I work in Corporate Finance (Treasury/Project Finance/Capital Markets) division of a large corporate. I approached my boss and asked him to purchase the CFA L2 Stalla books for office. He wants me to give him a small presentation/document demonstrating its usefulness for the office. Do you guys have any such document? Any suggestions as to what can I mention?
Usefulness: it will help other members of your office pass the exam and do their duties better. It can also be a reference book for those who need to brush up on L2 issues. Problem: I believe it violates the terms of the agreement to buy one copy and share it among many people. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone ever being prosecuted for that, but it is against the CFA Standards of Practice and could generate bad publicity if disclosed. Why not just ask them to get it for you, and then you just leave the books at the office once you’re done?
They are handing for raising your computer monitor to the correct height.
bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Usefulness: it will help other members of your > office pass the exam and do their duties better. > It can also be a reference book for those who need > to brush up on L2 issues. > > Problem: I believe it violates the terms of the > agreement to buy one copy and share it among many > people. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone > ever being prosecuted for that, but it is against > the CFA Standards of Practice and could generate > bad publicity if disclosed. > > Why not just ask them to get it for you, and then > you just leave the books at the office once you’re > done? I’m not so sure bchadwick. You certainly are prohibited from making copies, but I can’t see how there can be a legally enforceable requirement that nobody else is allowed to look at your books. Imagine if Tom Clancy stipulated that only the buyer of one of his novels is allowed to read it?
I think they’re more sensitive about the software than the books, but the legal agreement covers all the materials, I believe. I also think that it’s one thing to let someone borrow your books for a topic or two, vs. buy one copy and share it with 10 people. That clearly goes against the intent of the agreement. Whether that would hold up in court is another question, but it’s the reputational risk that is more likely here.
Thanks for the response guys. In fact my office does not sponsor candidates for CFA Program and nor is anyone except me taking the exam here. I am proposing to my boss that we buy the books as general finance reference. They are not really interested in spending on my CFA reference material. Of course I’ll be leaving the books in the office once I am done.
I would veto this in a heartbeat - but props to you if you can get them to buy it. My pitch? Two words: Peter Olinto.
bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think they’re more sensitive about the software > than the books, but the legal agreement covers all > the materials, I believe. > > I also think that it’s one thing to let someone > borrow your books for a topic or two, vs. buy one > copy and share it with 10 people. That clearly > goes against the intent of the agreement. Whether > that would hold up in court is another question, > but it’s the reputational risk that is more likely > here. I question this being held up in court also. Stalla can put whatever they want in their agreement, but it certainly doesn’t mean its legally valid. I’m pretty certain that a judge would never agree with Stalla, at least on sharing the books/software. Making copies to distribute is certainly different.
That’s fine. The real danger is that some disgruntled employee tells Stalla what the company did, Stalla tells the CFA, and then there’s an investigation into the firm and the CFA candidates. Now, CFAI may decide that they don’t want to defend Stalla’s intellectual property rights and agreements, and would rather just slap you quietly on the wrist and continue getting $225/year from you for the length of your professional life, or they may decide every now and then to make an example of people to show that they’re serious about ethics and seemingly maintain the value of the Charter for the other 120,000 charterholders. This is the main risk, and it may be a risk with a reasonable risk-adjusted return (save $1200 today vs. the chance of being made an example of), but none of that depends on whether Stalla’s agreement is enforceable in court.
anupamjain008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks for the response guys. In fact my office > does not sponsor candidates for CFA Program and > nor is anyone except me taking the exam here. > > I am proposing to my boss that we buy the books as > general finance reference. They are not really > interested in spending on my CFA reference > material. > > Of course I’ll be leaving the books in the office > once I am done. If I was your boss, I would say if you want general finance materials, buy some used books off half.com. I used to have an array of textbooks (25+) that I bought off half.com and all of them were
Thanks pals… I’ll be talking to my boss and making a pitch. Lets see if they agree. 
The CFA Institute publishes reference materials based on the material in levels 1-3. Search CFA Institute Investment Series on Amazon. I think if you got a few of these for the office, they would make better reference material. Stalla notes are obviously geared for exam takers and incudes a lot of topics that would not be so useful in day to day work.
I don’t think that was the dude’s intention in the first place. He wanted to provide the rationale for his company to buy the Stalla books.
@JOAT, You are right. @ all, I could not speak yesterday. Probably the pitch again got delayed till Tuesday. 
So you want the books for your own personal use to help you sit the level 2 exam? You say in your opening email that you want them ‘for the office’. I took that to mean reference materials that you could all pick up and use from time to time.
Not a problem Carson. Thanks for the help.
Pay for your own stuff dude. Geeez what a jerk.
Why does it make him a jerk? A lot of companies pay for their employees study materials. My previous employer did (also paid the cost of tuition if you wanted to take a prep course). Sadly my current firm only covers the registration fee for the exam and the annual subscription should I ever pass.
Carson Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why does it make him a jerk? A lot of companies > pay for their employees study materials. My > previous employer did (also paid the cost of > tuition if you wanted to take a prep course). > Sadly my current firm only covers the registration > fee for the exam and the annual subscription > should I ever pass. Sarcasm, meet Carson. Make sure to mention that the books will provide you with knowledge that will help you to mentor other employees at work and with the designation if they choose to pursue it.
honestly, i’ve used stalla as well as schweser. don’t bother trying to justify this. you have the curriculum already, give up this idea and wait for something more important to ask for.