NEWS

for CHAPTERS AND

COUNCILS April 2006

MEMBERSHIP SERVICESMembership Recruitment/Retention: Customer Support: Retention Telemarketing: International Development: CHAPTER AND COUNCIL SERVICES MARKETING Forms and Processes: Media Relations: Branding Update:

• Mailings Database Management: FEYA Award: CMA Learning System SOX-ERM Online: Inside Talk: CMA/CFM Job Analysis Survey: Website Redesign: CFO Benchmarking Panel: Statements on Management Accounting (SMAs): PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IMA ASSOCIATION SUMMARY –Introduction February was a very productive and encouraging month. Membership numbers seem to have stabilized, and our financial position is positive. In addition, staff activity and Board resolutions resulted in some significant achievements. Congratulations to the Board of Directors for comprehensively reviewing, revising, and approving all Board Policies and for introducing sweeping and much needed changes to the Standing Advisory Committee system. This, in turn, led to staff preparing

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comprehensive plans for a new format for committee meetings in March—more on the outcome of that next month. In addition to all the staff activities detailed in this report, I attended a G8 country Financial Stability Forum meeting at the invitation of the President of the International Federation of Accountants, which involved the chairs and board members from IASB, IAASB, FASB, PCAOB, and many other organizations. There I was able to express the importance of the role of management accountants, and the message was well received. I also attended the IFAC CEO meeting and again stressed that the way to achieve a good audit outcome is to engage properly educated and certified professional accountants in business (read CMA). Later, I participated in a meeting with Jeff Thomson at the SEC and then headed over to the PCAOB to meet Board Member Charley Niemeier. Just a few more highlights:

• IMA engaged heavily with the COSO Board and reached an agreement to collaborate on a variety of aspects.

• We completed the first properly conceived Job Analysis to support our certification program.

• We launched our Horváth/IMA CFO benchmarking initiative and SOX ERM e- learning modules.

• Conference promotion began in earnest. • Research and Marketing activities achieved new levels.

And one last thing: Make sure you check out the new section this month from Sandy Richtermeyer, IMA’s Professor-in-Residence. MEMBERSHIP SERVICES

Membership Recruitment/Retention: • In February, total net membership was up 63 members. • In February, there were 790 new members. • The retention rate for the month of February was 81%. • The rolling monthly retention rate was 71%. Customer Support: • Ongoing member support through e-mail and telephone inquiry response:

o 1,354 e-mails in the general IMA e-mail box were responded to in February. o Approximately 1,801 telephone calls were received and responded to in

February.

Retention Telemarketing:• Ongoing domestic and international member outreach through telemarketing targeted

at members whose memberships would lapse in February: o 705 calls were placed:

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Of the domestic calls, 28% could not be completed due to inaccurate or incomplete contact information.

Fifty-two percent of domestic calls resulted in no direct contact with members.

Eight percent of domestic members renewed as a direct result of the calls. Of the international calls, 33% could not be completed due to inaccurate

or incomplete contact information. Forty-nine percent of international calls resulted in no direct contact with

members. Ten percent of international members renewed as a direct result of the

calls. • Distributed e-mail blasts targeting 2,881 members who were 30, 60, and 90 days past

due on membership renewals. Retention:• Ongoing communication and promotional efforts targeting former members to regain

them as members or engage them as nonmember customers. Recruitment:• We are exploring promotional opportunities targeting prospective members in the

Vision database. Corporate Development: • Recruiting staff for the corporate development director role; we have a potential

finalist in the process. • Developing collateral in alignment with key messages. WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY RELATIONS • Visited Kinsey Jenkins in South Carolina to prepare for the transition of roles. • Sent introductory letter to chapter and council presidents. • Resolved CMA LS incentive payments to 36 chapters. • Prepared documentation for upcoming chapter competition and Annual Conference

activities in Las Vegas. • Preparing for next chapter presidents conference call on March 14. • Planning a new format for the chapter/council newsletter. • Preparing for Dallas committee meeting participation. • Conducted Dubai Chapter conference call on February 28. We discussed current

status of marketing for Dubai Conference. Chapter will aid further promotion using resources of Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

• Scheduling Taipei Chapter conference call—this chapter wants to implement the CMA LS.

• Focusing on chapter development in Cairo, followed by Amman, Beirut, and Kuwait.

