Mervyn King honoured by CIMA

Professor Mervyn King has been presented with an honorary Fellowship of CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) by the President of CIMA, Gulzari Lal Babber ,who travelled from London to make the Award.  King is the first South African to receive an honorary fellowship of CIMA and only the 6^th person in the 93 years of the Institute to be so honoured.

The award was presented at a gala dinner at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sandton.

Prof King was named as a recipient of fellowship for his well-recognised, and globally accepted work in advancing Integrated Reporting.  He was instrumental in setting up the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and was elected Chair in October 2011.  CIMA plays a key role in the IIRC¡¯s work and its chief executive, Charles Tilley, is chair of its Technical Taskforce.

Gulzari Lal Babber FCMA, CGMA, CIMA President, says ¡°It is a great pleasure to be among the CIMA South Africa community. As the world¡¯s leading and largest professional body of management accountants, CIMA has a very keen interest in governance and sustainability and how these two drivers shape future business success. Naturally, one of our key focus areas is business and its long term sustainability.¡±

Babber said ¡°The IIRC is working hard to spread the word and highlight the value of a reporting system which demonstrates the linkages between an organisation¡¯s strategy, governance and financial performance ¨C and the social, environmental and economic context within which it operates. By reinforcing these connections, integrated reporting can help business to take more sustainable decisions. It can also enable investors and other stakeholders to understand how an organisation is really performing.¡±

During the event, recognition was also given to Alfred Ramosedi FCMA, CGMA who has been an active and distinguished member of CIMA since 1988 and was awarded a CIMA Silver Medal for his outstanding contributions.  He was the first black South African President of the CIMA South Africa, the first black South African to serve on the Council of CIMA and the first to serve on the International Federation of Accountants Professional Accountants in Business Committee.

The younger generation were not overlooked, with the South Africa winners of this year¡¯s Global Business Challenge, Team Monomotapa, from the University of the Witwatersrand, being recognised for the professional way they represented South Africa at the global finals in Sri Lanka in July.

This has been a watershed year for CIMA, which began with the announcement of its joint venture with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) which created the first truly global Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation, ensuring Chartered Management Accountant now enjoy recognition in the Americas.  On the other side of the Atlantic, the Certified Public Accountants¡¯ (CPA) uptake in the new designation in their country has far exceeded expectations with over 41 000 adding the CGMA designation to their credentials since March.

As a leading global accounting body, CIMA maintains that the skills of chartered global management accountants are central to the integration of sustainable performance management with overall business performance.

CIMA¡¯s members are not only equipped with a unique toolkit but are also obliged to adhere to CIMA¡¯s strictly-governed code of ethical conduct, ensuring that they are ideally placed to champion new business models and new levels of business excellence. CIMA continues to advance all forms of business excellence that will help to build better businesses and a better environment for future generations.

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