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Management Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association


CIMA Research Initiative
Risk and performance – getting the right balance

CIMA invites proposals on the topic of ‘risk and performance – getting the right balance’. CIMA’s interest is aimed at helping organisations to manage sustainable performance through all stages of the business cycle. A key focus of the topic is centred on the role of the management accountant which includes performance and risk management as well as the provision of information to support effective decision-making.

Possible topics might include, but are not confined to:

  • How do organisations adopt reliable risk management throughout the business cycle to deliver sustainable performance? Are there ways of avoiding the extremes of under-scrutiny during boom times and over-scrutiny in a downturn?
  • What is the nature of the balance between risk and performance? How can the net performance benefits of risk management be measured?
  • How can risk and performance management be adequately integrated, and which are the appropriate tools and techniques by which this can be done?
  • How do organisations structure risk management, such as by creating a dedicated risk management function or, alternatively, by keeping it dispersed throughout the organization? What are the rationales and benefits of various ways in which risk management can be organized?
  • How can organisations provide appropriate incentives and rewards to support the right balance between risk and performance?
  • What is the role of the management accountant in managing risk and performance, including the use of appropriate tools and techniques?

This topic area may benefit from an interdisciplinary approach; and any research methodology may be proposed. The research findings should be of value to both the business and academic community, and cases may be drawn from both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors.

For this particular initiative, CIMA is prepared to contribute funding to research that has already started. However, applicants should be aware that CIMA is keen to publish research that is responsive to the current challenging economic conditions and that proposals with longer timeframes are therefore less likely to be successful.

The deadline to submit applications is Monday 2nd March 2009, with the panel day to evaluate the proposal being scheduled for 23rd March 2009.

For further information please contact us:
T. +44 (0)20 8849 2497
E. research@cimaglobal.com