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• Participated in Munich Chapter conference call on March 2—chapter agreeable to new direction of IMA and wants to have continued support in order to better promote IMA in Germany.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

China: The IMA continues to pursue development opportunities within China. Discussions are underway with various entities to promote our CMA program to accounting and finance professionals in this vast country. Progress will be reported accordingly. Middle East: Dubai and the UAE, in general, continue to be the largest IMA membership base outside the United States. February saw a net increase of 45 new members in the UAE and 116 new members in the Middle East in total. A Middle East marketing plan is in progress to better support this growing membership base and will coincide with the IMA Global Conference in Dubai. India: Members, providers, academics, and other associations (ICWAI) are strongly requesting IMA to commit more resources to the Indian market. Claims of 50,000 + members within five years are routinely made; however, no IMA alternatives have any degree of success in India. A situation appraisal together with a review of three new review course provider requests is in progress. MARKETING Operations: • Distributed new marketing policies and forms to the senior management team for

staff distribution. Media Relations: • Announced FEYA call for entries with RHI. • Distributed Media Alert regarding Annual Conference nationally. • Tracking media pickups:

o Paul Sharman appeared in SOX Compliance Journal on 2/10/06. o SOXTelevision.com launched four video-on-demand segments featuring Jeff

Thomson on SOX and XBRL. • Progressing on developing IMA key messages with IMA’s senior management team. Branding: • Sent Chapter and Council branding alignment communication to chapter and council

leadership. • Updated Chapter Tools on website. • Delivered new IMA folders. • Delivered new branded golf shirts to the Board of Directors at its February meeting.

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• Branded several promotional items for Board of Directors Meeting. • Ordered employee shirts. • Sent Affinity Program Partners IMA’s new logos and branding guidelines. Member Development and Retention: • Completed transition to new fulfillment facility. • Completed first new member mailing on 3/6/06:

o Three business days from release of data to mail drop. o NCOA process to begin in March.

Affinity Program Revitalization: • Reviewing current programs and offerings:

o Increase IMA revenue. o Increase member value.

• Evaluating new potential programs. Annual Conference 2006 Exhibit: • Completed marketing support materials:

o Template developed for booth collateral. o Content due from areas on April 1.

• Completed exhibit rental research and planning meeting with Freeman Exhibits. • Seeking vendor to produce consolidated demos, videos, flash, etc. • Producing table drapes and pop-up displays for other traveling exhibit needs. • Investigating opportunities to sell existing exhibits. Collateral Material: • “Member Benefits” Brochure:

o Completed; shown at the February Board of Directors Meeting; o Currently in print production.

• “CMA Certification” Brochure: o Key messages are in development.

• “Stake in the Ground” Brochure: o Key messages are in development.

• “IMA Value” Brochure: o Key messages are in development. o Layouts are due the week of March 13. o Separate brochures were created for practitioners and corporations.

Chapters and Councils: • Developing enhancements to chapter portal including:

o Contract for external premium item webstore is in review. o Developing program to provide customized printed collateral, stationery, and

business cards on demand.

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FEYA 2006: • Announced to members via e-mail on 2/22/06. • Announced to chapters and councils via e-mail on 2/22/06. • Produced and distributed FEYA flyer to the Board of Directors at the February

meeting. • Placed banner ad on IMA website and MIGs communications as of 2/28/06. • Included lead article in ION on FEYA in 3/8/06 issue. • Producing FEYA buck slip to be inserted into member mailings. • Receiving nominations—22 as of 3/3/06. PD-Learning System: • Close to signing contract for external audience market research. • Sent two University e-blasts and a New Enrollees blast. • Distributed direct mail campaign to 28,500 people (internal and external):

o Targeted: CPAs, MBAs, Finance executives/managers; o E-response site: take free demo, entered into raffle; o To date, 0.18% response rate to demo survey (3/31 deadline).

• Continuing Google Ad campaign. PEC and ICMA: • SOX-ERM Online:

o Developed marketing plan for remainder of FY06. o Hired Flash designer/work begun on interactive promo piece.

• CPE Subscriptions: o Supported Inside Talk: February/March events; o Outlined roles, responsibilities, and processes for Inside Talk series. o Updated/printed PEC buck slip for March dues mailing.

• Ethics Course: o Developing marketing plan. o Developing logo concepts.

• CMA/CFM Marketing: o Held two strategy sessions. o Developing marketing plan for FY06 and FY07.

Web Redesign Project: • Working toward launch date. • Created presentation for senior management team outlining issues and plan. • Created storyboard of old/new with key improvements chart. • Working through acceptance testing; identifying and correcting issues.

Research – Horváth Partnership: • CFO-Panel package:

o Prepared for February Board meeting (70);

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o Prepared for presentation at FRC meeting (30); o Prepared for Horváth offices (Germany/Boston) (1,500).

• Mailing: o Finalized brochure. o Finalized letter. o Compiling lists o Mailing this week.

• Banner Advertising: o Continually have banner ads rotated on website.

• Standard Operating Procedures: o Created SOPs outlining the inquiry/selling and registration process. o Trained Customer Service on SOPs and the Guide to the survey.

