AICPA & CIMA DACH Engagement Conference

We are delighted to announce that the annual meeting of the Association's Board of Directors will be taking place at the same time and we happily extend an invitation to our members and CGMA candidates to meet with them.

This unique opportunity will afford you the chance to hear firsthand what the Association has planned and what that can mean for you and the wider finance industry.

The agenda will include a Bavarian-style Networking Dinner on the evening of 5 November followed by a full day of insightful keynote speeches and panel discussions on 6 November.

Agenda:

05.11.2023 Sunday

19:00 – 23:00 - Networking Dinner: "Münchner Zimmer", Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, Platzl 9, 80331 München, Germany

06.11.2023 Monday

08:30 – 09:00 - Registration

09:00 – 09:10 – Welcome Speech: Jakub Bejnarowicz, Regional Director - Europe, AICPA & CIMA

09:10 – 09:15 – Opening Remarks: Okorie Ramsey, Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and AICPA

09:15 – 09:45 – Keynote Speech: Future of the profession: Leading transformation and growth through uncertainty; Barry C. Melancon, CPA, CGMA, President & CEO, AICPA & CIMA and Andrew Harding FCMA CGMA, Chief Executive - Management Accounting, AICPA & CIMA (joint presentation)

09:45 – 10:00 - Q&A

10:00 – 10:30 – Coffee Break

10:30 – 10:50 – Keynote Speech: Ash Noah, CPA, FCMA, CGMA, VP & Managing Director Management Accounting & ESG, AICPA & CIMA

• Topic: Future of the CGMA Professional Qualification updated with the research identified through a global research study Future of Finance 2.0.

10:50 – 11:40 – panel discussion: The Role of Finance and the Shift towards Value Creation

ESG and Sustainability require Finance professionals to make four big shifts and navigate four new horizons in time, space, connections and language.

Finance professionals must deploy new technologies, data and analytics and 21st century human skills to enable these shifts to occur.

Join Ash Noah and panelists, who will discuss these horizon-crossing imperatives and how organizations can successfully make them.

Learning objectives:

• Learn about the 4 major shifts that are being demanded to be made.
• Learn about the technologies and tools that will enable the shifts.
• Understand the new horizons introduced by ESG and Sustainability.

Moderator: Ash Noah, CPA, FCMA, CGMA
Panelists:

• Utz Schaeffer, Otto Beischeim School of Management (WHU) - Director of the Institute of Management and Controlling
• Sarah Gosh, FCMA, CGMA Co-Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and CIMA President
• Raymond Gann, ACMA, CGMA Founding Member of the Accountants Group in Germany
• Deniz Alkan, Associate Partner, Page Executive

11:40 – 11:50 – Q&A

11:50 – 12:00 - Closing remarks: Sarah Ghosh, Co-Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and CIMA President

12:00 – 13:30 – Lunch Break

13:30 – 13:40 – Opening remarks: Key activities and future development of the cooperation with the Association; Christian Schultz, Bavarian Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany (BCCG)

13:40 – 14:00 – Keynote speech: Objectives and initiatives engaging CIMA Advocates in Europe; Alix Lefort, Chair of the Western Europe Area Committee

14:00 – 15:00 – Roundtable Workshop: exchange experiences and observations about The 4 Big Shifts.

15:00 - 18:00 - Break

18:00 - 20:00 - Evening Reception & Networking

Location

Bayerischer Hof, Promenadepl. 2-6, 80333 München, Germany

Dinner location for 5 November: "Münchner Zimmer", Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, Platzl 9, 80331 München, Germany

Partners

Keynote Speakers

Barry Melancon
Barry C. Melancon is the CEO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the most influential body of professional accountants in the world with 650,000 members and students. Formed in 2017, it combines the strengths of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), which Melancon also leads as President & CEO.

Melancon joined the AICPA in 1995 when he was 37 years old, and is now the longest serving CEO in the organization’s 129-year history. Under his tenure, the AICPA has grown to become the largest membership body of CPAs in the world and has spearheaded a number of initiatives to benefit not only the profession, but also investors, business owners, lenders and the general public. These include audit quality centers; private company reporting standards; eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL); the computerized CPA exam; and two consumer financial literacy education programs.

