Professional Accreditation

Accreditation

The Business Finance Discipline Group

Professional Accreditation in Finance

Professional credentials, in addition to academic credentials, play an important role is providing public assurance of the qualifications and ethical standards that business professionals must attain and sustain in the performance of their duties. Not only must the holder of a professional designation successfully complete a course of study and pass their professional exams, they must also sustain their knowledge over time as well as uphold a code of professional conduct. Many professional accrediting bodies hold the right to supervise, and discipline their members. In extreme cases of professional or ethical misconduct, the licensee can have the designation revoked.

Being a member of a professional association can bring you a number of benefits depending upon the professional association. Those benefits can include:

	enhanced reputation as the holder of a prestigious professional designation
	membership in a local chapter that will involve regular meetings with other professionals for continuing education and networking purposes
	a magazine or journal is often produced for members of the association and this can be an important source of on-going education
	job referral services are often provided by the association
	educational conferences
	lobbying efforts to government on behalf of the members of the organization.

Not all professional associations provide the same benefits, so before you enroll it is important that you investigate the organization, the educational requirements to qualify to enroll, the academic program involved as well as the benefits and costs associated with on-going membership.

Unfortunately there are many, many professional designations. It would take more than a few working lifetimes to qualify for them all, so you must be strategic in your choice. You must develop some idea of your intended field of work five or ten years in the future, and begin as soon as possible to gain relevant work experience in that area.

A common problem is that many of the professional designations overlap. For example, to sell mutual funds you can complete a course through the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA), or you can complete the Canadian Investment Funds Course through IFIC (Investment Funds Institute of Canada). However, if you complete the Canadian Securities Course through the CSI (Canadian Securities Institute) you can sell mutual funds, stocks and bonds. If you work for some Canadian banks, they will favour CBA courses and will often pay for your education through the CBA. However, if you hope to sell a wide variety of financial products in the future, I would recommend that you don't take either the CBA or IFIC courses, instead do the Canadian Securities Course through the CSI and you will have many options to choose from later in your career.

The following is a brief , (not comprehensive) list of professional designations related to the field of finance:

	Chartered Financial Analyst (Association for Investment Management and Research - AIMR)
	Certified Financial Planner (Financial Planners Standards Council of Canada)
	Chartered Investment Manager (Canadian Securities Institute)
	Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (Canadian Securities Institute)
	Certified Management Accountant
	Chartered Accountant
	Chartered Life Underwriter (Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors - CAIFA)
	Financial Advisors Association of Canada
	Canadian Association of Financial Planners

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

This is perhaps the most prestigious professional designation in the field of finance. If you plan to eventually become an investment analyst (work for an underwriting firm studying securities) or a portfolio manager (managing a pension fund or mutual fund for example) or an underwriter then this is the designation you will want to pursue. It is offered through the United States through the Association of Investment Management and Research (AIMR)

You must hold a degree to enroll in this program. There are three courses. Each one takes one year to complete. Examinations are only held in June each year worldwide. Before receiving the charter, you must also fulfill job experience requirements. For further information contact AIMR.