CIMA was formed in March 1919, as the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants, by a group of legal professionals and businessmen who wanted to develop an approach to accounting that would meet the demands of a rapidly changing business world. Industrialisation had led to large scale, complex businesses providing unprecedented challenges in management. Employers needed a new form of in-house accountant to provide, in addition to accounts, better analysis of cost and of operations to inform performance management. The new institute soon gained the backing of leading industrialists including, Lord Leverhulme who became its president.