Driving innovation in management accounting | February 2019 SECRE TS OF LASTING SUCCESS Study of 100-year-old organisations reveals common traits Trust, opportunity, prosperity: 100 years and beyond Celebrating 100 years Join us at our Centenary Ball on 6 June 2019. Book now at CIMAglobal.com/ball100 2019 is a special year as CIMA celebrates its 100th birthday. It is a great time to reflect on our heritage, but also, more importantly, to focus on the future of the profession. This year will see the introduction of some great new initiatives and insight into the future of finance. Building on 100 years of heritage, we are in an excellent position to support and enable our members and students to ‘go beyond’ in this digital future. #CIMA100 © 2018 Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. All rights reserved. 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The Globe Design is a trademark owned by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and licensed to CIMA. 1809-5872 1809-5872_2_CIMA Centenary Ad_CMYK_V10.indd 1 06/11/2018 15:58 CONTENTS Longer summaries of this issue’s most in-depth articles can be found on page 64. 12 THE SECRETS OF 27 A COUNTERINTUITIVE LONG-LASTING TIP FOR GOAL SETTING ORGANISATIONS Here’s why maintaining the In this Q&A, researchers share status quo is more challenging their findings on the uncon- than setting a goal that ventional paths organisations requires a small amount of take to build sustainable progress. success. 28 BOUNCING BACK 16 UNLOCKING INSIGHTS FROM A PUBLIC WITH DATA ANALYTICS RELATIONS SETBACK Explore data analytics A marketing event goes wrong, 10 opportunities and challenges but long-term thinking by the for professional accountants in finance department helps business. mitigate the fallout. What did 5 THE VIEW FROM THE Build-a-Bear do right? PRESIDENT 18 MAKING FASTER Embracing the future requires DECISIONS WITH AI 32 NINTENDO AND THE a willingness to change, says Artificial intelligence can cut MAGIC OF NOSTALGIA CIMA President Steven through an abundance of data MARKETING Swientozielskyj, FCMA, CGMA. and show the root cause of The Japanese video game business performance. company is using nostalgia to 6 BRIDGING THE WORK- boost sales and build brand LEARNING DIVIDE 20 STRATEGIES FOR loyalty. Here are tips for The updated CGMA Compe- FINDING A GOOD incorporating nostalgia into tency Framework and MANAGER TO WORK FOR your marketing plans. professional qualification Managers are a major syllabus are designed to influence on job satisfaction. 36 SOLVE PROBLEMS 18 ensure students and members Here are tips on determining a WITH LINEAR remain employable in the manager’s characteristics PROGRAMMING digital future. before you start working for AND EXCEL them. Management accountants can 24 8 INFO ROUNDUP help their companies News, insights, and 24 STRETCHING YOUR determine how to make the intelligence. TEAM FROM most of limited resources in ENGAGEMENT TO myriad situations. This article 10 LUNAR NEW YEAR CREATIVITY shows a way. MASS MIGRATION How using these inventive The Lunar New Year brings a ways of gaining knowledge can mass of travel, as well as aid finance teams. business fluctuations, as workers and students journey 32 home for the holiday in China. 12 28 ON THE COVER: PHOTO BY NASA/REUTERS; ON THISPHOTO PAGE: BY SAURABH COUNTERCLOCKWISE DAS/AP IMAGES; FROM PHOTO TOP LEFT: BY SOPA PHOTO IMAGES/GETTY BY CHINA STRINGER NETWORK/REUTERS; IMAGES; PHOTO BY TARU HANAI/REUTERS; PHOTO BY ERIC REED/AP PHOTO IMAGES; BY JOE AMON/GETTY IMAGES February 2019 I FM MAGAZINE I 3 52 56 60 42 THINGS ARE LOOKING 52 KEY CONSIDERATIONS 56 EQUINE STUDIES FOR UP WITH THIS EXCEL FOR CROSS-BORDER EXECUTIVES FUNCTION M&A PLANNING Jude Jennison’s work uses 62 INSTITUTE NEWS When it comes to searching Financial, legal, social, and horses to reveal the default Get updates on issues affecting for dates in a spreadsheet, political factors play particu- behaviours of executive the profession and your LOOKUP may be the best larly important roles in leaders. membership. choice. cross-border transactions. 