CIMA announces proposals to join up with the US AICPA accounting body…

CIMA and AICPA (the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) announced yesterday that they were planning to launch a joint venture whereby the two Institutes would create a new not-for-profit venture called the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

CIMA members would be eligible to retain their designatory letters of FCMA or ACMA or alternatively use these together with the yet to be released designatory letters of the new entity.

The new venture would cover 550,000 students and members and the board would be split 50:50 between the two bodies although AICPA would own 60% of the organisation. The AICPA was founded in 1887 and has nearly 370,000 members in 128 countries whilst CIMA was founded in 1919 and has 183,000 members and students in 168 countries.

CIMA is strong in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East whilst AICPA is the dominant accounting body in the US so from a strategic geographical fit point of view the proposed joint venture works quite nicely.

George Glass, CIMA President, said: “This agreement would give CIMA and AICPA truly global reach. The new venture would have an unrivalled depth of resources to meet the needs of both organisations and their individual members around the world. We believe that the new qualification designation would prove hugely appealing in mature and emerging markets.”

According to AICPA Chairman Paul Stahlin, “We are delighted and fortunate to be able to work with CIMA as an established global partner that brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this exciting new proposal. If approved, this joint venture promises to create long-term strategic value for our members and the companies they work for.”

The joint venture is subject to approval by the governing bodies of both organisations and will be voted on separately by both the CIMA and AICPA Councils in May.