• Lead Tracking: o Developed a lead tracking system for call centers and SMEs to manage.

• FAQs: o Horváth creating a list of FAQs for the panel process to address inquiries.

Research – SMA Redesign Project: • Logo:

o At this time, we will not develop a separate SMA logo.

• Icons: o Coordinating icons for each practice and one generic management accounting

icon were developed: Ready to finalize with Research group.

• Templates: o First concepts for online/downloadable template were developed.

Conferences: • 2006 Annual Conference (Las Vegas):

o Swapping banner ad with NYSSCPA. o Scheduled e-blast for week of 3/13 to FOI (friends of IMA); database of 500.

• IMA Global Conference (Dubai): o Created buck slips and placed them in membership and renewal mailings. o Prepared marketing materials including e-blast copy, links, and PDF ads for

Dubai Conference Speaker Robin Fraser to distribute to his contacts in Iran. PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The Board Policy Review project was completed on February 25 with the Board of Directors’ approval of the proposed modified Board policies. All policy modifications

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were effective as of February 25, with the exceptions of Board Policies D-100 to D-110, which will be replaced by D-115 effective July 1, 2006. The IMA Nominating Committee announced the Board of Directors for 2006-2007 with all of the filled National Leadership Positions confirmed. John B. Pollara, CMA, was introduced as the IMA Chair-Elect for 2007-2008. The Website Development Project is in the vendor acceptance testing phase with Information Technology performing a detailed review of the new site. This phase is an intense due diligence step to ensure proper and complete receipt from the vendor. The initial step requires IT to build the entire site on IMA servers in a test environment. During review of the site, all identified errors and issues are reviewed and documented. The Information Technology team decides whether to bring the issues back to the vendor or correct the issues/errors in-house. This determination process is based on issue severity and timeliness to respond and deliver. Information Technology is continuing to identify and analyze prospective solutions to outsource the IMA e-mail platform. Five vendors were initially identified, and it has been determined to continue the vendor identification search in order to address a larger percentage of our requirements. The Information Technology team is focusing on this process in order to expedite identification and delivery. IMA is targeting consistency in availability, data integrity, service, and experience as requirements from the prospective vendor. The Vision Replacement Project is in process with departmental reporting data needs analysis and “requirements” tightening in preparation of the fit analysis (Phase 2). Evaluations of the vendor finalists, including financials and baseline functional comparisons, are nearing final review as the project strives toward completion of Phase 1 (Vendor Identification). CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

Annual Conference & Exposition - June 17-21, 2006, Las Vegas, NV:Online registration for the Annual Conference & Exposition opened in early January at www.imaconference.org, and mail-in registrations are also being accepted at this time. Early Bird fees are in effect until April 7 and include a cost savings of $200 in almost all registration categories. Online registration is fast and easy on our easy-to-navigate website, and members are encouraged to not only register early, but also reserve their hotel accommodations at the Rio All-Suite Hotel before rooms sell out. IMA’s special negotiated rate is $140.00 a night. To book an online reservation, go to www.imaconference.org or call (702) 777-7777. The comprehensive brochure, with detailed information on sessions and speakers, was mailed to IMA members in February. A PDF version of the comprehensive brochure is also available on www.imaconference.org.

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Future Meetings: IMA’s First Global Conference, scheduled for May 7-10, 2006, will be held at the JW Marriott Dubai. Three days of sessions will be offered to our members in the Middle East and Europe. The website for this event (www.imadubai.org) is currently under construction and will provide session, registration, and housing information for Conference registrants. The site for the 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition has been determined. IMA will meet at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona, June 16-20, 2007. Sites for many of IMA’s upcoming Board and Committee meetings have been confirmed. A list of meetings is available on the IMA website under News/Events. ICMA A second Job Analysis Task Force met for two days in February to review the data collected from the Job Analysis Survey. The purpose of this meeting was to assess the importance the survey respondents placed on the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to perform their jobs and then to ensure that this importance is reflected in the content specifications for the certification. The responses were also reviewed for new knowledge areas to add to the specifications and little-used areas that might be deleted. The analysis of the survey data revealed that at least 95% of the current content remains relevant to current practice; the task force did make some recommendations regarding the weight given to certain topic areas, and these recommendations will be reviewed by the Board of Regents in March. Other ICMA activities for February included:

• Administration of 150 Part 4 written-response examinations. This compares to 105 exams in November and 28 exams last February.

• Providing contractor with specifications to enhance the spreadsheet used in the Part 4 quantitative questions; expenses for this development will be shared with the AICPA.

