Risk infocast kicks off new collaboration

CIMA joins with North American institutes to provide exciting new CPD initiatives. By Jasmin Harvey, product development specialist, technical and research services, CIMA.

CIMA is collaborating with two other institutes to provide exciting initiatives, products and services for its members. The first of these will be a pilot series of infocasts on risk. The bodies are the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Society of Management Accountants of Canada (CMA Canada). 

What are infocasts?

The series will include three 75-minute presentations on risk. Infocasts, also referred to as webinars, are a stimulating way to deliver content - in this case for members' continuing professional development (CPD). The content of the infocast is delivered via a real-time audio link as viewers watch a PowerPoint presentation. It also offers interaction through online polling and email. Participants simply log in via a weblink at the scheduled time.

Focus on risk

Risk is of paramount importance to organisations. Business leaders must identify, evaluate and manage many types of risk - for example, political, social, environmental, technological, economic, competitive, and financial — and incorporate the results into decisions and monitoring systems. For these reasons, the main topic of the infocast series is risk and decision making.

The first infocast will be delivered on 21 September at 5pm UK time and is available free to all CIMA members. This infocast will discuss the following topics:

• identifying, measuring and managing organisational risks for improved performance
• the reporting of risks for internal and external decision makers
• integrating social and political risks into business decisions.

The infocast will be delivered by Marc Epstein, distinguished research professor of management at Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Epstein was recently Visiting Professor and Wyss Visiting Scholar at Harvard Business School. It will be moderated by John Morrow, CPA, AICPA Vice President – The New Finance, the area responsible for members employed in business, industry and government. Morrow also serves as technical adviser to the Professional Accountants in Business Committee of the International Federation of Accountants.

How to participate

For more information on the infocast, including registration, visit the infocast web page between 8 September and 5pm on 21 September. Once registered, you will be sent a confirmation email with log-in instructions.

Future infocasts will be held on the following topics and dates:

• Business continuity management - 19 October, 5pm UK time
• Integrating social and political risk into business decision making -16 November, 5pm UK time.

Management Accounting Guidelines – a new CPD resource

The infocasts are based on the content of risk-related Management Accounting Guidelines (MAGs) developed by leading academics on behalf of the AICPA, CMA-Canada and CIMA. MAGs target issues or challenges faced by accountants in business and will be a valuable CPD resource. These new CIMA CPD products will be available for members to download in the My CIMA section of the website from late September 2006. The following titles will be available:

• Business continuity management
• Evaluating performance in information technology
• Identifying, measuring and managing organisational risks for improved performance
• The reporting of organisational risks for internal and external decision makers
• Integrating social and political risks into business decisions.

Further details of the above and future titles will be published in Insight.

Purchase of products by non-CIMA members

For non-members wishing to buy a copy of the risk products, please visit the AICPA website. As subscribers of Insight you will receive a 50% discount on the purchase of the risk suite, which comprises the three volumes of Identifying, Measuring, and Managing Organisational Risks for Improved Performance; The Reporting of Organisational Risks for Internal and External Decision Makers; and Integrating Social and Political Risk into Business Decisions which can be purchased for US$31.25 (£16.38, usual price US$62.50(£32.77)).  Individual titles can also be purchased.

September 2006