CMA International Management Accounting Conference 2013 to kick off next week

Cost and Management Accounting (CMA), the national professional management accounting body incorporated by an Act of Parliament No. 23 of 2009 will be focusing on the theme ‘Sustainable value creation through cost efficiency’ on 18 and 19 June 2013, at the Cinnamon Lakeside, in order to drive the importance of proper cost and management accounting in both the public and private sector which is a prerequisite for sustainable value creation in the economy.  

In the creation of sustainable value, costing and pricing are of prime importance, and will have an impact on the society. This will result in the consumer been benefited by obtaining their goods and services at a fair price without having to pay for the inefficiencies of the manufacturers or service providers.  

Cost accounting will improve the efficiency and performance of the industrial and services sector. In the South Asian Region of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, CMA is well established and Government Regulations have been brought in for companies to maintain cost accounting records in specified sectors and also to carry out a cost audit specifically undertaken by cost accountants.

This provides regulators a reliable mechanism to ensure that the costing properly reflects the price of a product and that the consumers are not paying for inefficiencies and wastages. The management have invited speakers from the South Asian Region India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan and will be able to get their experiences which could greatly benefit Sri Lanka and the Region.

The CMA International Management Accounting Conference will follow the SAFA Board meeting hosted by CMA Sri Lanka on 17 June, when all members from the South Asian countries will be present. SAFA was founded in 1984 and CMA is proud to have a President who was the Founder Signatory to this document and the first Vice President of SAFA and the second President of SAFA.      

The conference topics will cover sectors that need immediate attention and where the application of cost and management accounting regulations and standards will enhance the efficiency and prevent wastages and inefficiencies to provide a fair price to the consumers thereby creating sustainable value to the economy.

The conference will discuss sectors that have an impact on the society such as the electricity pricing, together with cost and management accounting strategies to create sustainable value and growth. CMA said that they are confident that eminent speakers from their region will  focus on these topics and give of their experiences in their respective countries.     

The CMA International Management Accounting Conference will provide participants with valuable inputs which will certainly enable them to add value to their professional competencies and also will highlight the importance of the management accounting profession in creating sustainable value through cost efficiency.

Areas to be covered include: the inaugural session; SAFA role in regional sustainability and cost efficiency, management accountants role in achieving cost efficiency, sustainable economic growth through  cost efficiency, sustainable value creation through cost efficiency in the public sector, the role of professional accountants in business in sustainable value creation.

Achieving sustainable cost efficiency in the electricity power industry in South Asia include: costing and pricing in the electricity power industry as per mandatory cost accounting in records in India and Pakistan; costing and pricing of electricity in Sri Lanka; achieving sustainable cost efficiency in the electricity power industry in Sri Lanka; enabling cost and management tools for sustainable value creation; cost management in sustainability performance; how management accountants can support investor needs of ESG information and integrated and sustainability reporting.

Sustainable cost competitiveness in industry include: sustainable cost competitiveness in the apparel industry; sustainable cost competitiveness in the tea plantation industry; production efficiency and cost competitiveness in the cement industry. Management accounting strategies for sustainable growth include: strategic risk management in achieving sustainable growth; are sustainability strategies an extra cost; mergers and acquisitions a strategy for sustainable growth; growth through performance based remuneration; hedging as a risk management strategy in the petroleum industry.