CFA: A Much Desired Finance Course for Professionals

When it comes to courses in finance being offered in India, no other course invokes so much controversy as the CFA, or the Chartered Financial Analyst. The original CFA course is a program of study of the US and is recognized world over. The course is a self study graduation level program meant for the investment professionals. There has been an India based institute which claimed to provide this degree to the candidates but the same was not recognized or allowed by the US based institute. So much for controversy, let us now pay attention to what makes the CFA a preferred course by candidates seeking to do courses in Finance. 

The CFA course is favored by the aspirants who want to make it big in the finance stream. This exam is recognized the world over for seeking employment in different countries. Therefore, most of the Indian candidates desirous of seeking the employment opportunities abroad might decide to take up this course. This is the primary motivation for the Indian students to take up high paid jobs with some good MNC investment bankers, PE firms and other similar avenues which are well paid. This gives the candidates a global advantage to compete with the best in the field at the world scale. Further, there is a lot of development of the practical skills and ethics.


The institutes which can provide this course in different countries, including India, are required to take approvals from the Board which administers its conduct all over the world. So, there are some institutes which offer the CFA India program to Indian investment professionals. They are required to clear the three levels of tests and also required to meet certain professional criteria for successful completion of this course and being awarded a charter. Considerable importance is laid on the ethical conduct and before declaring any person as passed in this CFA course a complete check on the ethical conduct of the person is done.
Earlier, the institutes provided this course in India but these were not allowed to conduct the exam for the same in India which saw very less number of candidates taking up this course from the actual US based body. So, while they studied in India, they had to go to out of India for giving the exams which was very inconvenient. The court ruling has now allowed this exam to be conducted in India which is likely to see the increase in the enrollment rate of the candidates.


The popularity of the course is in line with the demand of the finance professionals from a number of different multinational finance companies. Candidates completing this CFA course can either take up the jobs or they can also work as independent professionals providing help to the clients. They can be investment consultants or working with other company. They find coveted organizational places, in the middle or higher level managerial positions.

What is taught in the finance courses?

CFA courses are the hot favourites among candidates who want to seek better employment opportunities, domestically or abroad, or for managing finances on their own. 

Money and wealth have always been important. The individuals, organizations, communities, kingdoms and the modern nation-states which have not been able to manage and grow their wealth have failed and become weaker. The requirement of managing finances is felt by the families and the businesses, by the profit-making or non-profit organizations, by the private sector and by the government institutions and so on. Considering that there are a number of reasons to learn how to manage the finances, the Finance Courses are offered at graduate and post graduate level by the private and the public institutions.


The specialized  course in finance covers the study of micro and macro economics, accountancy, personal and corporate finance, investment and merchant banking, financial markets and derivatives, the venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and many other fields. A lot of emphasis is laid on how to read the financial figures and analyze them for taking appropriate managerial actions. Apart from the function knowledge of finance, the regulatory knowledge of finance is also given to the students. This incorporates the laws and rules and regulations pertaining to the different aspects of financial compliance as outlined by the regulatory authorities.


At the end of a Finance Course the student is able to understand, plan and act to resolve the whole conundrum of finance. He or she is able to take effective decisions on how to generate and use money for different purposes, how to streamline the cash and funds flow from different sources and invest the same, so that the organization never faces the cash crunch and is also able to grow as per the desired business goals. Since the field of study is very vast, the students are required to specialize in a few selected fields as per their choice in the final year of the two year postgraduate course.


Now, a number of learning modes are available to the students. Although the class room study is still the favourite of the students, the finance courses are also offered through the distance learning medium and, more recently, through the e-learning tutorial modules. There are respective advantages and disadvantages of each of the medium. The jobs market also differentiates between the importance and relevance of these study mediums. A student passing out from the regular finance course is more likely to find a job than the ones who have studied through the distance learning programs. The employers lay a lot of emphasis on the conceptual clarity, the nature of summer training projects and the industry interaction of the candidate.


For those who are willing to seek finance jobs overseas have the option of pursuing those courses in finance
which have global acceptance. These are generally offered by some private institutes that, in turn, have to obtain due approvals from the foreign authorities in charge of administering these programs. There is no doubt that the finance jobs are some of the best paid ones if you do the courses from the reputed institutes.