• Preparation for the March 2 meeting of the Financial Reporting Committee. • Preparation of papers for the April meeting of the Professional Accountants in

Business Committee of IFAC. • Collaboration with professional development staff on the development of the

Ethics Course. • Collaboration with marketing staff on future plans for certification marketing.

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT The Research team continues to play a leadership role in strategically critical cross-functional initiatives:

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1. IMA Strategic Plan – Produced planning assumptions for the fiscal 2007 outlook in conjunction with CFO (reviewed with the Board on February 25). A kickoff strategy update workshop was conducted by the senior management team on March 7 that consisted of a planning timeline, key financial assumptions, and key strategic issues. The results of this workshop will be shared with the Planning and Development Committee on March 27 to get them engaged early on in the development of the budget and strategy update (2007-2010) as we head into the June Board meeting.

2. Major Conferences – Programming for IMA’s Global Conference in Dubai and

the 2006 Annual Conference in Las Vegas is complete, and we have filled all open slots resulting from recent speaker cancellations. Registration for Vegas is well above last year’s run rate, and we are told by local experts that Dubai registrations are “where they should be.”

3. “Content Engine” for new IMA Ethics Course – The Research team continues to

provide critical content input in the development of IMA’s new ethics course, slated for launch in May.

Project Management:

FAR:

1. SMAs – The revival of the SMAs continues on an aggressive path. New SMAs on Lean are in progress, and the goal is to have at least one of these SMAs substantially complete for promotion at the Annual Conference in June. Two other SMAs on Enterprise Risk are now in progress, and a timeline is being reviewed and approved by the authors.

2. The FAR funnel continues to be very healthy. Several new projects are under

evaluation by the Trustees, including one new doctoral student proposal. As noted at the Board meeting, in one year we have doubled the number of approved projects and increased the funnel of new proposals under evaluation.

Promotion:

1. SOX interviews – Our bold initiatives in this area continue to generate significant media attention and interest. Six interview segments featuring Jeff Thomson on SOX are now available for viewing on the “SOX TV” network. Interviews were conducted with CFO Magazine and Compliance Week, with publication expected in the March-April time frame.

2. Presentations – IMA Director of Research Raef Lawson moderated the February

webinar on the subject of balanced scorecards and strategy maps. Results on these webinars, a joint product of Research and PD, continue to be stellar in terms of participants and their “stickiness” (e.g., about 90% stay tuned into the entire webinar).

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3. Articles – Raef Lawson co-authored an article on international scorecarding in the

March issue of Strategic Finance.

Products/Partnerships:

1. Enterprise Risk and Controls/SOX: Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) on

• SOX compliance (focused

to

• and the topic (impact

2. Horvát

• A meeting was held with the February 23 to share IMA’s bold initiatives on SOX compliance. Scott Taub, interim chief accountant, and 10 SEC staff members participated, demonstrating their interest in our initiatives.

IMA’s groundbreaking, provocative survey onon the practical use of frameworks and guidance, as well as internal skills gaps) is complete, and preliminary results were shared with the SEC. There were well over 300 usable responses, covering CFOs, controllers, internal audit executives, and SOX implementation specialists. We plan summarize the results and issue a press release in April prior to the SEC/PCAOB Practitioner Roundtable on May 10.

IMA’s field research on SOX is progressing nicely,of SOX on management accountants and their business partners) has been accepted as a panel discussion at 12 different forums (including AAA). This research will also be the subject of an article(s) in Strategic Financeand is a topic at the Annual Conference in June.

h and Partners (CFO Benchmarking Panel) – The marketing collateral, as

3. ng Round Table)

including a cover letter, brochure, and article in Strategic Finance magazine, wdelivered to the Board on February 25 and the Financial Reporting Committee (FRC) on March 3. We need the Board’s help in selling this compelling benchmarking product.

BBRT (Beyond Budgeti – IMA negotiated a member discount worth $600 to participate in the 5th Annual Beyond Budgeting Round Table.

ROFESSOR-IN-RESIDENCEP

(AAA) Activities American Accounting Association – A $1,500 award that was funded hrough the IMA Foundation for Applied Research has been established with the IS

the

ernational Advisory

tSection of the AAA. The submission deadline is March 31, 2006. Requirements for the award include linking the research to an IMA key practice area with an emphasis on practice area “technology enablement.” The 2006 award is a follow-up to the positive feedback from the IMA-sponsored Best Education and Best Research Paper Awards granted at the January 2005 AAA-IS mid-year meeting. IMA Representation on the Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Int

orumF – Attended the BAP Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting at the University of o, Utah, Colorado at Boulder in February. The meeting included students from Colorad