Under Melancon’s leadership in 2011, the AICPA formed a joint venture with CIMA to elevate management accounting globally. They created the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation for those professionals who meet the highest benchmark of rigor and quality. Today, approximately 150,000 professionals hold the CGMA designation worldwide. Building on this success, AICPA and CIMA members in June 2016 voted to evolve the joint venture into the Association. Its mission is to drive a dynamic accounting profession around the world that powers trust, opportunity and prosperity. Melancon was named the Association’s first CEO. Melancon is also Global Chairman of the Board of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), Chairman of XBRL-US, and a founding and current board member of both the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA) and the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ). He is a founding and current board member of the Government Transformation Initiative, serves on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, and is a member of the delegation to the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). During 2007-2008, Melancon served on the U.S. Department of the Treasury Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession.

Melancon has testified for the profession before Congress numerous times, has been honored with many awards, including the 2011 National Association Executive of the Year.

Prior to joining the AICPA, Melancon served for eight years as Executive Director of the Society of Louisiana CPAs. He began his accounting career in 1979 at a small CPA firm in Louisiana. In 1984, he was elected a firm partner. Melancon graduated in 1978 from Nicholls State University in Louisiana, majoring in accounting with a minor in government. He also earned an MBA in 1983 from Nicholls State University and subsequently served as an adjunct professor of accounting at his alma mater for four years. He was also awarded his alma mater’s first and only Honorary Doctorate of Commerce in 2008.

Andrew Harding
Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA Chief Executive, Management Accounting Andrew is the Chief Executive - Management Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. He is also the Secretary General of CIMA. Andrew leads all Management Accounting activities for the Association, developing plans and strategies, managing relationships and delivering results for members. Andrew is a Deloitte alumnus, having started his career in the mid-1980s as a trainee auditor. He progressed into training and development from there. He began professional body work in 1991 and has over 25 years experience in senior leadership roles. He joined CIMA in 2009, originally as Executive Director for Global Markets, and became Managing Director in 2011—a position he held until 2016.

Andrew was born in London. He holds an MBA from Henley Business School at the University of Reading, and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Bristol.

Okorie L. Ramsey
Okorie L. Ramsey, CPA, CGMA, PMP, NADC.CD, is the Chair of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (Association).

Throughout his career, Ramsey has served in several AICPA volunteer roles: the AICPA Board of Directors, the Association Board of Directors, the AICPA and Association Audit and Finance Committee Chair, the AICPA Investments Committee and AICPA Council.

He is a Lifetime member of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) and won NABA’s Inaugural Core Values award in 2022.

Ramsey is married and has two children. His interests include family time, music, investing, and mentoring young people and professionals to support them in reaching their full potential.

Ash Noah
In this position, Ash leads the Research, Examinations and Learning product development for the Management Accounting Unit. Ash works closely with CFOs and Business Finance Leaders globally, identifying the trends that are impacting practitioners, businesses and the profession in order to ensure that the Association's Finance Competency Framework, Syllabus, Examinations and Learning solutions remain effective and are producing competencies to operate and remain relevant in the practice of Business Finance. Ash was formerly the CFO of the International Unit of TNT, A global express logistics provider and has led finance transformation in teams across 45 countries. He is a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), licensed US CPA and member of the American Institute of CPA's (AICPA). He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Ash has a passion for flying and is an avid aviator.

Sarah Ghosh
Sarah is the second successive woman President of CIMA and Co-Chair of the Association, and follows on from Melanie J. Kanaka FCMA, CGMA. She became a CIMA member in 1995 and obtained her fellowship in 2013. Over the past 15 years, she has held various leadership positions with an emphasis on member engagement and events planning. Sarah served as a member of CIMA's U.K. Regional Board, and as Chair of CIMA's Central Southern Board and the U.K. Network Panel. In 2017, Sarah joined CIMA Council, and a year later became a member of the Board of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA & CIMA.Sarah is a proven finance leader with expertise in digital transformation and experience gained in multinational organisations, SMEs, and start-ups.