Blogs

Accounting Is Growing Again. Now We Have to Rethink What We Prepare Students For.

By Tomeika Williams posted 9 days ago
For several years, the accounting profession has faced a persistent concern: the pipeline of future accounting professionals was shrinking. Declining enrollment, fewer accounting graduates, and concerns about the attractiveness of the profession created challenges for employers, educators, and professional organizations. The latest enrollment data tells a different story. According to the American Institute of CPAs and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, undergraduate accounting enrollment increased for the third consecutive year. In spring 2026, enrollment in four-year undergraduate accounting programs increased 8.9% from the previous ...

The Management Accounting Competency Index (MACI)

By Trent Kramer posted 10 days ago
The IMA has pioneered a brand new assessment of management accounting competencies across organizations of different sizes and industries. The Management Accounting Competency Index (or MACI) measures organizational performance against 10 competencies. In doing so, striking patterns emerged. A key finding is that the larger the organization, the more the more emphasis is placed on what we bring to the table. Valuing financial competencies correlates with confidence about the future. Any prior perceptions of us being a siloed function now stands at the forefront of helping to facilitate company-wide success. Linked below is a free downloadable 17 ...

When to Scale, Reposition, or Stop

By Pedro San Martin posted 11 days ago
Knowing When to Stop A governance test for strategic cost management initiatives The slide said 78%. Month nineteen of a cost program at a mid-sized commercial bank, twelve people around the table, and the headline was 78% of targeted savings captured. The CFO let it sit for a second and then asked which line of the P&L the savings had landed in. Nobody answered for about four seconds. Then the program director said they were tracked in the program office. I've thought about that meeting more than any other from that year, and not because it was dramatic. It wasn't. Everyone was courteous, the deck was well made, and the meeting ended on time. ...

IMA Bangalore Chapter | 2 CPE Webinar: AI Powered FP&A | 09 August 2026 | Live Demonstration Session

By Kushnabh Chhabra posted 08-01-2026
Dear Member, The IMA Bangalore Chapter is pleased to invite you to an exclusive 2 CPE webinar designed to help finance professionals embrace the power of Artificial Intelligence and transform their FP&A capabilities. AI Powered FP&A AI is rapidly reshaping the finance function. But how can FP&A professionals leverage it effectively in their day-to-day work? Join us for a practical, hands-on session that goes beyond theory and showcases how AI can enhance forecasting, reporting, analysis, and decision-making. Through live spreadsheet demonstrations , you'll gain valuable insights into applying AI-driven ...

IMA Women's Leadership Summit (Virtual Sep 23 & 24)

By Trent Kramer posted 07-30-2026
On September 23rd-24th, join your fellow Accounting & Finance colleagues from across the nation at the IMA Women's Leadership Summit. This is fully virtual and goes from 10am to 1:30 CST each day. There's an early bird rate through September 11th and attendees can earn 4 CPE credits. You'll hear from CFOs, a Deputy CEO, an IBM VP, and leadership experts who have navigated the same challenges you're facing. This event gives women in Accounting and Finance the strategies, connections, and confidence to advance in their careers. You'll leave with meaningful connections, too. Each day closes with curated small group debriefs that match like-minded ...

AI Can Process Millions of Data Points—But It Still Can't Replace Human Judgment

By Tala Khalifeh posted 07-23-2026
Artificial intelligence can analyze millions of lines of data in seconds—a speed no human can match. But that has led many to ask an important question: If AI can process data faster than we ever could, where does human judgment still fit? The answer is simple: human judgment was never about speed. The true value of accounting has never come from how quickly we can process numbers. It comes from our ability to interpret those numbers, understand the business context behind them, and translate financial information into meaningful decisions. AI can identify patterns, generate reports, and flag anomalies. But someone still needs to determine ...

MSP Airport Tour Photos

By Trent Kramer posted 06-28-2026
The IMA Minneapolis chapter was honored in being granted the unique opportunity to take in a tour of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport! This stemmed from presentations by the current Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) CFO Tim Simon as well as their former Chief Financial Officer Atif Saeed a few years back. Both of them are top-notch Accounting and Finance masterminds. Our paths first crossed in 2021 with Atif championing through the greatest inflection point in modern air travel. Tim followed it up at the end of 2024 with a message of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport thriving not only having successfully navigated through covid, but continually climbing ...

