Blogs

IMA26 Early Bird Rates

By Trent Kramer posted 4 days ago
The IMA recently announced early bird rates for their biggest conference of the year in Tampa. Members can save $200 through April 17th. Additional details are coming to shape for attendees, sponsors and exhibitors alike. Discounts are also available for the hotel and travel accommodations. Check it out here . Ready to return? Early bird rates start now. You're part of what makes IMA conferences unforgettable. The personal connections, the meaningful conversations, the hands-on learning that challenges and inspires you: This is what it truly means to be a member of the IMA community. Early bird pricing starts now for ...

Agent Mode High Praise from Mr. Excel Himself

By Trent Kramer posted 5 days ago
Mr. Excel Bill Jelen recently wrote an article for Strategic Finance on the new AI frontier within Excel. He had lots of good things to say about the new Agent Mode. Below is part of his commentary. Mr. Excel also provided four case studies in his full write-up. Excel Agent Mode: The Boldest AI Play Yet from Microsoft https://www.imatoday.org/learn/article/excel-agent-mode-the-boldest-ai-play-yet-from-microsof Agent Mode in Excel reasons through problems, builds solutions, fixes errors, and explains every step along the way. On the eve of Excel’s 40th anniversary, Microsoft introduced Agent Mode for Excel. Although I am a 40-year spreadsheet ...

11 Months in 2025: AI Adoption — FOMO, Hype, or a New Paradigm?

By Ilya Ilienko posted 12-20-2025
11 Months in 2025: AI Adoption — FOMO, Hype, or a New Paradigm? B y Ilya Ilienko, MBA, CMA, CPA, CFO History and Parallels Let's not ignore current realities and rush to buy in. Time constraint is one of the most well-recognized manipulation tools and sales tactics out there. Create urgency, scare people into making a decision and the herd mentality follows. Some examples of similar FOMO events have included the: 2000 Dot-Com bubble , 2008 real estate bubble , hyped IPOs, similar FOMO-driven crypto coin launches, and so on. The time will come, but we must recognize what AI is today — and what it is not yet. Two Sides of the ...

A Special Invitation to All IMA Members Worldwide - IMA Ireland Chapter

By Himanshu Sharma posted 12-13-2025
If you've ever wanted to understand Internal Audit from someone who has lived it, shaped it, and delivered it across global organisations - this is your moment . The IMA Ireland Chapter is excited to invite all CMA members around the world , all CMA candidates, and of course our local members here in Ireland, to an unmissable learning session with Hussein Jaber - a seasoned professional with 14+ years of deep experience in Internal Audit, Risk Advisory, Governance, and Compliance, working across EY, KPMG, PwC, and leading public and private sector organisations. This isn't just another webinar. This is your year-end ...

IMA26 Tampa Discounted Rates

By Trent Kramer posted 11-18-2025
The IMA's biggest event of the year is coming to Tampa, Florida in June 2026. These are memorable experiences from both a learning and networking perspective. Register before December 31st and save up to $350. Additional information is available here: https://web.cvent.com/event/acfd5bf5-c7bc-4cc1-9dcd-cdb677391594/summary

Anthropic AI to Pay $1.5 Billion for Pirated Books and Creative Content.

By Ilya Ilienko posted 11-17-2025
🚨 # ClassAction suit comes to a decision‼️ SETTLEMENT: Anthropic must 𝐩𝐚𝐲 $𝟏.𝟓 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 . . . Billion❕ authors allege ~half a million books had been pirated to train its chatbots. Its possible that # Anthropic 🆚 # authors will go to trial if the settlement is not accepted. ➡️ Settlement would creative content producers abt $𝟯,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸. ➡️ Thus far there are ~𝟱𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 books on the list pirated by Anthropic. Numbers may go up. Can you say '𝙋𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙀𝘿𝙀𝙉𝙏'❔❓ Read below 👇 Anthropic AI to Pay $1.5 Billion for Pirated Books and Creative Content. Check Below if Your Work is Included in the Settlement. ...

