American Population Is Unemployed (Trading Economics, 2010).

¶ … American population is unemployed (Trading Economics, 2010). Because of such a high rate of unemployment, it is incredibly important to be a competitive professional in today's workforce. There are a number of ways to achieve this goal. Developing this knowledge and these abilities is an extremely important factor becoming competitive, and therefore obtaining success, in one's chosen career. When a professional, in any field, develops, maintains, and improves upon his knowledge, he stays on the cutting-edge of information, and as such is seen as more valuable, as well as more employable.

However, gaining this information and pursuing personal betterment can be an extremely daunting task for anyone to undertake individually. This is one reason why professional organizations are so important. Professional associations are a synergistic group, meaning that the effect of a collection of people is greater than just one person (Cherwin, 2010). With many people working toward the same goal, a support network is created, which results in greater success for the individual.

For this assignment, I chose to write about The Association for Accountants and Financial Professionals in Business, also known as the IMA. The IMA's mission is to provide a forum for research, practice, development, education, knowledge sharing, and the advocacy of the highest ethical and best business practices in management accounting and finance (IMA, 2010).

The organization itself is made up of more than 60,000 accountants and financial professionals, and encourages these professionals to work together to form a network of peers, which results in the ability to share experiences, opportunities and contacts. The IMA also provides many workshops and educational programs to help professionals advance in their knowledge, increase their potential, and satisfy CPE requirements (2010). One such program is the CMA (Certified Management Accountant) certification.

This certification is the advanced professional certification specifically designed to measure the accounting and financial measurement skills that drive business performance (2010). According to the IMA, leading employers such as 3M, Alcoa, AT&T, Bank of America, Boeing, Cargill, Caterpillar, ConAgra, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and Verizon have CMAs in key management roles (2010). A CMA certification can be very valuable in helping an accountant or financial professional stay competitive in his field.

Other opportunities that the IMA offers are seminars on business ethics, as well as classes on NASBA-approved CME credits. The IMA also offers nearly 200 worldwide chapters, which provides a forum for professionals to meet peers and network (2010). Various events are offered at these chapters, such as leadership training, mentoring, and community service, all of which help business professionals to learn from one another's experiences and provide valuable feedback and support.

Through the CMA certification, networking opportunities, web-based seminars and educational opportunities, the IMA helps to increase a financial businessperson's professional knowledge and abilities. When he takes advantage of these opportunities, or gains these certifications, the businessperson becomes a more competitive player. He is able to offer more as a professional, and he demonstrates dedication and passion toward his field. These characteristics make a candidate very competitive when searching out prospective employment opportunities.

They also help someone who is already employed to demonstrate initiative, leadership, and dedication, which can lead to more.