AMSTERDAM, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants), the association of accountants and financial professionals in business, announced the appointment of Frank Verbeeten as Honorary Professor of Management Accounting for IMA in Europe. Verbeeten, who is also Professor of Accounting at the University of Amsterdam's (UvA) Faculty of Economics and Business, is the first Dutchman to hold this position.

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As Honorary Professor, Verbeeten will work to foster the growth of IMA both in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. One of his focus areas will be the impact of technology on the finance function. This ties in with IMA's CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) programme, which helps professionals develop higher-level skills needed in the age of automation. Verbeeten and IMA share a vision to help professionals develop their strategic capabilities in order to make better decisions based on data collected in automated processes.

"I attach great importance to the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience between theory and practise, especially in these times of rapid technological change," said professor Verbeeten. "The CMA programme has been devised not only to prepare controllers, management accountants and financial professionals for the current technological developments, but also to leverage future opportunities for finance professionals to add value as strategic business partners."

"We are extremely proud and excited to work with professor Verbeeten," said Alain Mulder, regional partner relations manager of IMA Benelux. "With his research expertise, educational experience and track record in the business world, he is ideally positioned to make a meaningful contribution to not only IMA, but also to the management accounting profession at large."

Verbeeten graduated in business economics (Tilburg University, 1993), and obtained his MBA at the University of South Carolina (1993), and a Ph.D. from Tilburg University (2001). Verbeeten has worked at several universities in the Netherlands, including Utrecht University, and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Before joining academia, Verbeeten was employed for eight years in the financial management consultancy practice of Deloitte. He was a member of the editorial board of MCA, Journal for Financial Executives and is an editorial board member of the Journal of Management Control; in addition, he publishes regularly in various national and international scientific journals (such as The Accounting Review and Management Accounting Research).

The appointment of professor Verbeeten as Honorary Professor coincides with the announcement that IMA's worldwide membership base has expanded to more than 100,000 accounting and finance professionals; a first in the organization's nearly 100-year history. During the past year, the number of CMA exam candidates rose by more than 75 percent.

About IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants)
IMA^®, named 2017 Professional Body of the Year by The Accountant/International Accounting Bulletin, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA^® (Certified Management Accountant) program, continuing education, networking and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of about 100,000 members in 140 countries and 300 professional and student chapters Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/India. For more information about IMA, please visit http://www.imanet.org.

SOURCE Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)