The windy road to work in Japan has been a long one for today’s very special guest. Nina Michels-Kim is the Director of Partnerships, Korea and Japan for the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). She’s bilingual in Japanese and English, born in Japan having been raised by a Japanese mother and an American father, and received her college education in the United States. However, her dream was always to come back to work in Japan and so with that goal in sight, her extensive career in finance began which has led her from bookkeeper to working for two of Switzerland's biggest pharmaceuticals to starting her own business and now as the Partnerships Director of Korea and Japan for IMA. Nina’s career path has not been linear but throughout, her passion for learning and continuous development in finance has brought her one step closer to Japan and the goal she set more than 25 years ago. As a member of the IMA, having developed the Swiss and European chapters, she’s now bringing the benefits of the IMA to Japan and aiding finance professionals to upskill, learn, develop and become the finance leaders of the future. In this episode you will hear: The IMA’s predicted six megatrends for the finance sectorSome of the challenges that financial professionals are facing and why upskilling is importantThe value of the IMA and how it can help finance professionals to future-proof themselves and their careersWhy soft skills are just as important as hard skills and how the IMA supports thisWhat courses and resources are available through the IMA including how to tell a story with strategic insights and data Nina Michels-Kim Bio: I help finance professionals all over the world to enhance their skills, provide them with ethics guidance and thought leadership, become valued leaders in their organizations, and improve the world step by step! Alongside my own business, Starling GmbH, I am also the Director of Partnerships Japan and Korea for IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants). IMA is one of the largest and most respected worldwide associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Its global reach includes over 140,000+ members of financial professionals in business in over 150 countries. About the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) Established in 1919 (over 100 years ago), IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) is a global, non-profit professional association that administers the globally recognized U.S. CMA (Certified Management Accountant) certification program, which is celebrating its 50-year anniversary this year. IMA has a global network of about 140,000 members worldwide and more than 300 student and professional chapters. Its members are mostly accountants, financial professionals, and management accountants who work in business. IMA supports the CFO’s team by striving to be the leading resource for training, developing, certifying, connecting, and supporting them. Connect with Nina Michels-Kim: Website: https://www.imanet.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninamichelskim/?originalSubdomain=ch Twitter: @NinaMichelsKim Email: [email protected] Links of things mentioned in this episode: Best Practices in...