Andrew Harding, Chief Executive, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants
Harding became CEO of CIMA in 2016
Bio
Following his graduation from Bristol University in Economics and Accounting in 1983, Harding went on to gain an MBA from Henley Management College.
In his early career, he dabbled in a range of positions, including Auditor at Dearden Farrow, Lecturer at ATC, and National Training Manager at HLB Kidsons.
Then, in 1991, Harding took over as MD at ACCA, where he remained for 17 years. He then moved on to work in a range of roles at CIMA.
He was first Executive Director, then Managing Director, and became Chief Executive in August 2016. Harding became Chief Executive – Management Accounting in January 2017 when the strengths AICPA (American Institute of CPAs) and CIMA were pooled together to form the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association).
Why did he make the power list?
Harding is number 9 on the Accountancy Age Financial Power List 2018. Now that CIMA have united with AICPA, it is Harding’s role to drive the impact of management accounting across the world. Among Harding’s focuses will be creating value for members of the new Association, finding opportunities to keep CGMAs ahead of the game in terms of knowledge and resources. He also wants to position management accounting as a top career choice for graduates in the US market.
CIMA/the Association
CIMA is the leading, and world’s largest, professional body of management accountants. It offers a unique blend of management accounting, financial accounting, and business-focused subjects.
CIMA’s members recently voted for the body to join forces with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to create the new Association, which represents a wider breadth of the accounting profession. It launched in 2017.
