Chartered Institute of Management Accountants develops CIMA Strategic Scorecard

23 April 2007

CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) has reached a critical step in the progress of the CIMA Strategic Scorecard' - the business tool aimed at helping boards to address their individual strategic issues and provide structure and processes to deal with them effectively.

The scorecard has been enhanced and now offers organisations more specific methodology and tools and techniques to assist in implementation. This will allow boards to take a step back and ensure that they are getting the balance right between time spent on governance and time spent on strategy. An Executive Summary and Executive Report are available for download at www.cimaglobal.com/strategicscorecard.

The CIMA Strategic Scorecard' is four-dimensional and focuses on an organisation's Strategic Position, Strategic Options, Strategic Implementation and Strategic Risks. It has been designed to allow boards an overview of their organisations' strategic processes and to provide information in a consistent and summarised format that allows them to identify key points at which they need to take decisions. The Scorecard's design is such that it can be used by any organisation - irrespective of sector or size.

In recent years, there has been a growing tide of opinion that organisations need to focus more on strategic issues. However, boards have also become increasingly swamped by rules and regulation on a global scale. This is largely due to much publicised scandals and increased regulatory compliance, which can have the effect of pushing corporate strategy down the agenda.

As Charles Tilley, Chief Executive at CIMA, explains:

'While governance in the business world is imperative, it is unable by its own merits to guarantee success. It may avoid losing value for it certainly does not create it. Effective strategy is key to driving success and a board's primary focus should be to create value. The CIMA Strategic Scorecard' provides a process for all the aspects of strategy to be discussed, reviewed and monitored by boards worldwide. It is possible that many organisations are already producing the information necessary for a robust strategy, and the scorecard's framework will simply help them to pull this all together to work in a timely and efficient manner.'

He goes on to say:

'In order for organisations to drive value it is essential that the finance professionals in place are able to influence at a strategic level. With their forward-planning abilities, Management Accountants are best placed to assist boards in driving organisational value through solid strategic planning.'

ENDS

For further information, please contact:
Katie Scott
Senior Press Officer, CIMA
+44 (0) 20 8849 2347
Katie.Scott@cimaglobal.com

Notes to editors

1. CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) is the only international accountancy body with a sole focus on business. It is a world leading professional institute that offers an internationally recognised qualification in management accountancy, focusing on accounting in business, in both the private and public sectors. CIMA is the voice of over 158,000 members and students in 161 countries and is responsible for the education and training of management accountants who work in industry, commerce and not-for-profit and has more members in the public sector than any other UK based body. CIMA prides itself on the commercial relevance of its syllabus, which is in tune with the activities of high performance organisations, and evolves continually to reflect the latest developments in global business. It is committed to upholding the highest ethical and professional standards of members and students, and to maintaining public confidence in management accountancy. For more information about CIMA, please visit http://www.cimaglobal.com/.
2. Any organisations wishing to take part in a case study trial of the CIMA Strategic Scorecard' should contact Gillian Lees at gillian.lees@cimaglobal.com.