Well, get this. During our monthly team meeting this morning, my partner (my boss) put “shoot - CFA” as a bullet point on the last slide of the presentation along with all the other misc. items. And then when he finally got there, he said, shoot passed the level 3 of the CFA exam and now shoot and xx (one of my colleague who just got a CMA designation) will go down to the road of certified financial analyst or something… OMG, I got so irritated about the fact that xx’s CMA has turned into CFA and also he didn’t care enough to know what CFA stands for. Anyway, I didn’t feel acknowledged at all. I corrected him about the two facts but I still feel mortified. BTW, he’s a CPA along with a bunch of people in that room.
how can people at the top be that ignorant? he should at least know the basic difference.
Relax, my mother still tells her friends that I am a “Chartered Accountant”. We’ve still got a long way to go. Willy
shoot Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I corrected him > about the two facts but I still feel mortified. I know exactly how you feel – in fact, I felt the same way when I saw “The Shining” for the first time. One of my childhood friends told me I shouldn’t be scared or worried, but I corrected him about the two facts. Watching the “redrum” scene for the first time was practically as mortifying as someone getting the “Certified Financial Associate” title wrong. Shame on your boss.
My parents asked me if the CFA is as prestigious as a CFP (Certified Financial Planner). I had to inform them that not only do I currently already get paid about 3-4x as much as a CFP without having a charter, but CFAs are generally top of the heap compensation wise.
Well… thanks you guys. My parents and relatives still don’t know what the CFA is and they also get confused with a CPA or what not. But that doesn’t bother me at all. Getting this from my boss in front of a roomful of my colleagues is a totally different story. A question keeps popping up in the back of my head - am I in the right place? I won’t keep this letting me down. I should still be in the celebration mood, I think.
I think I remember reading somewhere (on the forum, maybe?) that CFPs actually on average make more than CFAs.
Most people make the mistake of calling it “Certified Financial Analyst”. I’ve heard “Certified Financial Accountant” as well. My parents and close friends have been corrected **said in the voice of the Grady in “The Shining”**
Everyone always downplays credentials they don’t have. My g/f has a doctorate and works with social workers who always refer to her as “another clinician”. It drives her nuts.
My best friend is an accomplished real estate developer who net 7 figures off of the rental income on his properties alone. He took a carpentry class in the Bronx and all the other students kept calling him “the honkey” because he was the only white guy there. Nevermind that he made more money in a year than all of them combined hope to make in their entire lives.
Not as bad when I hear people say," So CFA, is that a certified financial adviser"?–I want to take of my shoe and throw it at them !
JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Everyone always downplays credentials they don’t > have. My g/f has a doctorate and works with > social workers who always refer to her as “another > clinician”. It drives her nuts. Although I somehow “downplayed” the CMA by saying “Mr. Boss, I think so and so has obtained a CMA, certified management accountant or something”, I have to confess that I looked up websites for CMA exams not alone the PRM. I guess another side of the coin is that people get addicted to collecting credentials they don’t have. Wouldn’t it be awesome if a CFA is well-recognized by the public but still is highly selective?
Re: CFA… uh what? Posted by: Zforce12000 (IP Logged) Date: August 30, 2007 12:52PM Not as bad when I hear people say," So CFA, is that a certified financial adviser"?–I want to take of my shoe and throw it at them ! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zforce, that is too funny, I have heard that as well!!! My parents just tell people I’m a banker. or “I’m with the banks”. ANything money related is with a bank, LOL.
The.Unit.Root Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think I remember reading somewhere (on the > forum, maybe?) that CFPs actually on average make > more than CFAs. Really? Anyone know where that data is from? I would find it hard to believe, unless they were really skewing something.
Try working in Treasury and being in the CFA program. Nobody outside of Finance (in fact even half the people in finance could be included) know what the hell goes on in a Treasury department. So not only do I have to try to explain what I actually do for a living I have to go through the same CFA stuff mentioned by all you guys. The funniest freaking comment I continuously get when I say I work in Treasury, “oh, you’re the guy that sits there and counts all the cash in the vault.” Sometimes it’s just easier to say yup…something like that.
until 18 months ago or less I though that CFA stood for Chartered Financial Accountant!
def get the certified financial analyst… and like most…i say close enough.
I hate it CPAs think that they know everything. It really pisses me off. One of my colleagues is taking two modules of CPA in the coming months and thinks that he is really smart. I want to tell him that he can complete the whole thing in 18 months and can re-take it within that period too, whereas CFA doesn’t work like that. I saw his books. They are nothing compared to CFA. About 6 months back, he didn’t even know what is CFA. When there are 10 CPAs in the same school and only one CFA, then the stats show which designation is worth more!
maybe you think holding the CFA designation is a bigger deal than it really is…most people, including those “at the top” probably couldn’t give a sh*t. You make yourself look very lame by being so concerned about how much recognition you are given for passing the exams…No one at my firm said two words about it when I finished, which is fine b/c that is not why I did it in the first place.
One thing I’ve realized in this industry is that there are good CPAs and bad CPAs. Good CFAs and bad CFAs. Etc. I use to just assume that a CPA’s word was gospel. Now, I double check the facts and get second opinions.