The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) will hold its first 2023 Council meeting on the 18th and 19th of January, in Cape Town, South Africa.

This will also be the first time that Africa hosts the internationally attended meeting of CIMA’s global governing body.

CIMA is the world’s largest professional body of management accountants and, together with the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), is a founding member of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing just under 700,000 AIPCA and CIMA members, candidates and engaged professionals across the world.

During the two-day meeting, accounting, finance, and business leaders based in the USA, UK, Canada, Europe, Asia Pacific, South Asia and Africa will meet in person.

They will use the meeting to develop their understanding of challenges and opportunities for the accounting profession in Africa, and develop strategies to guide the profession globally in its mission to drive trust, opportunity and prosperity for individuals, organisations, economies, and society as a whole.

Melanie J. Kanaka, FCMA, CGMA, CIMA President and Co-Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA & CIMA, says: “We are delighted to be hosting our first-ever CIMA Council on the African continent, and specifically Cape Town, a city of opportunity for individuals and businesses.”

She continues: “Over the last few years, the accounting and finance profession demonstrated its unique and powerful capacity to adapt and thrive and guide businesses and economies through ongoing disruption and uncertainty.

“We are gathering in South Africa to bring together leaders from all over the world to discuss the role the accounting and finance profession has in driving prosperity in Africa and globally.

“Our time will be spent sharing insights and contributing to a profession-wide action plan to address key areas such as digital transformation; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); environmental, societal and governance (ESG) challenges; and the attraction of future generations of accountants and finance professionals.”

Alongside the CIMA Council meeting, AICPA & CIMA will host additional events in Johannesburg and Cape Town for CIMA members, CGMA candidates, business leaders, employers, and partners in South Africa, including the ESG: Implications on business and finance event and a roundtable on the future of the profession with accounting firms.