The history of the education of Cost and Management Accounting is evident from the fact that earlier in our region the Cost Accounting had a dominant emphasis on cost elements, its analysis and rationalisation. Therefore, need was realised to inject the idea of using costing information for managerial and strategic purposes.
In early 1940s, Mr Muhammad Shoaib, visualised the need for organised cost and management accounting profession in the British India. He was the founder of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India in Calcutta. This was a precious gift by a Muslim to Indians. He later, became the Finance Minister of Pakistan.
In Pakistan Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP) having legal status under the legislature. Institute was established in 1951 as the Institute of Industrial Accountants and has 58 years prestigious history of serving the business community. The institute received its Charter in 1966 by the Parliament.
It was renamed as, The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan under the Cost and Management Act 1966.The objective of passing the act was to regulate the profession on sound basis, produce suitably qualified Cost and Management Accountants to serve the economy of Pakistan and to lay sound and solid foundation of a competitive and prosperous Pakistan.
It has around 4000 qualified Associate and Fellow Members and today the total number of enrolled active students is 15000. It has been offering formal education to the students in various important cities of Pakistan. In addition to that the Distance-Learning Education is also being offered through its Internet Based Distance Learning Programme (IBDLP) and Correspondence Course, which provides education opportunity by providing quality professional education to all Pakistani students who wish to realise their desires and fulfill their potential.
In fact it is serving as a first Open Institute in Pakistan for imparting the professional education in the discipline of Cost and Management. The Management Accountants produced by the Institute have met the requirements of the industry and the business over the years, because we trained them to turn knowledge into value addition.
Therefore, Institute has to take care in selection of students during the admissions. Entry into the Cost and Management Accountant profession requires passing entry test, which has been outsourced and is held throughout Pakistan on competitive merit basis. Exemption from entry test is for First Class Graduates, to encourage them to commence their studies.
The study pragramme of ICMAP is divided into six stages, namely: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5 and Stage 6. First three stages consist of four courses of study, while the last three stages consist of three subjects each. The total numbers of courses to be studied during entire study programme are twenty one (21) in all.
The Institute's Head Office is based in Karachi and has fourteen centres in all major cities of Pakistan. Overseas examination is also being conducted at Saudi Arabia, UAE and Canada (subject to availability of students). The above education pattern is in accordance with the requirements of international standards setting professional bodies, such as International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
The syllabus of the Institute is upgraded on regular basis. It is competitive with the syllabi of other comparable professional bodies in Pakistan, in the region and in the world. The syllabus is also responsive to the needs of the employer in Pakistan. Most importantly, the syllabus is designed and adjusted keeping in view the needs of the students.
It is also responsive to the changes taking place in the sphere of information technology (IT) and other external factors influencing the way business is done. Since its inception, it has been our endeavor to turn and develop students into accomplished professionals. The first step is the screening process at entry point.
The second one is the processing through quality teaching, extensive presentations by the students throughout their span of learning at ICMAP, arranging seminars on subjects of contemporary interest, holding of students Conferences and quality oriented external examination system. Continue improvements to achieve higher quality standards to serve the ever-growing needs of the society at home and abroad.
The role of Cost and Management Accountants is very unique and commendable. They help in increasing productivity, avoid wastages, rationalise cost structure, and help in adding or dropping products or market outlets, machines and money. They represent" products differentiated".
They introduce productivity measurement and gain sharing schemes. They help in promoting the use of productivity sharing agreements (PSA). The implementation of all this, enables a company to become self-financing and anti-inflationary. They also serve in service sector and richly contributing to the noble cause of three Es, namely Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy.
Some of the Cost and Management Accountants are serving in teaching field through teaching in universities and academic institutions. Some are practising as Cost Consultants and as Cost Auditor. The secret of doing all such contribution, professional help and demonstration of excellence and competency of Cost and Management Accountants is because; they are fully equipped with proper quality education of the profession and rigorous field exposure of real life to their credit.
The Cost and Management Accountants have varied and versatile scope to serve Pakistan. Almost every sector demands their services and contribution; it can be agriculture, service or likewise many more. However, they can most effectively contribute to Industrial and Mining sectors in producing goods at economic cost level. They compute cost, analyse it and help in developing Cost Centers and Profit Centers.
In the scenario of global changes in business, cost accounting, management, use of technology in business, competence and the competition, the crying need of today's Pakistan is to increase efficiency and productivity in agriculture, industry, and the services sector, achieve optimisation in use of manpower, synergism of the efforts for obtaining 2+2+5 effect and generation of data to serve as decision support system.
Therefore, improvement, innovation, creativity and changes in our syllabus and methods of teaching in line with the vision and mission of Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan, has been our regular practice.
Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan is a founder member of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), New York, International Accounting Standards Committee (IASB) London, Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA), Kuala Lumpur and South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), New Delhi. It enjoys unique position of international linkages. In almost all continents of the World, its members are serving in a dedicated and meritorious manner.
Till the enactment of the Companies Ordinance 1984, it was not legally obligatory for process-oriented companies to maintain cost accounting records. The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan launched a movement to get the above enactment passed.
Our Institute is extending full assistance in framing Cost Accounting Records Rules and the Federal Government has notified these rules for application to vegetable ghee, sugar, cement, fertiliser, thermal energy, petroleum refining natural gas and polyester fiber industry.
The process in Government machinery is time taking. We are persuading the Government, Business and Industry to respond positively in this direction. Section 258 of Pakistan needs specialists in various fields. Cross border transactions are going to push several inefficient industries out of the scene. Survival of business will not be on cost plus concept but on target costing concept.
In order to meet the challenges ahead, and the competitive wave which WTO is going to unleash, Cost and Management Accountant is the specialist in his area who can help businesses to reduce costs, optimise the use of inputs, synergies the same and enable business to produce goods and services at affordable prices with quality orientation for the benefit of the consumers.
In this context, ICMAP is justifiably proud of its achievements in imparting knowledge and developing professional skills in our students, laced with enviable personality traits. The institute is positively responding to the situations by changing its syllabus, introducing field experience orientation, updating its members, producing high quality products and is productively engaged in a positive response to the emerging challenges.
For further details please visit: www.icmap.com.pk
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