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Idaho, and Wyoming. The meeting provided a great deal of opportunity to speak withfaculty advisors, recruiters, and students regarding career concerns, information about careers in industry vs. public accounting, employee retention problems faced by many firms, and employees leaving public accounting and/or the accounting profession as a whole. The PIR served as a judge on the best practices competition and gained insight that will be useful in updates and modifications for the IMA Student Case CompetitionThe PIR also attend the BAP Southeast Regional Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, in March. IMA Stu

.

dent Case Competition Update – Entries for the Student Case Competition ave increased this year. A very positive response was also received for the solicitation

is

he Academic

hof volunteer judges. This year’s judging team of 14 members (for first-round judging) composed of management accounting professionals and academics. The first round of judging will be completed in March. Feedback and evaluations from students and their advisors will be solicited for future planning of this Competition. Final metrics on the Competition will be released after the finals at the Annual Conference. Applied Research Track at the 2006 Annual Conference (formerly tTrack) – Eight papers have been accepted and are linked to the key areas of emphasis for

ual Conference

the 2006 Annual Conference. Academic Roundtables at Ann – A new “call for papers” for the

oundtables was developed and then promoted at AAA meetings and through e-mail ey

l

Community Day at Annual Conference

Rblasts. Electronic proceedings of the refereed process will be prepared, as this is a kconcern for many academics as they decide to participate in this type of event. Speciathanks and acknowledgement go to Tom Klammer and Bill St. John, members of IMA’sCommittee on Academic Relations, for their advice, assistance, and commitment to this program. Academic – IMA’s first Academic

ommunity Day will be held on Sunday, June 18, at the Annual Conference. See the

Profession

CAnnual Conference website for more information and registration options. IMA Global Conference – Globalization of the Management AccountingSummit –The invitation, key objectives, and process have been developed for the 2nd

vent.

Annual Globalization of the Management Accounting Profession Summit to be held May 7 in Dubai in conjunction with IMA’s Global Conference. Updated proceedings, invitation to event, and synthesis from the Boston 2005 Summit are available upon request from the PIR. AAA-MAS IMA liaison, Shahid Ansari, is co-hosting the e Support for Research by Ph.D. Student Projects and Management Accounting Faculty – Individual assistance and support are provided to IMA educator members

R (faculty and doctoral students) with data collection efforts for projects funded by FAand other individual projects.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CMA Learning System:

hile February sales were up approximatW ely 35% over February 05, self-study sales he same period last year. Our focus in product development

ort self-se for

continued to decline over twill continue to be on corporate development as the lever to drive increased college/university and individual sales. Release 2.0 project plan was developed in February with an emphasis on improving product quality and features to suppstudy candidates in getting through the exam “pipeline.” As part of our business cacreating an IMA e-campus, we are also exploring further online mentorship and reviewcomponents to support exam candidates. Continuing Education Products: February sales were down from January 06, but they continue to be strong compared to

ar-over-year comparisons.

cking member-response data on Inside Talk, our monthly ebinar series. As an example, over 66% gave our February webinar on balanced

he job ing

eo scenarios were veloped and are in filming. Our SME team, composed of IMA members and Ethics

er

rship Project:

ye We are now gathering and trawscorecards an above-average rating, 32% of attendees reported this was their first webinar, and 80% of attendees reported that they thought they could use what they learned back on the job. Having this monthly customer feedback data along with tanalysis data specific to professional development will be the key in guiding/validatour path forward with products, services, and learning support. Contracts have been signed for our IMA Ethics Course. The viddeCommittee volunteers, was a great help and a terrific example of high-value voluntesupport. Pilot Mento t is clear that to support our online communities and in-person programs, IMA needs a

ource pool. Julie Shipley and Barbara Parker are taking the

tails to

ROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS

Imentorship and instructor resfirst step in this process by designing and launching a pilot mentorship program for the 2006 Annual Conference. This initial program will be designed to support new conference attendees. Julie and Barbara have developed a process for recruiting, selecting, and supporting a small group of pilot mentors and mentorees. More defollow—this is an exciting first step! P

oduction work on Strategic Finance, Strategic TechNotes.

rom Brokers Worldwide, e group that distributes Strategic Finance to IMA members and subscribers overseas,

We did our usual writing, editing, and pr

, and Management Accounting Quarterly We had a discussion with our customer service representative fth

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about the postal increase from overseas postal services. The increase is 5.4% beginning with the March 2006 issue. This is the same percentage increase as the U.S. postal servicinitiated. We receiv

e

ed our December 2005 BPA circulation statement for Strategic Finance. These atements are published twice a year. The next step with BPA is their audit of our

artment who were available attended the Ron Katz workshop on rganizational culture.

help to the Marketing area on the membership application.

rch, nd Executive areas.

