Need some advice?

CFA General
#1

I’m currently in my 2nd year of Bachelor of Business Administration. It’s a three year course and I’ll be specializing in finance in my third year. I have a few options in front of me to pursue after I graduate and would like your opinions on them:

  1. CFA

  2. Chartered Accountancy

  3. MBA

  4. CIMA

Also, how much of accounting knowledge is necessary for CFA? Is CFA also flexible like CA? In CA, I will be exempted from giving the Common Proficiency Test (CPT) if I’m a graduate. If I pursue CFA after graduating from BBA will I be exempted from any exams?

Also, I’d like to know your opinions on CIMA and MBA and what order should one ideally complete them in.

#2

If you want to work in institutional portfolios or be a security analyst, go CFA.

If you want to audit or produce financial statements, go with CA.

If you want to be in management or administration, go MBA.

If you want to work with smaller, individual portfolios, go CIMA.

A whole whole lot of accounting knowledge is necessary for CFA.

I don’t know the answer to the rest of your questions, but I’m sure you can google it.

#3

Is the official study material provided sufficient or would you suggest attending tuitions or something for CFA?

#4

There are not exemptions to the CFA.

I have found the materials provided by the CFAI to be sufficient but others opt for 3rd party note providers.

As you will soon find out on this forum, it is not clear which is better for studying.

#5

^I think Schweser will teach you “just the facts”. It just teaches you what you need to know in order to pass. (And that’s what I was after–just passing the exam was good enough for me.)

The CFAI material is really long, wordy, and contains more narrative than you possibly want to read. But it probably does a better job of teaching the material, if you really want to immerse yourself in it.

Personally, I used Schweser’s Premium package for all three levels. I only touched the official curriculum for end-of-chapter questions. Lots of people pass using official curriculum though. The choice is yours.

.

#6

@greenman I think this CIMA is different to that CIMA

#7

^Good point.

@OP - you need to clarify your CIMA. (I normally think of CIMA as the Certified Investment Management Analyst, because the US doesn’t have the other CIMA. At least not widely known.)

#8

I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear earlier.

I meant CMA (Certified Management Accountant), a qualification awarded by CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) UK.

#9

^Erego, I retract my earlier comment. I know nothing about that CIMA, since I’m a US CPA.

#10

Also, what are the cut-off/passing marks for all 3 levels of CFA? I can find varied opinions/facts scattered all over the internet…

#11

The passing mark is never released and likely changes every year. Think of it more like your score vs. other candidates.

The general rule of thumb is if you score 70%+ you will definitly pass

#12

And regarding the nature of the exams. Is there a lot of cramming up to do? I recently appeared for the first stage of the Chartered Accountancy exam in India and there are loads of laws, sections and other theoretical stuff to mug up. So is CFA application oriented or is it like CA?

#13

this should not be your concern. this is putting the cart in front of the horse in a big way and will simply cause you a loss of valuable time and money. dont worry about which certification or degree ur gonna pursue after the one ur currently pursuing. figure out who you are and what you want and then get a solid 2nd year internship and then get a job. then work that job for a year and make sure its what you want. then, whatever certification or degree makes the most sense for you will be obvious and you should pursue that one.

#14

This shouldn’t matter to you at this moment. Study your a$$ off and aim for the best score possible. The cut off passing mark is out of your control.

#15

I’ve also read that if I want to pursue a career in investment banking, doing CFA wouldn’t be helpful because it has very little in common. What are your thoughts on this? If I want to make my career in investment banking or the Big 4 auditing firms, what courses would be best suited for me?

#16

And just some fun facts:

Pass % for CFA Level 1 in 2014: 42-44%

Pass % for CPT in 2014: 14%

Pass % for CFA Level 2 in 2014: 46%

Pass % for IPCC in 2014: 6.20%

Pass % for CFA Level 3 in 2014: 54%

Pass % for CA Final in 2014: 3.1%

FYI, just how CFA has 3 levels, the Chartered Accountancy (CA) course in India has 3 levels - CPT, IPCC and CA Final respectively…

Also, would you suggest doing both CPA as well as CFA?

#17

^ queue Rahul Roy

(also, CA is for squares)

#18

Also, I should mention that what I look for in a course is

  • International/Global recognition: From what I understand, the Indian CA does not have global recognition whereas a CPA/CFA does.
  • A stepping stone towards a decent career in the field of investment banking or in a top auditing firm.

I’d value any inputs I receive regarding how I should go about this.

EDIT:

For those of you wondering why I’m so sceptical about CFA and why I’m hell-bent on comparing the available courses. It’s because these two articles started giving me second thoughts:

http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/cfa-investment-banking/

http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/stuff-investment-bankers-dont-like-cfa-activities-advanced-degrees/

I mean, they’re literally taking the sh*t out of any courses that I’m thinking to pursue…

#19

Do you live in the US? If not, then put CPA out of your mind. I don’t think it’s even an option.

#20

Alright, so what course(s) bearing international recognition would you suggest for a career in Investment Banking or the Big Four auditing firms?