Local sites
Events
Research & Insight
Search
Please make sure you are using a supported browser. To find out more click here.

Research & Insight

As the global leader in management accounting CIMA is committed to producing relevant, rigorous and applied research. We publish industry-leading insight, fund academic programmes, and collaborate with partners globally to help people and organisations drive better, sustainable business performance.

Editors Choice

  • Managing the Trust P&L: A toolkit for boards

    This toolkit offers board level professionals with a greater understanding of how trust fits into their business model. The tool helps board members and C-suite professionals to look at trust in a systematic way that relates to their organisation.

    Read More

  • CGMA Competency Framework guide: generate value for long-term success

    The CGMA Competency Framework can help you equip your finance function with skills and competencies needed for sustainable success. You can use the Competency Framework to fulfil many activities as you build the human capital of your organisation, with an emphasis on the following areas: Attraction and recruitment, Performance management, Learning and development.

    Read More

  • Purpose Beyond Profit: The Value of Value - Board-level Insights

    Deriving insights from a survey of executives across the globe, this report outlines trends and challenges in measuring, disclosing, and understanding the value that companies create. Executives globally agree on the increasing benefit of understanding and communicating the value creation potential of their organisations.

    Read More

  • Talent - Improving government performance through effective talent management

    Most local government organisations believe their talent-management strategies are well defined and that they have a solid understanding of their current skills shortages and future needs. However, almost half are struggling to compete for talent with their private-sector rivals. How do local governments Find, Retain, and Sustain talent?

    Read More

  • Sustainable Development Goals and the role of the accountant

    Business has a fundamental role to play in delivering against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requirements. Contributions will include working with stakeholders, creating jobs, enabling access to healthcare, innovating new technologies and leading the development and responsible use of resources like energy and water.

    Read More

  • Business Resilience: Tools for preparing to reopen businesses

    Reallocating priorities, creating a response plan, mapping out scenarios – here’s all you need to consider before you reopen your business and the tools to help you do it.

    Read More

  • Transformation - Improving government performance

    This joint report by CIMA and CIPFA (the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) highlights case studies of transformation initiatives from around the world, identifying common barriers, such as, ‘doing more with less’, and the critical success factors which must be addressed.

    Read More

  • Six rules to delivering a powerful financial presentation

    Public speaking, the number one fear of most people, can be overcome. Analyse one of the key soft skills that accountants need to possess in order to engage stakeholders and help decision making.

    Read More

  • Keeping business clean: a CGMA guide to countering fraud and corruption

    This briefing report outlines recent developments and trends on fraud and corruption globally and the role of the management accountant in helping establish best practice in their organisation. It offers guidance to a range of resources and reading materials.

    Read More

  • CGMA Cybersecurity Tool

    Cybersecurity is one of the central issues and risks in today’s global economy. Cyber attacks are no longer a question of if, but a question of when.

    Read More

  • CGMA Business model global consultation

    Business models are often misunderstood and lack consistency. Most businesses use the term ‘business model’ but do not follow any particular processes or frameworks in order to create and manage them. Our work intends to change this.

    Read More

  • Cost Transformation Model

    The CGMA cost transformation model is designed to help businesses to achieve and maintain cost competitiveness.

    Read More

Find Research & Insight Articles

Results 131-140 of 272

Managing responsible business

This research sees finance professionals outline how they are involved in managing their organisation’s ethical performance.

Find out more Download PDF

Managing strategy in a downturn

At times of economic upheaval and low availability of finance, there’s a real danger that corporate strategy can take a back seat to survival. But organisations that abandon strategic thinking not only run the risk of undermining their chances of advancing their business when the economy improves, they also endanger their ability to weather the storm.

Find out more Download PDF

How target setting can unleash and enhance creativity

Many organisations rely on the knowledge and experiences of their employees in order to generate creative ideas for product, process, and other forms of innovation. Often, they allow their employees across rank-and-file to pursue some creative activities next to their regular job duties by specifying some time to spend away from their routine task (input target) or by incorporating budgetary slack in their regular output targets.

Find out more Download PDF

From digitisation to digital transformation

This research undertaken by a team from Essec Business School investigated the work, challenges and roles of French and German management accountants in the digital age. Interviews with 26 German senior management accountants; specialised consultants; and data analytics, innovation, risk management and IT experts were conducted and the results compared with a similar set of interviews conducted in France. It found that management accountants are strongly engaged in the digitisation of their companies. They also play an important role in the digital transformation through their involvement in data quality, IT system harmonisation, fostering efficiency in budgeting processes and the implementation of self-service reporting tools for managerial decision-making. The research project builds on the distinction between two crucial and interconnected, yet different facets of the digital age: digitization and digital transformation.

Find out more Download PDF

The tools and techniques needed to support sustainable business success

The tools and techniques needed to support sustainable business success

Find out more Download PDF

Executive remuneration and sustainability

Executive pay is under intense scrutiny internationally by governments, the media and social commentators. This discussion paper from the CIMA knowledge unit offers principles that should underpin remuneration schemes, reassuring stakeholders that performance-related pay reinforces behaviour creates long-term sustainability.

Find out more Download PDF

Annuality in public budgeting: an exploratory study

Annuality in public budgeting is a widespread phenomenon. It refers to the way in which budget allocations have to be spent by the end of a financial year or be surrendered to a central authority or budget-holder. While there are certain benefits of annuality for those at the centre of an organisation who wish to impose traditional central control, it is argued that it can lead to dysfunctional spending behaviour that is uneconomical, inefficient and ineffective and can therefore fail to provide value for money.

Find out more Download PDF

Apocalyptic demography: putting longevity in perspective

Finance directors face real challenges in assisting boards to manage risks arising from defined benefit pension schemes. CIMA has examined longevity and corporate risk in detail in the following report.

Find out more Download PDF

Incentives, accountability and myopic decision making: a neuroscientific investigation

One of the challenges of management accounting is to help managers to optimise both the immediate and distant future of their organisations. In particular, management accounting should help individual managers consider both the immediate and delayed outcomes of their decisions.

Find out more Download PDF

Value chain financing in agriculture: the case of Zambia

Smallholder farmers in Zambia comprise 85% of the farming community. Such farmers are not regarded as creditworthy and their agricultural activity is characterised by low yields in production. The aim of this study is to investigate whether VCF could offer increased access to agricultural finance for Zambian smallholder farmers. Such financing will act as an enabler to mechanisation of the farming operation and in turn improve productivity.

Find out more Download PDF