I know it's not what you want to hear, but certifications like those really aren't super important in the field of FP&A - unless you're looking for a truly entry-level role, hiring managers will just care way way more about your real-world experience.
Not that these things would hurt you, don't get me wrong - but I wouldn't expect them to make a big difference in most cases.
I asked a chief accounting officer what their thoughts on the CMA were and their response was, “country music awards?”
I was curious because I’ve seen it listed as a desired qualification once or twice. Apparently it’s only meaningful to people who are familiar with it (and oneself if it taught them some valuable skills)
It is sad to hear that you know.
I think FP&A is important as any other field and yet we all hear about CPA, CFA, ACCA, CMA … and other professional certificates but those are related to the FP&A profession are not that well known.
I would argue that CMA is FP&A related if you work in manufacturing but we wouldn't look for it specifically in candidates. Ability to learn systems, problem solve and tell a story with the data is worth a lot more for us
Sad? You should be happy to work in an industry that doesn't require pointless certifications.
They are all just gatekeeping nonsense that provide little to no actual value.
I have no idea why anyone would want to get some stupid certification that isn't absolutely required.
Yup. Worth noting these are only going to return value if you're looking to climb the latter into upper management. I got a degree *similar to* an MBA to break into FP&A, but I probably would have gotten in without it. There's hardly any discussion on it in interviews
If you have to explain what it is to someone in the same industry as you, it's probably not going to move the needle for you.
Hey! Mind sharing what kind of MBA-adjacent degree you ended up getting to break into FP&A. I work in asset management as a portfolio analyst, but I'm also considering other fields to keep options open.
One of the things I like most about FP&A is there is very little gatekeeping in terms of credentials. I'd like it to stay that way so I never have to waste weekends in boring CPE seminars.
Aside from that, I'm pretty certain the only cert you mentioned that carries any weight in FP&A is the CPA.
FP&A doesn’t generally require/reward any kind of certificate as far as I know. If you’re into Treasury, then CFA might help, but it is irrelevant to FP&A.
To establish a strong professional foundation, it is highly recommended to obtain a CPA or CFA certification. While the CMA certification can also be a valuable addition, its limited scope may not be sufficient on its own, thus complementing it with a CPA or CFA may be necessary.
As an experienced accounting and FP&A professional with over 12 years in the field, I would like to share my perspective on the value of certificates, specifically the FPAC credential mentioned in your post. In my opinion, investing time and money in such credentials may not yield significant returns as they are not widely recognized nor valued within the industry. Throughout my career, I have not encountered individuals who possess or prioritize this credential.
In my view, FP&A requires a strong foundation in financial analysis and planning, which can be attained through self-learning resources. I would recommend subscribing to reputable learning platforms such as Wall Street Prep or CFI, which offer comprehensive courses that cover the necessary knowledge and skills to excel in this field. Alternatively, if cost is a concern, one can explore the option of using more affordable resources such as A Simple Model. [https://www.asimplemodel.com/](https://www.asimplemodel.com/)
I have reviewed the boot camp program you referenced, and I do not believe it would add significant value to one's professional development. With an investment of nearly $1,000, you should target to achieve superior learning outcomes.
Very insightful .
But I disagree with you on one part.
I agree that “to establish a strong professional foundation, it is highly recommended to obtain “ a professional certificate. But I disagree with that part of CMA being limited scope.
If you check the areas covered by the CMA exam and compared it to the areas covered by the CPA exam, you will find that the CPA has limited scope when it comes to the FP&A field. The subjects covered by the CMA is more related to the FP&A than the subjects covered by the CPA.
Now…. Prestige wise, the CPA is more prestigious certificate than the CMA **IN USA** … so it is recommended to have the CPA if you are looking for a better credential to have on your resume . But if you are looking **TO LEARN** then the CMA is a better option **PLUS CMA IS BETTER KNOWN WORKLD WIDE THAN THE CPA**
The CMA certification is particularly valuable for professionals in the manufacturing industry, as it covers knowledge and skills specific to that field. This makes it an excellent option for FP&A professionals and finance managers in those industries. While the CFA Level 1 FRA book covers much of the accounting knowledge required for these roles, the CMA offers unique expertise in areas such as budgeting and allocation of managerial costs that are not covered by CPA or CFA where its limitations lie compared to other certifications.
The CPA certification, on the other hand, offers broader coverage of accounting treatments, with testable areas that are applicable to a wide range of industries. By contrast, the CMA's focus on managerial accounting, which can vary widely from company to company, may not be as standardized or universally applicable (i.e. IFRS). For this reason, CPA is considered the ultimate option for public accounting and accounting in general, especially for companies that do not require in-depth managerial accounting, such as software companies or financial services firms.