60 HOW TO WORK WITH 66 TIPS FOR RETAINING 48 MOVING UP THE SOMEONE YOU DISLIKE NEW SKILLS LEADERSHIP MATURITY Take these steps to cope when Remember what you’ve CHAIN you have an aversion to a learned in courses, workshops, Transpersonal leaders lead co-worker. and training sessions. beyond their ego. CIMA HONORARY OFFICERS United Kingdom The Helicon, One South Place. London EC2M 2RB Steven Swientozielskyj, FCMA, CGMA Amal Ratnayake, FCMA, CGMA Tel.: +44 (0)20 8849 2251 President, CIMA Deputy President, CIMA United States David Stanford, FCMA, CGMA Nick Jackson, FCMA, CGMA 220 Leigh Farm Road, Durham, NC 27707-8110 Immediate Past President, CIMA Vice-President, CIMA Tel.: +1 919-402-4500 www.aicpa-cima.com www.fm-magazine.com Publisher: Kim Nilsen Associate Publisher: Karin DeMarco CONTACT US ([email protected]) Associate Director, Business Development: Shreyas Managing Editor: Rocky S. 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To subscribe, contact: ©2019 Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication are subject to worldwide copyright protection, and reproduction in whole or in part, whether mechanical or electronic, is [email protected] expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. For FROM LEFT: IMAGE BY PHILIPPE INTRALIGI/IKON IMAGES; PHOTO BY JOHN JAMES/AP IMAGES; IMAGE BY PAITOONPATI/ISTOCK +44 01580 883844 permission to reprint FM magazine, email [email protected]. 4 I FM MAGAZINE I February 2019 THE VIEW FROM THE PRESIDENT STEVEN SWIENTOZIELSKYJ, FCMA, CGMA here is a reason our It is a privilege to be the TInstitute has existed for Institute’s president this year 100 years: Throughout — a year when we respect our we have adapted and great heritage and embrace our continued to lead the profes- future. It is not easy to define sion amid a century of seismic that future, but we can look at economic, business, and social how we have led change over change. the past 100 years to learn how Technology may have to engage with it. changed beyond all recognition I have experience of leading since CIMA was founded, but businesses though consider- business still faces many of the able change, and I know that fundamental challenges that not all decisions are popular. were testing companies in Retired US Army Gen. Eric 1919. These were the compa- Shinseki put it pretty well: “If nies that emerged in the early you don’t like change, you’re years of mass production at the 100 years and beyond going to like irrelevance even beginning of the 20th century. less.” And that is a key message Companies like Unilever, ‘It is a privilege to be the Institute’s as we move beyond 100 years, founded by our first president, embrace the fourth industrial Lord Leverhulme, and the president this year — a year when revolution, and celebrate. Austin Motor Company, we respect our great heritage A recent London Business founded by Sir Herbert Austin, School Review article looked at one of a number of early and embrace our future.’ why companies eventually vice-presidents. fail. It described how in the Today we talk about data mid-1920s, “leading” compa- analytics, robotisation, and AI. Then, Lord Lever- nies had an average life span of 90 years; today it is a hulme, writing in The Cost Accountant, described how mere 17 years. That said, as well as CIMA, there are a “the days of ‘rule of thumb’ are gone never to return”. number of organisations that have hit the 100-year CIMA has made huge strides since 1919 and its mark — a phenomenon covered on page 12 in this first exams in 1920. Along the journey, our first issue. international office opened in South Africa in 1955, To avoid following the way of companies like we were granted a royal charter in 1975, and in 2012 Kodak requires a willingness to change. Kodak’s we introduced the CGMA designation. We’ve camera business collapsed after 124 years in 2012. It changed from a British to an international to a had failed to adapt its business model in the face of global organisation. disruptive digital technology. Our Association with the American Institute of CIMA is steadfastly committed to equipping its CPAs now means that globally we empower more than members for the next 100 years — so that they can 667,000 members and students. In contrast, the seek and take opportunities and deliver prosperity Institute of Cost and Works Accountants, CIMA’s name across the world for themselves, their organisations, in 1919, had 37 members. The first woman to take and their communities. exams and become a member was Miriam Neale in I want to thank the members and students who 1921.