AICPA and CIMA have spent quite a bit of resources on marketing the CGMA, but unless you personally know someone who has it, you may be on the fence.
Shannon Stith, CPA, CGMA, RP, is a senior planning associate in Boise, Idaho, with Boise Inc., a packaging and paper products company with plants across the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. An AICPA Leadership Academy graduate who serves as chair of the Champions Task Force for the 2013 Women’s Initiative Executive Committee, Shannon says her reasons for obtaining the CGMA were based on personal and professional goals.“I am a continuous learner influenced by my grandmother and uncle, both former teachers, who cultivated my drive for self-improvement and love of learning from a very young age,” she says. “The CGMA allowed me the chance to gain additional information through available resources to help my personal quest for knowledge to use in improving my professional and volunteer organizations.”[…]“Many companies either have operations across multiple countries or interact with companies outside of their home country,” says Shannon. “Given this interaction, it’s very important to have consistency and standards to compare professionals to best contribute to the success of the business. The CGMA ensures that there is a standard of excellence and quality in what we do, no matter the type of business or the country in which we are working.”
That’s the case [i.e. undecided] with Heather Zundel, CPA, director of Internal Audit for Presbyterian Healthcare Services (PHS) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. […] “I am unclear on exactly how this designation will help in my role at PHS, but I think that it may be a lack of education on my part,” she says.
“I know that I tested some very appealing tools that the AICPA was considering adding as an incentive to the CMGA, so I admit that I need to learn more.”