AI in Finance Micro-Credential

By Trent Kramer posted 04-25-2026
We had a great two-day Chapter Conference in April. Our final speaker was IMA's very own CFO Christine Millaway. As part of her Modern CFO: Leading Value Creation Across the Business presentation, she advocated for micro-credentials. These are a great way to further your professional knowledge & credibility without the time requirement of pursuing a certification. In particular, she highly encourages us to stay current on emerging trends with the "AI in Finance" micro-credential. This is a self-study course that you can take on your own time. Upon completion, you'll earn a digital badge to feature on LinkedIn along with CPE. Select from a series ...

The 5 Questions Every Business Owner Should Ask About Their Numbers

By Tala Khalifeh posted 04-22-2026
The 5 Questions Every Business Owner Should Ask About Their Numbers How to spot financial risk early—and protect yourself from ethical drift Your financials can look completely fine—and still mislead you. Not because anyone is doing something wrong intentionally. But because of how the numbers are built—through assumptions, estimates, and judgment calls made every month under pressure to hit targets. Individually, those decisions can make sense. Over time, they shape the story your numbers are telling you. And you're using that story to make real decisions: Hiring Investing Expanding Borrowing ...

The Algorithm Signed Off. Should You?

By Tala Khalifeh posted 04-12-2026
The Algorithm Signed Off. Should You? A new kind of pressure is entering the finance function and it doesn't come from your boss. You're a senior accountant at a mid-sized company. Six months ago your finance team adopted an AI tool that ingests the general ledger each close cycle, checks for anomalies, reconciles accounts, and produces an exceptions report. Leadership loves it. The close is faster, the CFO is happy, and the tool is being held up as the future of the department. This quarter, the AI produces a clean report. No exceptions, no flags. But something bothers you. While pulling numbers together for the board deck, you notice that a growing ...

How Autonomous AI Can Become an Insider Threat

By Ilya Ilienko posted 04-09-2026
How Autonomous AI Can Become an Insider Threat What finance leaders must understand before delegating judgment to machines. By: Ilya Ilienko, MBA, CMA, CPA Content Type: Article | Reading Time: 9 Minutes A few months ago, I read Agentic Misalignment: How LLMs Could Be Insider Threats , a striking artificial intelligence study by Anthropic, a safety and research company in AI. It explored how AI-driven employee agents powered by large language models (LLMs) might behave when given autonomy to operate in business environments and the potential of harm. While published by Anthropic, this study features 16 models from developers, ...

Mission Over Money: Why Board Members Must Take Gift Acceptance Seriously

By Tala Khalifeh posted 04-05-2026
A board-approved gift acceptance policy is an ethical necessity for every nonprofit. It protects your mission's integrity and provides a framework for making morally sound decisions about which donations to accept. Without one, organizations risk compromising their values for financial gain. Ethical nonprofits must examine the source of their funds carefully. Accepting money from donors whose practices or values conflict with your mission compromises your integrity and credibility. Your policy should clearly establish ethical boundaries for the types of gifts you will and will not accept. This isn't about being difficult—it's about maintaining the principles ...

IMA Call for Volunteers

By Trent Kramer posted 03-30-2026
The IMA recently announced a call for volunteers. This is your opportunity to become a part of our chapter's leadership team. New board terms are effective July 1st and applications are due by the end of April. Thanks for your consideration. Additional info is available on the IMA website below: https://www.imanet.org/en/Career-Resources/Volunteering-with-IMA/Chapters IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) is seeking passionate volunteer members to join your IMA local community leadership team. We have openings for many different volunteer opportunities that are short and/or long-term. Local chapter engagement with IMA offers professional ...

Small Business and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

By Ilya Ilienko posted 03-19-2026
Mar 11, 2026 Small Business and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Tax reform can affect business strategy, and small businesses should understand OBBBA to plan for the future. Content Type: Column | Reading Time: 10 Minutes | By: Dana C. Riess, CMA, CFM, CSCP, CPIM Several tax benefits that were previously expired or were set to expire at the end of 2025 will now continue due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025. Some tax benefits were enhanced or expanded. According to Grant Thornton’s fourth quarter survey and as highlighted in CFO magazine , 44% of chief ...

