CFA useful for corporate development jobs?

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wannabebanker

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Hi,
I really want to get into corporate finance, more specifically corporate development, budgeting/forecasting, etc. and I was wondering how useful a CFA would be for this type of work? Otherwise, for becoming a finance exec within a company/high ranking finance officer, would an MBA + CFA be a good combo, or would just an MBA + Bach in Finance suffice?
 
NYCGorilla Wrote:
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> work experience trumps CFA any day in corporate
> development brother.
This wasnt his question brother.
The CFA has one book that is devoted to corporate finance. So in that regard, you could learn a little bit about it by going the CFA route and it definitely will not hurt you in the long run especially as you move up in the ranks. I would think that doing an MBA, though, would be more usefull in that area because I think you would learn would be a lot broader and deeper. Just my opinion, but either one is not going to hurt you.
 
stick to being an assistant wealth management advisor CFAcounty and let the big boys make the recommendations.
 
My position has nothing to do with my knowledge and advice big boy. And by the way…your recommendation sucked. Everyone on this board knows experience counts more.
 
I’d be surprised if you did not find something in the CFA curriculum that applies to corporate development. The material is very broad.
As for becoming an officer, it probably doesn’t matter that much. Once you reach the point where you are contending for those jobs, no one cares what academic credentials you have.
 
generally the background of someone in corporate development is investment banking . We are talking buyside M&A here, not learning stuff from a textbook on what a comparable company transaction is.
 
NYCGorilla Wrote:
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> generally the background of someone in corporate
> development is investment banking . We are talking
> buyside M&A here, not learning stuff from a
> textbook on what a comparable company transaction
> is.
So lets cut through the sh*t and give the guy an answer…If the background of someone in corporate developement is I-banking, and one of the best ways to get into I-banking is though a good MBA program, then what you are saying is that an MBA + bachelor in finance would suffice in order for wannabebanker to get where he wants to go.
There you go NYC…you just answered his question. Congratulations.
 
no you said that, not me. And stop calling me big boy, it’s getting me randy
 
Yes sir big boy…people come on to this forum to get answers. Not to have someone who is arrogant and conceded who is from NYC but somehow was also in chicago watching chicks who took the test there make ignorant comments.
Im all for bein a smarta$$ now and then, but im not sure when the last constructive comment you made was. Someone please enlighten me.
 
He did say that the best place in chicago to get pizza was in brooklyn. I thought that was pretty constructive.
 
Analyze_This Wrote:
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> He did say that the best place in chicago to get
> pizza was in brooklyn. I thought that was pretty
> constructive.
i stand corrected
 
NYCGorilla Wrote:
——————————————————-
> work experience trumps CFA any day in corporate
> development brother.
I see this guy is sticking around with his attempts at being funny and clever.
Every single one of his posts is annoying.
 
wannabebanker Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Hi,
>
> I really want to get into corporate finance, more
> specifically corporate development,
> budgeting/forecasting, etc.
aren’t these two different thoughts? i usually think of corp dev as m&a, while budgeting is more of an fp&a role. maybe that’s just how it is at my firm, though. i know that being in fp&a at my firm would be grounds for suicide.
and I was wondering
> how useful a CFA would be for this type of work?
i’m assuming that you don’t have an ibanking / pe / etc background. if that’s true, then pursuing a cfa isn’t a horrible way to prove that you’re dedicated, but, as everyone says in every thread, it’s not a golden ticket.
i’m in strategy / corp dev, and passing the exams earned me a lot of respect and additional responsibility at work
> Otherwise, for becoming a finance exec within a
> company/high ranking finance officer, would an MBA
> + CFA be a good combo, or would just an MBA + Bach
> in Finance suffice?
you see a lot of cpa’s as the high-ranking finance officers of many companies. I think there will be a gradual shift to cfa though. the cfa seems to be gaining a lot of respect. cpa’s are often seen as bean counters who can’t be extremely analytical and make tough decisions. of course, that’s not to say that cfa’s are seen as analytical decision makers, but there’s just not really that same stigma as a cpa.
in this situation, my opinion of the cfa is that it may not necessarily open doors for you, but, assuming that you’re making decent progress in your career, it could keep some doors from closing.
 
To your question of whether the CFA will help you, I would say “not really.” I’ve met with some corporate development guys in the past on proposed transactions, and they are more like ibankers than CFA types. You need to understand modeling, business / industry evaluation, accounting, and valuation to succeed in this sort of role. Out of that list, the CFA only covers valuation, and it does a fairly questionable job of covering that.
The ideal background for this from what I have seen is some combination of investment banking experience and operating experience – someone who really understands how a business runs, but who also understands how to structure and evaluate a transaction. The CFA won’t teach you either.
I think your time would better spent finding a good company to work for with a manager that appreciates a good work ethic, and then spending your time working hard to learn the business and produce results. Of course, that assumes you can get in at all, which may or may not be the case. But I doubt the CFA would help you get in, or succeed once in.
dspapo makes a good point as well, that you are basically describing two separate jobs.
 
You don’t need the CFA to break into corporate finance or to succeed in this career path.
The knowledge from the CFA program is somewhat useful, but probably only limited to Level 1 & 2 materials. CPA and, even more so, MBA have much more weight in this area, and to reach exec level you just solid work experience. So in short, MBA would suffice for corporate finance/strategy.
 
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