CONCLUSION

stcirculation figures. Members of the depo We provided production We performed a number of proofreading jobs for the Marketing, Conferences, Reseaa IN

e making progress, but there is still much more work to do to

ke sure you take in one of our free, popular webinars.

an, ACMA resident & CEO

As you can see, we ar

e vector.” “change th By the way, please ma Best Wishes, Paul A. SharmP

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CHAPTER AND COUNCIL INFORMATION (News impacting chapters and councils) On April 26 the following reports are due for consideration for awards:

1. Manuscripts for Lybrand Medal consideration; 2. Public Relations Report for chapter award consideration; 3. Community Service Report for chapter award consideration; 4. Newsletter (copy of three issues you want considered) for chapter award

consideration; 5. Council Award of Excellence.

PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU ARE PARTICIPATING IN CHAPTER COMPETITION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On May 20, chapter and council reports must be submitted to Chapter and Council Services, attention Betty Alphonso. Any reports not submitted by May 20 will not be considered for chapter competition. Preliminary closing reports will be run beginning May 21. These reports will be returned to you for review before final reports are run. Any chapter activities such as chapter meetings generating CPE can then be added to the chapter’s final report if they occur between May 20 and May 26. The final competition claims must be submitted by May 26. Any activities occurring after that date should be submitted in competition year 2006 – 2007. IMA’S NASBA NUMBER IMA’s NASBA number may NOT be used by chapters and councils for educational seminars and educational events. The NASBA number is restricted to IMA seminars and educational events ONLY. Some chapters and councils have printed materials with the NASBA number in print. Those materials may be used but in the future it may not be used. SIGNIFICANT CHAPTER ANNIVERSARIES in 2006 25 YEARS – SOUTHEAST ALABAMA, chartered April 1981 50 YEARS – ST. PAUL, chartered June 1956 75 YEARS – LANCASTER, chartered April 1931 Your Assistance is sought! In the Membership Recruitment section of the Summary of Association Activities above, you may have noted calls to some members could not be completed due to inaccurate or incomplete contact information. Please keep us informed of member contact information changes. This will help us keep our IMA strong and help in retaining members. Members can update their membership records online at http://www.imanet.org. Enter your user name and password in the Login pane on the IMA homepage. After logging in, click on “my profile” in the welcome pane. Chapter and Council Presidents Monthly Teleconference April 11, 2006. Jeff Albrechtson and I will be conducting.

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On the Second Tuesday of each month, 2:30 pm EST, Chapter and Council Presidents are invited to participate in a teleconference. Chapter and council president-elect are also invited to participate. We will share information on IMA, current initiatives, chapter and council information and upcoming events that impact on you as chapter and council leaders. Mark your calendars and plan to participate. Information on the teleconference dial in numbers will be emailed to you each month. The 800 number (1-800-369-1540) remains the same for each call. The activation code changes monthly. For April, the code is 19670 #. Please remember to use the # key. Your cooperation in joining us at 2:30 pm EDT would be appreciated. Several participants remarked on the distractions caused by members calling in late after discussions had started. Conference Call Tips and Etiquette – please read.

1. Dial in to the call before the scheduled start time. This will help ensure the call can begin on time without interruptions as new callers join.

2. Call from a land line, if possible. Cell phones and speaker phones tend to create extra static and background noise that is extremely distracting for the rest of the listeners.

3. During the Q & A portion of the conference call, please keep your line on “mute” if you are engaged in other activities. The conference lines are extremely sensitive to sounds such as typing, background noise, shuffling papers, etc. These sounds tend to be amplified and are distracting to other callers.

4. Do not use your “hold” feature while on the call. If your phone plays music or beeps while on hold, all the callers on the conference call will hear it if you use the hold feature. If you must step away from the call, or take another call, please leave the conference call completely and re-join when you are able.

Financial Executive of the Year Award Nominations are now being accepted for the 2006 award through May 31, 2006. BEST PRACTICES FOR CHAPTERS AND COUNCILS (Can your chapter or council use some of these ideas?) Dallas Area Chapter is using the new Chapter Portal system for chapter meeting registration. They also provided the details on how to sign up using the Chapter Portal process. MaryValerie Kuttin, Chapter President, says this has really helped with the monthly administration of chapter reporting. Are you listing your CMA and CFM members in your newsletter? Many chapters have these members mentioned during the year. This permits others who are interested in certification to know who has attained this valuable credential so they can talk to them while recognizing the accomplishments of these members. Albuquerque Chapter is assisting the Habitat for Humanity in streamlining the application forms and providing financial guidance to the families. This included computer and budget training. They are also involving their student members in this worthy community objective. Spokane Chapter announces in their newsletter that they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Anyone needing special auxiliary aids and services are urged to contact a named chapter member to handle this concern.

