I dont know if I should be asking this, but it has been on my mind now for a while. My dad has been doing business for past 25-30 years, and being the eldest son in my family it would be my responsibility to takeover the business and carry it further. Now I have this question sticking on my mind, how will the CFA charter benefit me in doing business? Also, currently I am a Chartered Accountancy student and will take the final exams in May 2014. I know i have to gain work experience for 4 years so that I become eligible for the CFA charter (and obviously complete all three levels). But the question still remains, can anyone throw some light on this?
The most obvious question is “What is your family business?” What does it do, and does it have anything to do with CFA-type stuff? (The fact that you haven’t mentioned your dad being a CFA charterholder tells me something. And the fact that you’re asking this question kinda confirms it.)
If the family business is a pet store, I would probably say “No.”
If the family business is a private wealth investment advisory firm, I would probably say “Yes.”
i dont think it has anything to do with CFA at all. My dad owns a factory and he is a manufacturer of furniture items and also does tradind of raw material. And he aint a CFA charterholder.
If I had a business coming to me in manufacturing and raw materials trading, I’d never have wasted a minute in school. The real money is in business, don’t waste your time taking classes, unless you hope CFA will help you manage your own portfolio.
I’d honestly be at the business everyday learning the ins and outs. Real money isn’t made taking courses to be a wage slave. It’s made by owning and controling the means of production. Which you’ll be doing.
I see some value in the accounting skills in running your own industrial firm, but CFA will have limited value to be honest. Anything where you need specific finance skills you’ll likely have to hire an expert outside firm anyway.
If you’re going to run a business and you’re determined to do some schooling, accountancy and the law are the two fields of value. The rest, meh.
^^ seems legit. Okay. Is there any chance that the prospects after doing CFA program will outweigh the returns from business? I mentioned about the Chartered Accountancy course that i am pursuing. It is inclined to taxes and accounting and audit. But i find more knowledge in CFA program compared to the CA course. At the back of my mind i think that it is necessary to have some professional degree in case something bad happens to your business so that you can back yourself up. But i guess i get my answer, i will complete the CFA program first and then i’ll see where life takes me. Thank you.
Well it depends on the success of the business of course, but your ceiling is likely much higher in business. Take a look around these forums of all the experienced pros that can’t squeak out a job in the industry. That said, your business could be dud, who knows. You’re right to have a plan B, but you’ve got that with the accounting stuff. Taking endless courses in every field isn’t a great use of time (unless you’re getting some kind of personal enjoyment out of it).
Also remember you’re going to need 4 years of investment management experience to get the Charter.
Don’t let someone else tell you what to do though, if you want to do CFA, do it. I’m just saying if I were in your shoes, I’d be learning the business and wheeling and dealing. Unfortunately I don’t come from money so I’m stuck in the other life generating enough capital to get into the business world.
jump directly into the business. CFA books cover a huge range of material in finance. I’d be surprised if even 20% of all the material was even applicable to your business at all.
if you have a path set, don’t waste your time studying for the CFA
I would advise not to waste time on CFA…CFA is for the business of investing, which is not your business. Like geo, I would be super excited if I had a business coming my way…if anything you should look into getting an MBA and not the CFA…especially since it doesn’t seem like you will be getting the 4 years of professional investment experience so you will never actually get the charter.
The only school you need to attend is the School of Hard Knocks.
As said before, the accounting knowledge will come in handy. To some extent, so will a good (but very basic) knowledge of the law. Other than that, you’ll learn everything you need to learn by doing the job.
Finish the CA and jump straight into the business. Learn as much as you can as fast as you can.
Most of the advice here is sound. CFA really is for investment managment. There is some accounting stuff and some corporate finance stuff (should we pursue this expansion, should we use debt or put in more equity capital, etc.) that is potentially applicable, but an MBA is probably going to teach you this stuff too and along with a whole bunch of other things that are more relevant to operating a business.
That said, Berkshire Hathaway was basically a textile manufacturer (merged with a whaling operation) when Warren Buffet bought it. Today it is a large conglomerate, but is essentially a holding company for an investment portfolio. So, you could potentially change the focus of your business upon inheritance, if investing is really what you want to do and you have any indication that you are any good at it. This would make sense particularly if the business was having trouble growing or profits appear to be in permanent decline, as was the case with Berkshire Hathaway when Buffet bought it.
Or you could sell the business and use the funds to start an investment portfolio for your family or some kind of advisory. Or let one of your fine friends on AF manage it for you (that’s a joke, though I’m sure some of us would be happy to do it)
Both of those are more radical options than just inheriting the family business and keeping it going. Obviously it depends on how tied your family is to that specific activitity, or if simply having a source of income is enough to keep them feeling important. And, of course, whether you care what they think once you’re in charge.
IF your father’s business interests you, plunge right into it wholeheartedly. learn every tiny detail. the real money is in business and your father has been doing it for the last so many years. learn the ins and outs. afteryou have learnt how the business functions, turn your attention to the industry/sector it operates etc.
and above all the contacts your father has built over the years. INVALUABLE. It takes years and a lot of effort to build those contacts.use them and expand your business. Few have the advantage that you possess. Understand that. professionals with experience are finding it difficult to get a job in this market.
I can understand your wanting a backup plan. CA and CFA should be enough.No more chasing alphabets.
A real backup plan is an accounting designation because that industry isn’t as cyclical as finance.
thank you everyone for the advices and suggestions. Highly appreciated.
Why would anyone choose to run a business? Owning a business is worse than owning a small cap stock. It’s a lot of risk. You have liquidity risk, geographical risk, size risk, industry risk, company-specific risk. Not to mention you have to compete with corporations who have larger economies of scale and greater financial backing. It’s a no brainer. If I inherited a business i’d liquidate it (if anyone is willing to pay for it) and invest it in a diversified portfolio.
I think knowing accounting is important for business owner, and even that, i don’t think you need a designation for it.
CFA is a complete waste of time if you are an entrepreneur, IMO.
You really can not apply 99% of what you do in a business, AS A BUSINESS OWNER, even if you have multi-billion dollar business you are likely to hire people to manage your currency hedge, your finance procurement and you would not need a CFA to do the job.
Understanding finance is one thing, CFA program is a completely different beast - very much unnecessary.
I agree. No need for a designation, just a thorough understanding of accounting. I will definitely say that law is a clear winner for a businessman though, if he’s insistant on formal learning. I’ve dealt with tons of contracts and I have formal law schooling in a few areas (I’m not a lawyer, but I did some law school, long story). There is nothing more valuable to me when making deals than understanding contracts and the law.
This would likely be even more critical in a developing country such as where this individual is based. You need to have your own judgement on a deal, not just a legal opinion. Just my two cents.
There are so many things you can learn as an entrepreneur that can benefit the business, if he works in manufacturing, perhaps it is good to learn about logistics, and engineering, and mechanics, and law, and chemistry, etc…
But is it wise to get a degree or certificate or charter on all of them??
It’s a good thing that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs disagree with you, or we’d still be stuck with landline phones and doing spreadsheets by hand. And it’s a good thing that Henry Ford disagrees with you, or we’d all be afoot.
Definitely not. There really is little value in doing so.
High risk, high reward.