IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) and SP Jain School of Global Management (SP Jain) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to extend CMA certification to students at SP Jain campuses in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Sidney. The alliance aims to help accounting and finance experts to develop the critical accounting and business management skills needed for today's complex and everchanging business environment.

The MoU signed by IMA Senior Director of Middle East, Africa and India Operations Hanadi Khalife and Dr Arindam Banerjee, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, SP Jain School of Global Management, will recognise and give SP Jain School with the status of an IMA university partner. Also, present virtually at the function were Mrs Lakshmi Raman, Vice President Administration (SP Jain), and Dr John Lodewijks, Vice President- Academic, SP Jain. As part of the deal and IMAs scholarship guidelines, the organisation will offer ten CMA (Certified Management Accountant) scholarships to each SP Jain school campus (Dubai, Singapore, Sidney).

Highlighting the partnership, Khalife, said, SP Jain Schools have internationally known business schools that yield our purpose to help students plan for future strong careers. Finance and accounting roles are experiencing great changes brought on by the influx of new technologies that are touching processes and bringing in high levels of accounting.

This transition phase has significantly increased the value of finance and accounting experts whose roles have become to provide necessary advisory to the organizations they support. The CMA Certification which will now be extended across SP Jain campuses in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Sidney is a profoundly relevant program aimed at bridging the skills gap for young people thinking a career in economics and accounting.

This will allow students with a future mindset to look at finance from a greatly broader strategic and management perspective while also developing their expertise in financial planning, analysis, control, decision support, and expert ethics thereby providing them with fundamental skills appropriate for the future.

With the technological progress and digital transformation that lead to evolved business models, IMA is allocated to supporting the needs and growth of the management accounting profession in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Sidney. As the need for skilled management accountants is growing in these regions, this partnership will give a platform to enable finance students to be equipped with the latest skills and relevant tools to be future-ready.

Through this program, students will be able to acquire the CMA certification while still finishing their studies, thus increasing their employability and practice even before they graduate. This will help students to sustain their skills at the college level while preparing for a future career in finance and accounting. IMA will also support SP Jains application to the IMA Higher Education Endorsement Program, which will promote further training opportunities for students, said Dr Josh Heniro, Ph.D., Senior Director, Southeast Asia and Australasia at IMA.

Speaking about the reciprocal agreement, Dr Arindam, SP Jain said We embrace this partnership between two highly established organizations in the knowledge and education space. What sets us apart is our constant focus on providing modern, relevant and practical global business education to students across our global campuses. Our company with IMA furthers this objective and the CMA certification course will go a long way in providing students for the finance and accounting roles of the future.

The CMA certification course is fitting for accounting and finance professionals at all levels - from young managers planning to advance their career to qualified decision-makers looking to improve their data analysis skills and obtain an advanced professional certification. The program is designed to build the individual's technical administration-accounting skills and knowledge to ensure the development of a workforce that is ready for roles and requirements that are critical to professionals in today's economy.