CIMA’s history — the route to 100 years

CIMA started as a small group of members in March 1919 just after World War I in the early era of mass manufacturing. The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants’ associate technical director, Martin Farrar, Ph.D., explains why the time was right then — and describes the transition during the 20th century from cost accounting to management accounting and the waves of technological change that continue to today. You can also download Farrar’s book on CIMA history.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• How World War I was an enabler for CIMA’s formation.
• The transition over the 20th century from cost to management accounting.
• About the 1936 fact-finding “coach holiday” for CIMA members.
• When the term “management accounting” entered the lexicon of CIMA and its members.
• Why CIMA received a thank-you telegram from Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1969.
• The importance of the 1937 publication of Costing Terminology and the 2014 Global Management Accounting Principles.

Play the episode below:

To comment on this podcast or to suggest an idea for another podcast, contact Oliver Rowe, an FM magazine senior editor, at Oliver.Rowe@aicpa-cima.com.