CIMA (The Chartered Institute of Management Accounting) is an internationally recognised qualification which combines financial and business theory, as well as showing you how to apply that theoretical knowledge in practice. Obtaining the CIMA qualification is accepted by employers throughout the world as proof that you understand strategic thinking and can interpret all aspects of business to achieve long term success. Inspire by the experience...
Going global
I began working for Maersk Oil, part of the Danish conglomerate AP MØller, in August 2010, where a worldwide transformation of the company involving 6,000 staff had been under way for a year.
This was to turn the company into a truly global oil and gas company by creating value throughout the entire upstream E&P (exploration and production) value chain and growing entitlement production [production from this field] by 50 per cent to 400,000 barrels per day by 2020.
Soon after joining Maersk Oil, I was given the role of executive lead on the project, which required a new business infrastructure based on global processes and systems, ensuring that development projects would be executed with consistency and quality.
We also changed the company culture by introducing new empowered, safe and collaborative ways of working.
The project was driven and owned by the Maersk Oil CEO and executive team. It was one of the company’s main KPIs so progress would impact people’s bonuses.
We dedicated resources in the organisation to drive and support the implementation of the transformation solutions.
For example, we had a transformation office that coordinated activities across functions and geographies, and we had change agents in the organisation who helped to maintain momentum.
We also communicated to the organisation through road shows, videos, newsletters and intranet stories.
Today, Maersk Oil is well on its way in its change journey. The amount of time lost through safety incidents has decreased by 78 per cent in the past year and new ways of working on performance management and business planning have been implemented, streamlining global processes and enabling transparency, consistency and value creation.
The transformation office has been closed down as the project enters the implementation stage in 2012/14.
The CIMA qualification was hugely helpful because of the breadth of its technical and commercial elements. It has meant that I have always considered myself to be part of a multi-dimensional team, rather than just an accountant.
Kenny Murdoch, ACMA, CGMA, CFO of Maersk Oil, Copenhagen, Denmark
Posted by CIMA on Mon, 10/12/2012 - 10:03