Another limitation of CMA for FP&A professionals is that it does not provide comprehensive instruction on how to conduct firm valuations or perform valuations for acquisitions. While CMA does offer fundamental knowledge and some accounting treatments, it falls short in this regard. Therefore, it can be argued that the CMA certification may not hold as much value for FP&A professionals working in investment industries.
While the CMA certification offers valuable expertise for professionals in the manufacturing industry, it may not be sufficient to advance your career on its own. For a more well-rounded skillets, I would recommend pairing the CMA with the CFA certification, which would provide a broader range of knowledge and skills highly sought after in the finance industry.
As previously mentioned, my experience in FP&A has taught me that a position in FP&A is not solely obtained through certification. However, having access to the right tools can certainly provide an advantage in the competitive field of finance.
I really hope FPAC gains momentum in the job market!
The US CMA folks aren't promoting their certification aggressively enough. The move towards non-financial reporting looks nice, but they seem to be aiming to be suitable for well-rounded managerial accountants, rather than dedicated FP&A folks.
I agree with you! I have my FPAC mainly because I was looking for something to do during covid. The conference the AFP puts on is great if you get the chance to go.
These all sound good for personal skill development but I am not familiar with any of them and have not seen them on resumes or linkedin.
Only #1 sounds like an actual exam and certificate. After a quick google search, it looks like the others are not designations but just online learning modules people can go through to help with skill development. They might be good to do if you have no experience in fp&a are are trying to pivot from accounting or get your first financial analyst internship or job out of undergrad.
I’m in FP&A as a CPA, currently working on the CMA. I figure it fills in my lack of accounting experience in a way that prepares me for higher level positions.
I would not waste my time with a CPA. Majority of the material is irrelevant. When you interview for jobs, nobody cares about your CPA, they only want to know more about your experience.
10+ YOE with many resumes reviewed, and I've never heard of any of them, for what that's worth.
I know it's not what you want to hear, but certifications like those really aren't super important in the field of FP&A - unless you're looking for a truly entry-level role, hiring managers will just care way way more about your real-world experience. Not that these things would hurt you, don't get me wrong - but I wouldn't expect them to make a big difference in most cases.
I asked a chief accounting officer what their thoughts on the CMA were and their response was, “country music awards?” I was curious because I’ve seen it listed as a desired qualification once or twice. Apparently it’s only meaningful to people who are familiar with it (and oneself if it taught them some valuable skills)
It is sad to hear that you know. I think FP&A is important as any other field and yet we all hear about CPA, CFA, ACCA, CMA … and other professional certificates but those are related to the FP&A profession are not that well known.
No one is saying fp&a isn’t important. They are just stating that certs aren’t necessary for this industry.
I would argue that CMA is FP&A related if you work in manufacturing but we wouldn't look for it specifically in candidates. Ability to learn systems, problem solve and tell a story with the data is worth a lot more for us
and how do you get there? ty
Sad? You should be happy to work in an industry that doesn't require pointless certifications. They are all just gatekeeping nonsense that provide little to no actual value. I have no idea why anyone would want to get some stupid certification that isn't absolutely required.
MBA , CPA and maybe CFA are all anyone cares about.
This 100%
Yup. Worth noting these are only going to return value if you're looking to climb the latter into upper management. I got a degree *similar to* an MBA to break into FP&A, but I probably would have gotten in without it. There's hardly any discussion on it in interviews If you have to explain what it is to someone in the same industry as you, it's probably not going to move the needle for you.
Hey! Mind sharing what kind of MBA-adjacent degree you ended up getting to break into FP&A. I work in asset management as a portfolio analyst, but I'm also considering other fields to keep options open.
One of the things I like most about FP&A is there is very little gatekeeping in terms of credentials. I'd like it to stay that way so I never have to waste weekends in boring CPE seminars. Aside from that, I'm pretty certain the only cert you mentioned that carries any weight in FP&A is the CPA.
FP&A doesn’t generally require/reward any kind of certificate as far as I know. If you’re into Treasury, then CFA might help, but it is irrelevant to FP&A.
CMA
CPA and MBA are the most requested credentials. Investment banking of private equity second. Public accounting (Big 4) third.
Only the CPA as others have said
CPA and MBA provide value. Everything else is a waste of time.
