Shell Group Plc carried out a survey of CIMA-trained staff, to understand how the qualification’s syllabus aligns with the company’s required competences in its growing business concerns.

In order to achieve this, Shell provided CIMA with the competences it needs for the various roles in its finance function. Out of 42 competences, the CIMA syllabus covered 27, at its basic level, which matched about 65 per cent of Shell’s expectations.

Key findings indicate that CIMA trained staff are more likely to be externally focused and quick acting. These are two of the five behaviours introduced in 2009 by Peter Vose, during his tenure as CEO of Shell.

In addition, CIMA trained staff are just as likely as the others to be commercially orientated. They also scored highly on ‘value simplicity’ and ‘goal orientated’.The Shell study therefore concluded that the CIMA syllabus could form a basis for delivering high value to its operations.

This is just one of the many case studies that have been carried out regarding the contribution of CIMA trained staff to the viability of businesses operations at all levels.

Management accountants are equipped with a wide variety of skills which makes them highly employable. Their role in the organisation puts them at the heart of the business. By helping people and businesses to succeed, CIMA is the first choice for employers.

CIMA, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, is the world’s largest and leading professional body of management accountants. CIMA supports over 227,000 members and students in 179 countries.

Measuringthe value of CIMA to Shell (http://www.fm-magazine.com/feature/depth/measuring-alignment)



CIMA is the best choice for a successful career


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epbpIQmU8aA



Phil Sanderson on working at Shell, and the CIMA qualification


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu_dYK4Nqlo

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Measuring alignment - Value of CIMA qualification to Shell

A survey of CIMA-trained staff at Shell sought to understand how the qualification’s syllabus maps to the company’s required competences. Lawrie Holmes reports on the findings
CIMA aims to deliver consistent qualification standards worldwide. Its syllabus requires every CIMA student to study the same papers and progress either by exemption (up to a certain level) and/or by examination

It is beneficial for CIMA to review its qualification within global organisations to audit its effectiveness around the world.

Energy giant Shell, known for its meticulous methods of identifying and developing talent, surveyed some of its CIMA-qualified staff and mapped the accountancy body’s syllabus to Shell’s required competences.

Given its position as one of the world’s largest integrated energy companies, Shell demands a large number of competences from its global workforce.

This is increasingly the case as it seeks to develop oil and gas resources in evermore challenging environments, such as deep water and the Arctic, as described by the group’s chairman, Jorma Ollila, in the company’s 2011 annual report.

The increasing global demand for secure, affordable and sustainable energy, which Ollila also referred to in the report, requires the group to have first-class financial discipline and governance.

As a result, management accountants are playing an important role in Shell’s development. In this context, Shell partnered with CIMA to understand how CIMA-qualified staff could help the group to meet its aims.

This research sought to discover the contribution of CIMA staff to the group’s business by mapping the accountancy body’s syllabus to Shell’s required competences. CIMA’s value proposition to employers is of providing financially qualified business leaders who help drive sustainable success.

Additionally, CIMA believe that the qualification, and the services that it provides to support the qualification, helps employers to attract people, develop their skills and retain staff.

Various case studies about the contribution of CIMA people to their organisations’ success have highlighted the value of CIMA. In order to map out the relevance of the CIMA syllabus, Shell provided CIMA with the competences it needs for the various roles in its finance function.

Each competence has five levels of attainment, which consider a combination of intellectual formation and practical application gained mostly through experience.

For a professional qualification to add value to its entry- level positions in its finance function, Shell expects the syllabus to primarily focus on intellectual formation.

To gain a shared understanding of the meaning of the competences, CIMA and Shell representatives engaged in a series of communications and meetings. First, email communications clarified the meanings of the various competences, and a face-to-face meeting was held to discuss an initial mapping. At this meeting, further clarity was provided to the CIMA team about the meanings of the competences. Subsequent mappings were carried out and discussed in detail with the Shell team during conference calls.

The mapping of competences and syllabus was deemed complete and signed off only when both teams were certain that CIMA understood the meaning of the competences in the manner in which Shell intended them to be understood.

The result of the mapping demonstrated that around 65 per cent of Shell professional competences were covered at the basic proficiency by the CIMA syllabus. Those not covered by CIMA were mostly taxation and a few audit/assurance competences, where the CIMA syllabus provided at least some of the competences required.

The conclusion reached was that the CIMA syllabus could form the basis of delivering value to Shell.

http://www.fm-magazine.com/feature/depth/measuring-alignment