Capital and Funding for Healthcare and Mission‑Driven Work (Part 1 of 2): Beyond VCs

By Ilya Ilienko posted 03-10-2026
Capital and Funding for Healthcare and Mission‑Driven Work (Part 1 of 2): Beyond VCs By Ilya Ilienko posted 21 days ago Following Capital and Funding for Healthcare and Mission-Driven Work (Part 1 of 2): Beyond VCs By: Ilya Ilienko, MBA, CMA, CPA This two-part series explores capital literacy in healthcare and mission-driven organizations — across startups, non-profits, for-profits, and hybrid structures. In Part 1, we’ll focus on the capital landscape: venture capital, grants, corporate funding, tax and government programs, ...

The 5 biggest volunteer management challenges you might face

By Ayman Morad Mohammed Abdal Monem posted 03-04-2026
Effective volunteer management is critical to the success of any charity, nonprofit, and volunteer-involving organisation. Volunteers bring immense value, but managing them comes with challenges – from recruitment and retention to communication and organisation. To maximise the impact of your volunteer programme, it’s essential to address these challenges head-on with strategic solutions 1. Volunteer Recruitment The Challenge: Attracting dedicated volunteers is a common challenge, The competition for dedicated volunteers is high, making it important to stand out. Solution: Improve Your Recruitment Strategy Create clear and compelling role ...

The Small Requests That Create Big Ethical Risks

By Tala Khalifeh posted 03-02-2026
In today’s fast-paced business environment, accountants frequently encounter moments of professional judgment discomfort—situations where the right course of action is not immediately clear, where ethical dilemmas arise, or where subtle pressure from colleagues, management, or clients challenges their objectivity. These moments rarely begin with dramatic fraud schemes. More often, they start with simple, routine requests that seem harmless on the surface. Statements like: “Book it now, we’ll fix it next month.” This pressures accountants to record revenue or expenses prematurely, misrepresenting the financial position of the current period. While it ...

Count Me In for CPE

By Trent Kramer posted 03-01-2026
The IMA's Count Me In podcast now comes in the form of self-study CPE. These are free to members and there are a variety of topics to choose from earning 0.5 credits each. Courses consist of listening to a ~30 minute episode followed by a couple knowledge checks and a quiz at the end. You can literally put on wireless headphones and earn credits while carrying about your day. Host Adam Larson does an excellent job enlightening us in these conversations with thought leaders. He has a genuine interest in learning from his guests paired with a curious nature that shines through in their dialogue. The podcast is approaching its 350th episode and continues ...

Why PCM Models Fail Without Storytelling

By Pedro San Martin posted 02-21-2026
How CFOs and Financial Leaders Can Turn Their Profitability Models Into Living Decision Systems Companies invest significant time and resources in developing advanced Profitability and Cost Management (PCM) models. A PwC report finds that, on average, 63 percent of executives say they spend most of their decision-making time ineffectively. Despite implementing systems such as activity-based costing, driver trees, EPM platforms, and detailed dashboards, many organizations still struggle to ensure their most robust models have a significant impact on key decisions. This article provides a practical roadmap for transforming PCM models into decision ...

Capital and Funding for Healthcare and Mission‑Driven Work (Part 1 of 2): Beyond VCs

By Ilya Ilienko posted 02-16-2026
Capital and Funding for Healthcare and Mission-Driven Work (Part 1 of 2): Beyond VCs By: Ilya Ilienko, MBA, CMA, CPA This two-part series explores capital literacy in healthcare and mission-driven organizations — across startups, non-profits, for-profits, and hybrid structures. In Part 1, we’ll focus on the capital landscape: venture capital, grants, corporate funding, tax and government programs, and the ecosystems that sit between them. In part 2, we’ll shift to organizational choices — when non-profit structures outperform for-profit startups, how hybrids function in practice, the governance tradeoffs they introduce, and real-world ...