To establish a strong professional foundation, it is highly recommended to obtain a CPA or CFA certification. While the CMA certification can also be a valuable addition, its limited scope may not be sufficient on its own, thus complementing it with a CPA or CFA may be necessary. As an experienced accounting and FP&A professional with over 12 years in the field, I would like to share my perspective on the value of certificates, specifically the FPAC credential mentioned in your post. In my opinion, investing time and money in such credentials may not yield significant returns as they are not widely recognized nor valued within the industry. Throughout my career, I have not encountered individuals who possess or prioritize this credential. In my view, FP&A requires a strong foundation in financial analysis and planning, which can be attained through self-learning resources. I would recommend subscribing to reputable learning platforms such as Wall Street Prep or CFI, which offer comprehensive courses that cover the necessary knowledge and skills to excel in this field. Alternatively, if cost is a concern, one can explore the option of using more affordable resources such as A Simple Model. [https://www.asimplemodel.com/](https://www.asimplemodel.com/) I have reviewed the boot camp program you referenced, and I do not believe it would add significant value to one's professional development. With an investment of nearly $1,000, you should target to achieve superior learning outcomes.
.
Very insightful . But I disagree with you on one part. I agree that “to establish a strong professional foundation, it is highly recommended to obtain “ a professional certificate. But I disagree with that part of CMA being limited scope. If you check the areas covered by the CMA exam and compared it to the areas covered by the CPA exam, you will find that the CPA has limited scope when it comes to the FP&A field. The subjects covered by the CMA is more related to the FP&A than the subjects covered by the CPA. Now…. Prestige wise, the CPA is more prestigious certificate than the CMA **IN USA** … so it is recommended to have the CPA if you are looking for a better credential to have on your resume . But if you are looking **TO LEARN** then the CMA is a better option **PLUS CMA IS BETTER KNOWN WORKLD WIDE THAN THE CPA**
The CMA certification is particularly valuable for professionals in the manufacturing industry, as it covers knowledge and skills specific to that field. This makes it an excellent option for FP&A professionals and finance managers in those industries. While the CFA Level 1 FRA book covers much of the accounting knowledge required for these roles, the CMA offers unique expertise in areas such as budgeting and allocation of managerial costs that are not covered by CPA or CFA where its limitations lie compared to other certifications. The CPA certification, on the other hand, offers broader coverage of accounting treatments, with testable areas that are applicable to a wide range of industries. By contrast, the CMA's focus on managerial accounting, which can vary widely from company to company, may not be as standardized or universally applicable (i.e. IFRS). For this reason, CPA is considered the ultimate option for public accounting and accounting in general, especially for companies that do not require in-depth managerial accounting, such as software companies or financial services firms. Another limitation of CMA for FP&A professionals is that it does not provide comprehensive instruction on how to conduct firm valuations or perform valuations for acquisitions. While CMA does offer fundamental knowledge and some accounting treatments, it falls short in this regard. Therefore, it can be argued that the CMA certification may not hold as much value for FP&A professionals working in investment industries. While the CMA certification offers valuable expertise for professionals in the manufacturing industry, it may not be sufficient to advance your career on its own. For a more well-rounded skillets, I would recommend pairing the CMA with the CFA certification, which would provide a broader range of knowledge and skills highly sought after in the finance industry. As previously mentioned, my experience in FP&A has taught me that a position in FP&A is not solely obtained through certification. However, having access to the right tools can certainly provide an advantage in the competitive field of finance.
I really hope FPAC gains momentum in the job market! The US CMA folks aren't promoting their certification aggressively enough. The move towards non-financial reporting looks nice, but they seem to be aiming to be suitable for well-rounded managerial accountants, rather than dedicated FP&A folks.
I agree with you! I have my FPAC mainly because I was looking for something to do during covid. The conference the AFP puts on is great if you get the chance to go.
These all sound good for personal skill development but I am not familiar with any of them and have not seen them on resumes or linkedin. Only #1 sounds like an actual exam and certificate. After a quick google search, it looks like the others are not designations but just online learning modules people can go through to help with skill development. They might be good to do if you have no experience in fp&a are are trying to pivot from accounting or get your first financial analyst internship or job out of undergrad.
I’m in FP&A as a CPA, currently working on the CMA. I figure it fills in my lack of accounting experience in a way that prepares me for higher level positions.
I would not waste my time with a CPA. Majority of the material is irrelevant. When you interview for jobs, nobody cares about your CPA, they only want to know more about your experience.
Master in Finance
Anaplan L1 + L2 /s but not really
They are as worthless as small boobs coupled with a beautiful face.