. This joint venture resulted in the designation of the Certified General Accountant (CGMA).

He is also an Associate Member and Former Member of the Executive Committee of the Departmental Reporting Committee for Financial Executives International and is a Maryland Delegate to the AICPA Board of Directors. Prior to joining McCormick and Company, Kelly served as a controller for Fortune 500 Black & Decker.

"We are honored to have Ken at the top of our board," said Tom Hood, CPA, Managing Director of MACPA, CGMA. "He is a visionary in every sense of the word, and his experience as an architect of the future of our profession is a valuable asset to our association and the CPAs we serve. Have Ken on board. "

The complete list of MACPA administrators was also installed at the association's annual meeting on June 26th. These directors include:

  • Vice-president: Samantha Bowling, CPA, CGMA, partner, Garbelman Winslow CPA
  • Secretary / Treasurer: Ray Speciale, Esq., CPA, Associate Professor, Mount St. Mary's University
  • Past Chair: Lisa Cines, CPA, Director, Radius
  • Christine Aspell, CPA, Audit Partner, KPMG, LLP
  • Raj Bhaskar, founder and CEO of Hurdlr
  • Avonette Blanding, CPA, Chief Financial Officer, Maritime Applied Physics Corporation
  • Wallace Boston, Ed.D., CPA, CGMA, CMA, CEO, American Public Education, Inc.
  • Mark Cissell, CPA, CEO, President, Director, KatzAbosch
  • Robert Jirsa, CPA, Partner, RSM US LLP
  • Andrew Page, CPA, Vice-President and Corporate Controller, Under Armor
  • Keith Parker, CPA, financial advisor, Morgan Stanley ...

Tuesday, 6 June 2017

Cima P1 Exam Question No 59

Question No 59:

If a traditional contribution approach is used, the ranking of products, in order of priority, for the profit maximising product mix will be:

A. D, E, F
B. E, D, F
C. F, D, E
D. D, F, E

Answer: C