Ten Myths Draining Your Company’s Profitability Without You Even Knowing

By Pedro San Martin posted 10-15-2025
A Conversation That Changed Everything “Are you seriously telling me our top-selling product is costing us money?” the CFO of a mid-size industrial company in Monterrey asked. He wasn’t shocked, but he was clearly unsettled. Our customer-profitability analysis had just revealed that 27% of his revenue came from products with negative margins. What really got to him was not the numbers themselves, but what they meant. He now had to make tough decisions, have difficult conversations, and question beliefs that had been in place for years. After two decades working with executive teams across Latin America, I’ve learned that the biggest problems for companies ...

Unfortunate News - Boz Bostrom Passed Away

By Trent Kramer posted 10-11-2025
It is with a heavy heart finding out that Boz Bostrom passed away on Thursday, October 9th. This followed a recent health struggle, of which he publicly shared. Boz was a larger-than-life advocate for our profession, his students and was an all-around great guy. You might recognize his trademark "Accounting" shirt and smile. Whether hanging out or wearing a suit, his Accounting Superman cape was center stage or just under the surface. Boz lived and breathed his passion for Accounting/Finance with a deep caring for those who were lucky enough to know him. He inspired students just being introduced to the fundamentals all the way up to professionals achieving ...

Are Your Tariffs Creating Strategic Value — or Just Adding Noise?

By Pedro San Martin posted 09-13-2025
How to visualize, model, and mobilize your global operations before volatility strikes again by Pedro San Martín, Principal at Asher PwC Interamericas This week, I sat down with the executive team of a global logistics firm facing mounting friction in their international operations. The CFO leaned forward, clearly exasperated: "How are we supposed to plan if the game changes every quarter?" His question isn’t an exaggeration. In just a few months, their operations faced new tariffs in three countries, customs delays in Asia, and a talent shortage spanning Central America and Eastern Europe. I've heard similar stories across industries. ...

IMA Virtual Women's Leadership Summit 9/25/25

By Trent Kramer posted 09-08-2025
The IMA Virtual Women's Leadership Summit is approaching on Thursday, September 25th. This goes from 9am CST to 3pm CST. Attendees can earn up to five CPE. A discounted registration fee is available through Friday (9/12) and then slightly increases thereafter. Additional info is available here: https://web.cvent.com/event/9a250d4c-eae5-45a3-a3cc-bea263ce18de/summary

When the Report Doesn’t Report: Communicating with Impact in Cost and Profitability Analytics

By Pedro San Martin posted 08-30-2025
When the Report Doesn’t Report: Communicating with Impact in Cost and Profitability Analytics Intro Picture this: I’m sitting in a boardroom with the CFO of a leading hospital group in Latin America. We’re poring over a quarterly report on oncology treatment costs, segmented by insurance type and patient profile. The document is dense with data—charts, tables, percentages. But the room is silent, save for the faint tick-tock of a wall clock. After what feels like an eternity, the CFO looks up and says, “Pedro, I don’t get it. There are numbers everywhere, but what’s the point ?” That moment hit me hard. It wasn’t about the data being ...

Follow the PM-SIG on LinkedIn

By Hessel H. Brouwer posted 08-17-2025
Dear PM-SIG members and followers. Please follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ima-performance-management-shared-interest-group You can help us reach a larger audience and grow our community by commenting, liking and sharing our posts. Thank you! Hessel

Revamped IMA Competency Framework

By Trent Kramer posted 07-31-2025
The IMA recently released their latest and greatest competency framework. This expands upon the key hallmarks previously outlined for our ever-evolving profession. Having first been established in 2016, the pace of change makes it vital for continuous education. A deeper dive, including a nine page white paper, is available here: https://www.imanet.org/en/Career-Resources/Competency-Framework

IMA's Financial and Managerial Accounting Associate (FMAA) Certification

By Trent Kramer posted 07-31-2025
Our chapter just had its first recipient of the FMAA certification. It was awarded to Marie Saunders. She also happens to be a CMA holder and a long-standing Minneapolis member. This is a relatively new certification offered by the Institute of Management Accountants. It is a one-and-done exam if that helps. With a focus on the five competencies below. That's an extra special accomplishment being among the first testing groups worldwide to achieve this. Thanks for being a pioneer on this front and being an ambassador for our chapter. Congrats Marie! Additional information about the FMAA certification and eligibility is available here: ...