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Golden West Council president-elect, Robert Hulin, is already planning for the council’s 2006 – 2007 year. Bellevue/Eastside Chapter hosts web discussion forums. This web site also is the home for all job postings. They also post event announcements on this site. It is controlled through registrations to comply with privacy provisions. Does your chapter host theme nights for some of your meetings? Many chapters recognize CMAs and CFMs, Past Presidents, Awards Night for Chapter Members, Students and other groups worthy of recognition. Everyone likes to receive a “pat on the back” for a job well done and this is one method of accomplishing this. Detroit Metro Chapter recently held a Student Night, recognizing six students for accomplishments. The students received a “Certificate of Recognition” and a one year membership to the IMA, a lapel pin and a cash award. The chapter also presents a plaque with the student’s name engraved on it for display at the student’s school. Does your chapter provide a summary of the previous month’s topics? Many chapters do and it provides valuable information to members as well as letting them know what they missed by not attending the meeting. The Alaska Chapter is particularly effective in accomplishing this. Polk County Chapter provides a round table discussion from 4:15 – 5:05 pm on the afternoon before the chapter meeting, they presents a CPE topic (6 - 6:50) before the dinner and the same topic (7:40 – 8:30) after the dinner. This provides opportunities for all members to attend in a time frame that suits their schedule. Nation’s Capital Chapter hosts a social gathering each month for members to meet and greet and socialize. For them, this has been a positive. Would it work for your chapter? Nation’s Capital Chapter prints out CPE certificates on parchment paper for every person in attendance at chapter technical dinner meetings. Mid Atlantic Council participated in a fund raising event for their community. The WHYY Community Service Project assisted the educational television network. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Tommy Davis, an “IMAer” in a recent chapter newsletter asked “What are those things that, when you’re at the end of your days, are the “I’m glad I did ….s and not the I wish I hads”. Tommy stated that one of the things he was glad he did was become involved with the IMA. “The friends I have made, and the feeling of accomplishment that it has provided, have been valuable parts of my life, and of who I am. I am a member of a special group, a group that adds benefits to my life that has made me a better person and a better friend; a group that has enabled me to help others.” He urges others to use these same opportunities IMA provides. Personally, I am glad Tommy took advantage of the IMA. He has been a boon to the IMA at the chapter, council and national level. May I provide the chapter/council membership list to an organization affiliated with the IMA? Steve Townsend says that essentially, all requests for member lists or mailing lists from organizations should be submitted to the IMA Montvale office. In this way, IMA can monitor usage, and maintain the rules associated with our Privacy Policy, including our members’ rights to opt-out of mailings, promotions, e-mails, etc. It is of paramount importance that we abide by these policies to respect our members’ rights and maintain the integrity of our database. In addition, we never release e-mail addresses.

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How does the chapter or council president grant access to enter CPE to chapter and council officers? Requests for access to enter CPE should be sent to Betty Alphonso or Debora Reich. In order to have access they must be on the list of chapter officers. Betty Alphonso maintains and verifies this information. Once this is verified, they are authorized to enter CPE. Incoming Chapter Presidents should contact IMA (Betty Alphonso) to authorize their chapter officers to perform this function. How do I gain access to the Chapter Portal’ registration mechanism? The link to the Chapter Portal found in the Chapter and Council Information Section above. Authorizations procedures are set forth in the Chapter Portal. Julie Goldman, President of the Saginaw Valley Chapter had problems and contacted us. Scott Weiss worked to resolve these. If you have problems, let me know and assistance will be provided. When entering your name for access, be sure it is entered exactly as your name is on IMA records. A common problem in logging on is not knowing your password. If you do not remember your password, contact Customer Services. If you are having other problems, contact Scott Weiss sweiss@imanet.org and he will have them corrected as soon as possible. Should my chapter be submitting chapter newsletters to the IMA office? Please email, mail or fax your newsletters to Jeff Albrechtson in Montvale. This will enable him to learn of chapter activities, concerns and events. It will also aid him in communicating with your chapter. Does the IMA hosted chapter or council website allow advertising on the website? Yes, you may obtain advertisers for your website to defray expenses. Why should I attend my Regional Council’s meetings? The president of the Chippewa Valley Chapter (Michael Pynch) answered that question in his President’s Message. “I attended my first Regional Council meeting. There were members of the Minneapolis and St. Paul chapters in addition to presidents from chapters throughout Minnesota. I found that the other chapters have some of the same concerns that we have raised in the past and also that what we are doing in the Chippewa Valley is on target or beyond what similar-sized chapters are doing…… I also spoke with the Regional Council President (Leo Philbin). He is coming to speak to our chapter in April and will share his insight into what IMA is planning as well as provide a status on the Northern Lights council…..” Sounds like good reasons to attend council meetings to me. Can I register on-line to attend the IMA’s national conference in Las Vegas? Yes, you can register on-line or print out a registration form at http://www.imaconference.org. Early bird registration ends April 9. Don’t delay, register today. CPE TOPICS BEING PRESENTED AT CHAPTERS - Are you looking for topics for your meeting? Maybe these topics would appeal to your members. Alaska Chapter held a four hour seminar on “The FASB Agenda: Insiders’ Perspective”, “Communicating the “Hidden: Paycheck” “Strategic Cost Management: Path to the Future?” and “Tax Incentives: Going Beyond Disaster Relief”. Albuquerque (NM) Chapter had a visit from Paul Sharman, IMA’s President, who discussed the CMA Certification and the new direction of the IMA. Austin (TX) Chapter heard a presentation by Robert Half staffers on “The Next Generation Accountant: A new Outlook on a Timeless Profession.”

