Institute of Management Accountants

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Institute of Management Accountants

• SJSU Student Chapter
• September 11, 2007

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Who we are

• Robert Beasley
• Manager of Financial Planning Analysis, Micrel
  Semiconductor
• SJSU Alumnus (Accounting), SCU MBA
• Member of IMA since 03
• President, Peninsula-Palo Alto Chapter since June
  2006
• David Hughes, CMA
• Cost Accounting Manager at Omnicell
• On parent chapter board as Student Chapter
  Liaison
• Member of IMA since 94

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Institute of Management Accountants

• Mission
• To provide a dynamic forum for management
  accounting and finance professionals to develop
  and advance their careers through certification,
  research and practice development, education,
  networking, and the advocacy of the highest
  ethical and professional practices.
• Who we are and what we do
• World's leading organization dedicated to
  empowering management accounting and finance
  professionals to drive business performance.
• Network of nearly 65K professionals nation-wide
• Sponsorship of Certified Management Accountant
  (CMA) program

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Institute of Management Accountants

• Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation
• Provides corporate management and individual
  members with an objective measure of knowledge
  and competence in the field of management
  accounting.
• The CMA is an invaluable credential for
  professional advancement and for broadening
  professional skills and perspective.
• Exam topics include economics, business finance,
  situational analysis, and decision making with a
  strong emphasis on ethics.
• While the CMA certification isnt required for
  IMA members, professional certification is the
  most effective way for our Members to concretely
  demonstrate and maintain the highest standard of
  relevant knowledge and skills.

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IMA Peninsula-Palo Alto Chapter

• Sponsor of SJSU student chapter
• In existence for 52 years
• 214 members
• One of seven chapters in the Bay Area
• Three main educational and networking offerings
  to the membership
• Technical sessions/dinners (six times/year)
• Financial Management Network DVD viewing and
  discussion (eleven times/year)
• Excel users group (six times/year)

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IMA Peninsula-Palo Alto Chapter

• Activities all are welcome to attend
• Monthly tech sessions
• Upcoming sessions Tuesdays, 6 PM to 9-930 PM
• September 18th Fraud Prevention
• October 16th Real Estate Panel
• November 13 Tax Updates
• Three course dinner, chance to network, hear an
  interesting speaker and topic
• Many recruiters and potential hiring managers
  attend
• Held at Michaels at Shoreline Restaurant, 2960 N
  Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View
• For more details, visit www.ima-pa.imanet.org

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IMA Peninsula-Palo Alto Chapter

• Activities all are welcome to attend
  (continued)
• Financial Management Network DVD viewing and
  discussion
• Topics in Finance, Accounting, Taxation,
  Management, Economics
• Upcoming sessions (First Saturdays, 9 AM to 1 PM)
• Next sessions on October 6th and November 3rd
• Share workplace experiences, learn from others
• For more details, visit www.ima-pa.imanet.org

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IMA Peninsula-Palo Alto Chapter

• Activities all are welcome to attend
  (continued)
• Excel Users Group
• Six part Excel training session
• Pivot Tables (Sept 15th)
• Lookup Match Index Functions (Nov 17th)
• Macros VBA (Jan 19th)
• Graphs and Charts (Mar 15th)
• IF Commands Conditional Sums (May 17th)
• Excel 2007 (Jul 19th)
• Credential MS Excel User, Expert
• Networking as part of break-out sessions, users
  group
• Held at Dinahs Garden Hotel, 4261 El Camino
  Real, Palo Alto
• For more details, visit www.excelmasters.org

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IMA Peninsula-Palo Alto Chapter

• Conclusion
• Were here to help
• You are welcome to our events
• Dont overlook importance of networking
• Our membership a ton of career experience
• CMA credential
• Best time to take the test is now
• We would like to sponsor a study group
• Dont forget us after graduation
• Networking is a lifelong practice
• Keep up on professional trends and topics,
  especially those outside of immediate day to day
  exposure

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Bonus Material Resume Advice

• The basics
• Spelling, consistent margins and fonts yes,
  they are important.
• Be consistent with periods (.), use them or don't
  use them.  Also, be aware of grammar.  Use the
  proper tense (past or present).
• Bullet point summary of experience and
  accomplishments on top , followed by most recent
  education , experience , then software skills.
• Include month and year of employment. By just
  disclosing the year it may lead the employer to
  think you are hiding something

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Bonus Material Resume Advice

• The basics (continued)
• Write it as you would say it Say out loud what
  is written
• Don't assume the employer will know you have
  experience with a specific skill, include it on
  your resume
• Write tight employ economy of words
• No paragraphs (too long to read by impatient
  reviewers)
• Bullet points, limit each to one sentence
• Picture your resumes in a pack of 25 yours is
  15

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Bonus Material Resume Advice
 
 

• The basics (continued)
• Use action words Developed, formulated,
  directed, organized, implemented, performed,
  constructed, initiated,
• Take the time to "custom" format your resume to
  each position you submit it to.
• NEVER put your picture on your resume (don't
  laugh, it happens), and never put reasons for
  leaving, hobbies, or pay rates. Keep it
  professional.
• If you have work experience, a two page resume
  can be acceptable however, if you don't have
  work experience then it should not exceed one
  page.

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Resume advice

• CAR principle Challenge, Action, Result
• Challenge
• Description of obstacle
• Action
• What you did individually or as part of team to
  meet challenge or obstacle
• Result
• Description of result from taking action,
  benefits, how it made things better

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Resume advice

• CAR Example 1 Class project
• Auditing 221 Fall 2007 Semester
• Take one
• Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirement project.
• Take two
• To obtain insights for paper on compliance with
  Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, organized four
  informational interviews with local controllers
  and CFOs, gaining an understanding of compliance
  issues and received recognition of findings.

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Resume advice

• CAR Example 2 Part time job
• Home Town Paper, 2004-06, Deliveries
• Take one
• Delivered papers twice a week.
• Take two
• To meet deadlines while providing top-level
  customer service, re-organized assigned delivery
  sequence, resulting in a reduction of cycle time
  from four to two hours and leading to an
  expansion of route from 60 to 110 locations.

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Resume advice

• Final thoughts
• The resume is a representation of you
• Time invested in fine-tuning a resume is time
  well spent
• Avoid resume blasting services
• Dont overlook importance of networking, meeting
  people, informational interviews
• Everyone loves to give advice seek it out, form
  a bond
• Be eager to learn
• Attitude is everything
• Good luck