Managerial Finance and Accounting

Managerial Accounting: Organizations and Expectations

The profession and practice of accounting has become increasingly prominent and increasingly scrutinized over the past decade or so, in the wake of major scandals and upsets in the business world that can be traced in part to nebulous and unethical accounting practices or outright frauds. Because of this increased prominence, accountants today need to be more concerned than ever with not only the standards to which they hold themselves and their work, but also the appearance of these high standards and performance capabilities. This is one of the major benefits, along with many others, of belonging to a professional organization. The authority and austerity that the right professional organization carries provides these abstract as well as concrete benefits to member accountants, from increasing confidence and camaraderie to detailing the actual expectations and requirements of the task of accounting.

The Institute of Management Accountants is one of the largest and most prestigious professional organizations for accounting managers, and provides many intrinsic and extrinsic benefits. Membership is in and of itself a sign of commitment to the profession and the high standards of the group, increasing client confidence and accountant prestige, and the Institute also produces and disseminates many publications and other support services that help keep accountants up-to-date and well-informed regarding issues relevant to managerial accounting (IMA, 2012). In addition, the Institute provides a certification program that offers a unique credential that could lead to eve more substantial gains in knowledge in confidence (on the parts of both the accountants and the clients) (IMA, 2012).

With the publications and other information provided by membership in the IMA, the expectations and responsibilities of managerial accountings can be better and more comprehensively understood, meaning that accounting managers will be able to more effectively and efficiently carry out their jobs (IMA, 2012). Expectations for accounting managers range from the broad and basic to the detailed and specific, including elements such as commitment to ethical behavior and truthfulness in all dealings, maintaining appropriate transparency while also protecting sensitive information pertaining to the company, and understanding the specific needs, complications, and interactions of various projects within the company and their impact upon accounting practices and the job of accounting management itself. Keeping abreast with changing national and international rules, laws, and standards as they apply to a given company or set of operations is also a major expectation for managerial accountants, and in this area the updated information and atmosphere of collaboration created by the Institute of Management Accountants can be of great benefit (IMA, 2012).