On October 18th, the Faculty of Business (FOB) invited Mr. Rex Gu, the General Manager of Business Finance for the Asia Pacific Region, Maersk Line, to deliver a seminar on “Connecting the World by Management Accountants”. Following the seminar, FOB also organized a session with The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (formerly as The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants - CIMA) to introduce the CGMA qualification. Those attending the seminar, which was held at the Ho Yin Convention Centre, included Dr. Eva Khong, the FOB’s Executive Associate Dean; Ms. Celine Ji, Lead Manager of Learning Development, North Asia, The Association; Ms. Vivian Fung, Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications, North Asia, The Association; Ms. Kennis Lam, Associate Manager for Member and Student Development, The Association; and FOB academic staff and students.
Mr. Rex Gu began the seminar by sharing his work experience at Maersk Line, as a Management Accountant and the manager of multiple departments. He explained to those students present the differences between Management Accounting and traditional Financial Accounting, and explored future trends in Management Accounting and how Management Accountants apply their abilities in various fields.
Ms. Celine Ji then briefly introduced the background of The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and its development in past years. In cooperation with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), in 2012 the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation was created jointly by CIMA and AICPA, providing members with a new level of resources and recognition. In 2017, CIMA and AICPA formed the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants to unite and strengthen the accounting profession globally. Ms. Ji elaborated on the CGMA qualification exam and the distribution of CIMA members, CGMA and graduates over the world, encouraging students to become one of them.
Since the FOB signed a MOU with CIMA last year, Ms. Vivian Fung and Ms. Kennis Lam proceeded to illustrate the consequent examination exemptions for BBA and MBA students, to enhance students’ knowledge of the examination and also give them further information on how to obtain their diploma more quickly. Finally, they also described the study support that the Association provides to help students prepare for the examination.
Dr. Wu Zefu, Associate Professor in the FOB, concluded the seminar by sharing with the students his experience of taking the qualification test, and inspiring them to learn outside the classroom and continue studying and training throughout their lifetimes.
The students all warmly welcomed the seminar, displaying keen interest and continuing informal discussions with the guests after the seminar had ended. Information on the CGMA qualification and other accreditations available in FOB programmes can be found online at https://fob.cityu.edu.mo/en/list-34.