The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan

The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan was established in 1951 and was granted statutory status under the Cost and Management Accountants Act, 1966 for the regulation of the profession of Cost and Management Accounting. The institute was established with the name 'Pakistan Institute of Industrial Accountants (PIIA)' which was changed to ICMAP in 1976. It is considered as the oldest professional accountancy institute of Pakistan.

ICMAP is the sole provider of cost and management accounting education, training and professional certification in Pakistan.

ICMAP has over 3000 members, who hold positions in trade, commerce, industry and government in Pakistan and abroad. The active registered students number around 15000, which makes ICMAP one of the largest professional institutions in Pakistan. The institute has its head office in Karachi.

International Association

The Institute is a member of the following international accounting bodies:

• International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)
• International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
• Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA)
• South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA)

International and National Recognition

The accounting bodies that have recognised ICMAP qualification and granted exemptions to ICMAP Members or Qualified Students in different papers are:

• The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), UK
• The Society of Management Accountants (SMA), Canada
• Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), USA
• The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), UK
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP)
• Certified General Accountants Association (CGA), Canada
• National Institute of Accountants, Australia
• Association of International Accountants, UK
• The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), USA
• Pakistan Institute of Public Finance Accountants (PIPFA)
• The Institute of Corporate Secretaries of Pakistan (ICSP)

Role of the Members of ICMAP

More than 60% ICMAP Members occupy top to middle management positions in industry, financial institutions, consultancy firms etc., as Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors, Chairpersons, General Managers, Controllers, Directors of Finance, Company Secretaries, etc.

Role as Cost Auditors, Financial, Business and Management Consultants

The practicing members of ICMA Pakistan provide valuable services to Government, Public and Private Sector organizations including Financial Audit, Cost Audit, Financial Systems & ERP, Business Plans & Feasibility Study, Corporate Reporting and Analysis, Internal Controls and Financial Policies, Business & Management Consulting, Tax Consulting, Corporate Laws Consulting and other allied areas.

ICMA Pakistan has established "Technical Support and Practice Development Committee" to provide technical support to practicing members of the Institute.

Role of Management Accountants as defined by ICMAP

• Breaking down of cost/expenditure into functions and processes to facilitate cost control at each operational level.
• Developing standards for all operating areas and evaluating actuals with the standards.
• Analysing business and operational data.
• Suggesting alternatives to improve productivity.
• Identifying areas of wastages, leakages and inefficiencies or invisible losses.
• Ensuring optimum utilisation of available resources.
• Deploying informatic tools for a management information system.
• Contributing to Total Quality Management (TQM).
• Assisting in decision-making process.
• Providing Strategic Decision Makers.

Publication

Cost accounting and audit

• Cost Accounting Guideline 1 (the first cost accounting standard issued by the Institute)
• Cost Audit Handbook

Management Accountant

The ICMAP publishes a bi-monthly journal Management Accountant which has a circulation of around 14,000 copies. The Institute has published research-based articles on each sector of the economy.