Why CFOs Can't Delegate Their Voice to an Algorithm

By Pedro San Martin posted 07-18-2025
Why CFOs Can't Delegate Their Voice to an Algorithm Pedro San Martín — Principal at Asher PwC Interamericas The quarterly board meeting was going smoothly. Clean slides, solid margins, targets met. Then an independent director cut through the comfortable silence: "What actually changed in customer behavior to explain this sudden improvement?" The room went quiet. Our CFO's report was full of the usual suspects—"operational efficiency," "process optimization"—but it didn't answer the real question. It couldn't, because it had been written by a machine. The CEO leaned over and whispered what we were all thinking: "This was auto-generated, ...

IMA Minneapolis Chapter Election Results 2025-2026

By Trent Kramer posted 06-13-2025
Below are the results for the IMA Minneapolis Chapter 2025-2026 elections: President – Ashley Davis, CMA, CSCA, FPA Vice President of Engagement – James Powers, CMA Vice President of Communications – Trent Kramer, CMA, CPA, CSCA Treasurer – Todd Stenson, CPA Director of Education – Andrew Galas, MBA Director of Events – Ryan Chase, CMA, CSCA Secretary – Willy Arevalo, CMA A special thanks to Dave, Lianne and Warda for their contributions over the years (opted not to seek re-election). These board roles are effective with July 1st. Looking forward to another great year. Thanks for being a ...

From Waste to Worth: Why Capacity Management Is the Missing Link in Profitability Models

By Pedro San Martin posted 06-11-2025
From Waste to Worth: Why Capacity Management Is the Missing Link in Profitability Models By Pedro San Martín, Principal at Asher | PwC Interamericas It started with a blank stare... In a steering committee meeting at a manufacturing conglomerate in Monterrey, I asked: "What’s your current capacity utilization rate?" The COO blinked. “Are we talking machines, people, or plants?” That single question exposed a blind spot I’ve seen across industries—from healthcare in Bogotá to logistics in Panama: companies are building profitability models without first understanding their capacity baseline. It's like trying to optimize a race car's fuel efficiency ...

Unmasking the True Cost of Business Ignorance

By Pedro San Martin posted 06-06-2025
When Your Dashboard Hides the Storm In a well-known consumer goods company boardroom, the CFO proudly displayed a slide: "Our flagship product delivers a 45% gross margin. It's our crown jewel." Six months later, the company was executing mass layoffs to prevent a liquidity crisis. But... What went wrong? When we applied Activity-Based Costing, the harsh reality emerged: that "crown jewel" was profitable only if we ignored complex logistics costs, intensive post-sale support, and channel discounts that cannibalized its value. In reality, it generated a 12% net loss on every unit sold. This isn't an anomaly—it's a symptom of a silent epidemic. ...

How could the new COSO CGF framework be applied to Pricing and Profitability Management Processes?

By Pedro San Martin posted 05-30-2025
Governing Profitability: How the New COSO Corporate Governance Framework Transforms Pricing Strategy The margin crisis hiding in plain sight—and how governance can solve it The Silent Profit Killer "Forty percent of our clients don't even cover their total cost of service." The CFO's words hung in the air during that audit committee meeting at a maquiladora spanning El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez. The silence that followed spoke volumes. Here was a company focused on growth, celebrating revenue milestones, while profitability quietly bled out through uncontrolled discounts, opaque cost structures, and a culture that prioritized volume over margin. ...

Cost as a Mirror of Strategy

By Pedro San Martin posted 05-16-2025
A CFO’s Guide to Aligning Cost Structure with Strategic Priorities ( Audio : https://on.soundcloud.com/GmdhUe36WBty9Px76 ) by Pedro San Martin, Principal Asher PwC Strategic Finance Center of Excellence Interamericas Senior finance leaders often proclaim bold strategies for growth and innovation, yet many struggle to translate those ambitions into sustainable profitability. The culprit is frequently a misaligned cost structure – in other words, your budget is not backing up your strategy . As the saying goes, “ Strategy isn’t what ...