CFA charter + SAP financials certification

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Jehanzaib Zafar

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A little background about myself first.
I am working in a large company with over 10000 employees that is implementing SAP. I obviously work in the finance department of my company and my company is making me a power user here. One of only a handfull in our department and the company.
Getting a SAP certification in FICO (SAPs financial module) is very expensive. Around $3000 but it is financially very rewarding but these cash inflows are the smallest motivators for me. I’m asking from the career’s point of view, is getting a CFA charter and getting a SAP financial certification a good idea??
Your suggestions please. Needless to say, i’d be grateful.
 
If you work in corporate finance and plan to stay with that company or even just in a similar role, I would say it would make more sense to get the SAP certification rather than going after your charter.
Seems like the SAP certification will be useful in your current role and potentially many future corporate finance roles (SAP being as widely-adopted as it is), and the CFA probably won’t be that applicable.
 
it is a personal obsession of mine to get that CFA charter and everything else is secondary
 
CFA Charterholdres are not rare but SAP specialist are hard to find. Grab the opprtunities you have now dont avoid them as you are aware of the current economic and other situations of the country.
CFA program requires time. You have just given Level one exam, after passing it then comes the second level after one year, then third level and charter is at the end. if you are lucky and pass all exams in first attempts still 3 yrs are needed, so CFA should be a medium term goal.
SAP would be more rewarding I beleive and you should go for SAP certification which certainly doesn’t demand that amount of time and should continue CFA studies.
By keeping in view the Time value of money concept, the opportunity you have now is worth more than the opprtunity you would be having in future (This is called Time value of opportunity)…. 8-)
As far as SAP CFA combination is concerned, i dont think its bad ..just read the history of this guy he is from Karachi (and very famous in CFA candidates in Karachi) and if you could able to contact him he may guide you properly.
http://www.arifirfanullah.com/home-page
and Finally if anyone out of 10000 employees leave your company kindly hire me because Im looking for job and i wanna do SAP :-)
 
Could someone explain what SAP is? I’m unclear… From what I’ve figured out from google, they produce business software and the certification is basically just to make you an “expert” with their relevant software? What kind of stuff do you learn?
I’ll probably never do it unless my boss were to suggest it, so I’m more just curious as the thread so far seems to like it quite a bit.
 
Keeping it simple, SAP is a utility software (ERP) that helps streamline different business processes. Since it debuted (back in 2005-06 … i guess) it has captured a huge market share and knocking off Oracle as the top dog in process. It has hundreds of modules, one for each business unit of a business and all are interconnected so the working gets really effecient. This effeciency, however, comes at a big cost which deters many companies from going anywhere close to it. Infact it is so expensive that only large and very large firms can afford to implement it.
You, as an individual, would do well to get a certification in one of the hunderds of modules available. For example, FICO module for Finance etc. But before you jump in, you must consider the costs attached in getting the certification. Just one certification can cost you over $2000 (in academy and exam fee) and then there is a small matter of clearing the exam which, though not as difficult as CFA, is still extremely gruesome. If you dont get through, your $2000 or so savings will go down the drain and you will have to start from scratch again. But if you do get through, you probably will get a good job of SAP consultancy (which i doubt many people around here are looking for).
My case, for one, is different. My company has started implementing SAP and has made me a power user here. I was made a power user parlty because i was pursuing CFA charter, and partly because of my networking as well; I’ve friends at important positions who took important decisions in my company.
Well I’m still undecided if i should get a certification in SAP as I am getting conflicting reviews from everywhere. I may or may not do it. But one thing is for sure, I dont want SAP’s certification at an expense of CFA charter (Period!!!).
 
SAP is really accounting software, initially made for the manufacturing (auto) industry. Basically, it keeps track of CGS down to the widget, and allows real-time updates to the financial statements. Basically, the different modules are chart of accounts tailored for certain applications.
 
in financial institutions its used in operations and back office roles.. STAY AWAY
 
Well my brother is working in a top MNC in Karachi. When he joined, that company was in the initial stages of implementing the SAP and so it enabled him to get the hand-on experience in the SD module. He did not have any certification but just with 18months experience, he is now starting to get handsome offers from other MNCs and the consulting companies.
So I believe having a certification is a good thing, but it is always the experience that counts more. Getting the certification first but without having any experience might not yield you so much, as companies generally would prefer to hire those who have prior experience over the ones who just have got the certification. Also, you will be able to grasp a lot more and safely pass the certification exam if you have a bit of prior understanding of the system.
Just my two cents!
 
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