Management Accountant
€Competitive
Recruiter: Aer Lingus
European Finance Manager
£50k-£55k
Recruiter: Badenoch & Clark
Senior Accountant
£28k-£32k
Recruiter: Imparta Ltd
30 November 2007
The winners of the CIMA Financial Management Awards 2007 were announced last night (29 November) at a sparkling ceremony to celebrate the CIMA members, students and suppliers who achieved outstanding global success during 2007.
The CIMA Financial Management Awards, in association with the Financial Times, were held at The London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square and hosted by Sandi Toksvig, the celebrated comedian, author, radio and TV presenter. The awards recognise those who have been inspirational in developing the finance profession and the organisations that operate within it throughout the world. This includes the people, the teams and the organisations that have made a considerable difference with their up most commitment to the profession.
Speaking at the Awards, Gordon Grant, CIMA President said:
“ It’s been wonderful to see so many people here to share this very special occasion and to support the winners of tonight’s awards as we celebrate the leading lights of our profession. Through their efforts, the field of management accounting has continued to develop and it’s been marvellous to see such a high standard put forward in so many categories. It was encouraging to see the return of many individuals and organisations who continue to rise above the normal as well as a huge number of first-time entries. CIMA members and students are employed across a diverse range of challenging and high profile environments and the variety of the nominations we received this year reflects this.”
The following awards were presented:
Winners - Lauren Irving, British Telecommunications plc, from Kilmarnock, Scotland and Richard Dewar, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc, from Brentwood, Essex
This award was presented to two students who achieved the same exceptionally high score. They gained the highest score in all TOPCIMA exams between November 2006 and October 2007. The test of professional competence in management accounting is the final exam for CIMA students on their journey to becoming Chartered Management Accountants.
Winner - M M Clancy Peiris, Wisdom Business Academy, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Successful students are usually a product of successful tutors and this award is about celebrating those who go out of their way to inspire and guide the next generation of management accountants. The judges were looking for a mix of best practice training programmes for CIMA students, excellent results and positive student testimonials.
M M Clancy Peiris impressed the judges with the best practice methods he employs to teach and support his students. Using mind-mapping and other innovative tools, he spurs his students to overcome barriers around language and exam technique using his scientific approach and constant personal support and involvement with individual students. The result is exceptionally motivated students and very high pass rates compared with the country national average in Sri Lanka, his home country, particularly at Certificate level but going right up to final level of the professional qualification.
Highly commended – Sarah McHenry, Kaplan Financial, Glasgow
The judges were impressed by the quality of testimonials from students who emphasised the never ending support and long term commitment that Sarah provides.
Winner - Mark Kula, Mars UK
This award recognises tomorrow’s business leaders; those who have achieved excellent results and demonstrated leadership, sound financial skills, planning and management in a project or programme.
Mark demonstrated classic management accounting in action. By combining high level strategic thinking and planning with a great deal of personal doing and leading from the boardroom to the factory floor, he has enabled Mars UK to return to the days of glory in the ice cream market. The judges commented on his demonstration of classic management accounting skills, outstanding communication skills and personal initiative in an industry and a business that was new to him.
Highly commended – Richard Dove, Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd
The judges commended Richard for his effective end-to-end project management.
Winner - Oldham Primary Care Trust
This is the opportunity to recognize the achievements of a team of management accountants, whether large or small, in the public sector. The judges were looking for demonstrations of the improvements the team made to the organisation’s services and how solid teamwork and financial management can create value for stakeholders.
Oldham Primary Care Trust provided an impressive story of the role a finance team can play in creating a cultural shift to achieve improved accountability across a whole organisation. The Team developed a model of integrated governance, based on best practice public and private sector thinking, with a particularly strong emphasis on risk management and linking performance to strategic objectives. As a result of this project, they were the first in the country to pilot a new system to ensure patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral through to treatment.
Highly commended – Skills for Health, Bristol
The judges commended Skills for Health in Bristol for achieving significantly upgraded financial systems that have led to increased value for money from contracts as well as greatly improved financial planning aligned with strategic and operational plans.
Winner - Procter & Gamble Financial Solutions Team, Newcastle
In this category organisations demonstrated how effective teamwork can overcome severe obstacles and provide remarkable benefits for both internal and external stakeholders.
Procter & Gamble Financial Solutions Team, Newcastle, impressed the judges with their ability to overcome notoriously difficult obstacles in their merger of two distinct financial cultures, following a 57 billion dollar acquisition. The scale of the project - to integrate all the financial accounting systems, organisations and processes was dramatic and involved a team of twenty five CIMA people amongst the 40 strong accounting and IT staff. The challenge was to make all of this work with no negative impact on the combined business whilst ensuring GAAP and Sarbanes-Oxley compliant corporate governance. The judges were impressed with the level of determination, innovative thinking and strong leadership within the team to pull off the largest project they had taken on and to deliver it with unprecedented success. The scale and timeline broke new records within the company and ultimately led to shareholders realising significant tax and integration cost benefits.
Highly commended – 02 UK
The judges highly commended 02 for their demonstration of classic management accounting in action. Their development of The Deal Calculator - an automated tool to support optimum decision making within the sales environment - is a fantastic example of getting out into the business working with a sales team to improve their commercial edge.