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Bellevue/Eastside (WA) Chapter presented “Electronic Fraud” by Ivan Orton, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the King County Prosecutor’s Office. Central Minnesota Chapter featured Dr. Harve Busta discussing “Top 10 IT Risks to Small Businesses”. Cincinnati North (OH) Chapter held a Spouses Night last month. The CPE topic was “Building Relationships – The Heart of the Matter” by John Krugman of Dale Carnegie. Dallas Area (TX) Chapter had a presentation by Mr. Whitney Magers of New York Life on “Retirement Planning.” Dayton Chapter heard Ann Marie Sabath of At Ease Inc. discuss “10 Key Ways for Gaining that Competitive Edge in Today’s Workplace in a pre-dinner education event. This was followed by her presentation titled “The Art of Entertaining during Business Meals” for the Dinner Program. Detroit Metro (MI) Chapter heard a two pronged presentation on fraud: “Fraud Detection, Prevention, and Internal Investigation” and “Insurance Fraud and How It Effects the Consumer and Related Business Entities”. Christine Dobrovich, Carlene Maxwell and Walter Herndon were the speakers. Fox River Valley (IL) Chapter presented four hours of CPE on “Intermediate/Advanced Excel” by Harlan Fuller, CMA, CFM, and CPA of Illinois State University. Greater Milwaukee Chapter heard Mr. Bret Goodman of Bret Goodman Marketing discuss “Market Research – Evaluating Its Effect on the Bottom Line”. Knoxville (TN) Chapter arranged for their members to hear Sven Serspinski, Senior Manager, Coulter and Justus discuss “Valuation Enhancement – Getting Your Business Ready for Sale: Michiana Chapter’s topic was “Performance Management: by Mr. Simon Riley of Crowe Chizek & Company, LLC. Michigan Council had a brief presentation on workshops involving project management skills, enhancing your overall time, and PDA (personal digital assistant) devices by Randy Dean. Polk County (FL) Chapter heard Bill Black talk about “Pensions for the New Millennium”. Saginaw Valley (MI) Chapter welcomed Dr. George Puia back as a speaker. His topic was “Annual Economic Update and Job Status”. San Antonio (TX) Chapter had two speakers at their February meeting. One topic was “NAFTA, the Latest Changes and the Anticipated Impact on the American Economy” and the second presentation was on the current state of the accounting profession from an academic perspective. San Diego Chapter presented “Recruiting, Retaining and Rewarding – Best Practices” to their Controller’s Council meeting. The Controller’s Council is limited to controllers, assistant controllers, finance directors and finance managers. Spokane (WA) Chapter’s March breakfast presentation was on “Sarbanes-Oxley Business”, presented by Protiviti Independent Risk Consulting.

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Humor from Chapter Newsletters The San Gabriel Valley Chapter shared the following in a newsletter: Accounting Laws:

1. Trial Balances don’t. 2. Working Capital does not. 3. Liquidity tends to run out. 4. Return on investments never will.

CONTACT INFORMATION Correspondence, through April 30, can be addressed to: Kinsey Jenkins, Jr. Chapter and Council Services Institute of Management Accountants P.O. Box 211303 Columbia, SC 29221 Telephone: 1-800-638-4427, ext. 1580 Email: kjenkins@imanet.orgYou may also contact: Jeff Albrechtson Manager of Worldwide Community Relations Institute of Management Accountants 10 Paragon Drive, Montvale, NJ Telephone: 1-800-638-4427, ext 1577 Email: jalbrechtson@imanet.org This monthly newsletter is intended to serve as a communications tool between Chapter and Council Services staff and you as council and chapter officers. It is designed to provide you with useful information and to share what other chapters and councils are doing. Please contact me with any suggestions for improvements, comments or with items you would like to see added.

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