The Institute of Management Accountants appointed accounting professor Paul Juras as chair of IMA’s Global Board of Directors for fiscal year 2021 from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.
Juras (pictured), a professor at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, plans to focus on creating educational opportunities for students and developing technological strategies to drive the organization and the profession forward. In addition to now taking on the senior volunteer role at the IMA, he also currently chairs the IMA’s Governance Standing Board Committee and is a member of its Nominating Standing Board Committee. The IMA unanimously nominated Juras in February 2019 as the chair-elect for the fiscal 2020 year, succeeding Christian Cuzick, CFO of Johnson Johnson Vision.
“It is my honor to serve as chair of IMA’s Global Board of Directors,” Juras said in a statement Wednesday. “I look forward to furthering IMA’s mission of enhancing research and education for the management accounting profession. I am confident that IMA will continue to expand its influence in the coming year and that its [Certified Management Accountants] will have an incredible impact on the profession and its businesses and I’m eager to contribute to their success.”
The IMA held its annual meeting online last month instead of its usual in-person conference.
“This year is unprecedented in its events, which will be far reaching and long lasting,” said Cuzick. “Everyone will need to step up and be leaders in whatever way they can, small or large. Whether it’s a chapter hosting a virtual meeting or a corporate finance department offering a CMA program to its employees or a faculty member introducing a student to IMA, it’s making a difference in someone’s life for the better. This past year as chairman has shown me that IMA members respond to adversity with determination, hard work and a can-do attitude. It has truly been inspiring to see this kind of resiliency in action, and it has been more than an honor to serve as your chair.”
IMA president and CEO Jeff Thomson also reflected on the pandemic during the annual meeting. “This global pandemic has shut down entire economies, caused record unemployment, necessitated the hospitalization of hundreds of thousands of people, and tragically has resulted in the deaths of [hundreds of thousands of people], with disproportionate impact on minority communities,” he said last month. “The magnitude of this event cannot be understated. Adding to our sadness, IMA staff, volunteer leaders and members are saddened by the recent events of systematic bias and social injustice. … Alongside all of the challenges we face, we know that more must be done, and IMA will do its part. We absolutely must. IMA addressed the COVID-19 outbreak with a philosophy rooted in compassion over commercialism. The health and safety of IMA staff and their families, the community of professionals we serve and society at large, weee top of mind. We had to make hard choices, but every decision was guided by the idea that people, you, come first.”
Thomson welcomed Juras as chair. “I’ve known Paul on a personal level for over 10 years,” he said. “He’s very approachable, a far-ranging thinker, and he’s a really nice guy.”
Juras also addressed the coronavirus crisis during the meeting. “What COVID-19 has taught the management accounting community is the value of preparation and foresight,” he said. “You put together forecasts, risk matrices and business continuity plans, all based on your ability to think critically and respond early to risks. I contend that the CMA program is one of the best ways to teach these skills. When organizations have CMAs in their ranks, they adapt to difficult situations better than others.”
Juras has been a member of the IMA since 1983 and has served in various volunteer leadership positions including chair of the ICMA Board of Regents, chair of the IMA Research Foundation and associate editor of the IMA Educational Case Journal.
He has written about strategic management accounting in The Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance, Issues in Accounting Education, The CPA Journal and Strategic Finance. His research focuses on contemporary cost management systems, on which he has co-authored a textbook and numerous case studies.
He is also the Vander Wolk Professor of Managerial Accounting and Operational Performance at Babson College in the greater Boston area. Contributing to both MBA and undergraduate programs, he teaches managerial accounting and strategic cost management courses. He previously taught at Wake Forest University, after earning his Ph.D from Syracuse University. Juras holds both a BBA and MBA from Pace University.