Winner – Hays Accountancy and Finance
In this category the judges recognised the important role that agencies play in understanding the relevance of the CIMA qualification to business by helping to put the right people in the right place to the benefit of both candidates and employers. To make the decision on the ultimate winner this year, this category has been judged by CIMA members, students and employers voting on the CIMA website.
Hays Accountancy and Finance placed CIMA’s business objectives firmly at the centre of their own. They worked hard to promote CIMA’s international opportunities and are achieving high placement results with innovative and successful concepts such as a free careers audit, a refer-a-friend scheme, and a working-overseas seminar model.
Winner - MAS Intimates Division, Sri Lanka
CSR has become solidly entrenched in the business lexicon over the past few years as organisations work to demonstrate how their business practices produce an overall positive impact on their business as well as on society. The Judges were looking for demonstrable links between CSR activity and organisational, operational, financial and/or strategic decision making.
MAS Intimates Division demonstrated an incredible breadth of educational, social and environmental initiatives taking place in the developing country in which they operate. The judges commented on their holistic approach to CSR, putting it at the heart of their strategy as part of their DNA. They have designed their operations around the lives of employees and invested significantly in each local community infrastructure in which it is based. The well being of their workers and their communities is an integral part of the corporate strategy for achieving operational excellence. Having identified the key needs of their workers and their communities, they have invested significant resources to improve their education, work/life balance, health and well being while also developing a green, 100% carbon neutral, manufacturing plant with Marks and Spencer, due for completion in early 2008. MAS Intimates Division made a real difference in a different culture, operating on a human rather than corporate level and delivering consistently excellent business results year on year with a double digit growth rate.
Highly commended – Drivers Jonas
The judges highly commended Drivers Jonas, which for a comparatively small company, impressed them with the amount of evidence and sheer commitment to improve their CSR.
Winner - Punch Taverns plc, Knowledge Team, Burton upon Trent
Nominees in this category needed to highlight the design, implementation and use of a significant innovation in the practice of management accounting to show how accountants can improve decision making in organisations to help create value.
Punch Taverns Knowledge Team provided an innovative approach to bring together all the information needed by their operations teams into one single place on the corporate intranet and to provide the ability for them to drill into the information to analyse trends and performance. The design, development and implementation of an interactive web-based platform to deliver both financial and operational information, as well as personalised homepages for each member of the operations team are impressive and effective.
The judges were impressed by the clear link to corporate strategy and the way the project improved business engagement throughout the organisation by relating financial information clearly to day-to-day activities.
Highly Commended – NPower Ltd, Residential Finance Team
The judges highly commended the Residential Finance Team at NPower Ltd for the development of IBM - a monthly process, which enables business leaders to develop realistic and flexible plans based on shared data and creates accountability around execution of plans.
Winner – Ford Motor Company
This award recognises the support and commitment of employers to their CIMA trainees.
Ford Motor Company has built up a hugely successful CIMA finance graduate scheme and now boasts 182 CIMA members and 170 CIMA students. Their dedication to CIMA from the CFO down is reflected in their impressive exam results with a pass rate of 89% at TOPCIMA against the 57% national average. The judges commended Ford Motor Company for the way in which they demonstrated how CIMA members are central in driving their business. They were also pleased to note a commitment to training that went well beyond the initial exams. The company’s focus on CPD, the development of less technical ‘soft skills’ and a superb support structure all proved to demonstrate that the commitment to CIMA is present throughout the company from top to bottom.
Highly commended - Amba Research Lanka (PVT) Ltd, based in Sri Lanka
Amba Research is an investment research support services firm founded in 2003. They work with over half of the major global investment banks, investment management firms, alternative asset managers, commercial banks and other financial services firms. In all, the firm has over 75 clients.
Winner – Andrew Higginson, Group Finance and Strategy Director, Tesco plc
This new award recognizes and celebrates the achievements of a CIMA member who has demonstrated the highest standards of management accounting and personal leadership to achieve outstanding strategic and financial achievement for their organisation.
In the ten years since Andrew Higginson became head of finance and strategy at Tesco, the business has doubled in size while the growth in its profits has been awe-inspiring. In 2005, what is now Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, became the first UK retailer to unveil annual profits of more than £2bn. And the company continues to outpace its rivals today. This year it reported a 13% rise in full-year underlying profits to £2.55bn.
Andrew Higginson’s extraordinary talents in financial management and strategic development have played a major part in Tesco’s continuing success. Andrew is the epitome of a modern, dynamic FD who can see the bigger picture while keeping a close eye on the detail. CIMA believes he provides a glowing example of the impact management accountants can have in driving businesses forwards.
For media enquiries only please contact:
Claire Grewer
Press Officer, CIMA
+44 (0) 20 8849 2300
Claire.Grewer@cimaglobal.com
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. It is the voice of over 158,000 students and members in 161 countries. CIMA 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. CIMA has been nominated as a UK superbrand for a second year in a row this year and for the first time in Sri Lanka. According to independent research conducted by the University of Bath School of Management, CIMA’s syllabus and examination structure are the most relevant to the needs of business of all the accountancy bodies assessed. See the CIMA Difference report for further information at www.cimaglobal.com/thecimadifference. CIMA 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/
