CFA VS CPA for Business Valuations
- Thread starter Rasec
- Start date
bhill020 Wrote:
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> CPA would give you the accounting knowledge req’d
> for all the PPA and impairment testing crap
>
> CFA pretty inapplicable IMO
The accounting knowledge required is pretty basic and not really an issue. The majority of CFA material is inapplicable, but is very well regarded. If you are doing debt instruments or exotic derivatives, CFA skills are a must.
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> CPA would give you the accounting knowledge req’d
> for all the PPA and impairment testing crap
>
> CFA pretty inapplicable IMO
The accounting knowledge required is pretty basic and not really an issue. The majority of CFA material is inapplicable, but is very well regarded. If you are doing debt instruments or exotic derivatives, CFA skills are a must.
Bread and butter for a lot of shops is goodwill impairment testing, purchase price allocations, solvency opinions and fairness opinions. The acctg on these jobs is generally light. You don’t need a cpa to perform discounted cash flow valuation and or market multiple valuation. Valuation is more of a finance than acctg job.
buyicide Wrote:
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> Bread and butter for a lot of shops is goodwill
> impairment testing, purchase price allocations,
> solvency opinions and fairness opinions. The
> acctg on these jobs is generally light. You don’t
> need a cpa to perform discounted cash flow
> valuation and or market multiple valuation.
> Valuation is more of a finance than acctg job.
+1
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> Bread and butter for a lot of shops is goodwill
> impairment testing, purchase price allocations,
> solvency opinions and fairness opinions. The
> acctg on these jobs is generally light. You don’t
> need a cpa to perform discounted cash flow
> valuation and or market multiple valuation.
> Valuation is more of a finance than acctg job.
+1
Mobius Striptease
New member
- Jun 18, 2026
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bhill020 Wrote:
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CFA
> fairly inapplicable to private co valuation.
>
totally false. there is a good portion of material in CFAI textbooks dedicated to the valuation of illiquid investments. relative company valuation and selection of multiples from guideline public companies, levering/unlevering betas from a pool of guideline companies, illiquidity discounts, valuation of early stage companies.
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CFA
> fairly inapplicable to private co valuation.
>
totally false. there is a good portion of material in CFAI textbooks dedicated to the valuation of illiquid investments. relative company valuation and selection of multiples from guideline public companies, levering/unlevering betas from a pool of guideline companies, illiquidity discounts, valuation of early stage companies.
bhill020 Wrote:
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> depends whether you’re valuing pubcos and complex
> pubco instruments OR private companies. CFA
> fairly inapplicable to private co valuation.
>
> some aspects (not all) of valuation are monkey
> work IMO. don’t really need either.
Not all private companies are mom & pop candy stores on the corner. Private company work is often far more complex than anything you would encounter with a public company. Work for public companies is often much larger is scope, but usually relatively straight-forward from a technical perspective.
——————————————————-
> depends whether you’re valuing pubcos and complex
> pubco instruments OR private companies. CFA
> fairly inapplicable to private co valuation.
>
> some aspects (not all) of valuation are monkey
> work IMO. don’t really need either.
Not all private companies are mom & pop candy stores on the corner. Private company work is often far more complex than anything you would encounter with a public company. Work for public companies is often much larger is scope, but usually relatively straight-forward from a technical perspective.
Mobius Striptease
New member
- Jun 18, 2026
- 0
- 0
higgmond Wrote:
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> Not all private companies are mom & pop candy
> stores on the corner. Private company work is
> often far more complex than anything you would
> encounter with a public company. Work for public
> companies is often much larger is scope, but
> usually relatively straight-forward from a
> technical perspective.
+1
how to value a public company for financial reporting purposes - check the stock price, multiply by number of outstaning shares, done
——————————————————-
> Not all private companies are mom & pop candy
> stores on the corner. Private company work is
> often far more complex than anything you would
> encounter with a public company. Work for public
> companies is often much larger is scope, but
> usually relatively straight-forward from a
> technical perspective.
+1
how to value a public company for financial reporting purposes - check the stock price, multiply by number of outstaning shares, done
^I agree with higgmond and Mobius Striptease. Private company valuation work is often complex because you are not dealing with a set of financial statements that has been audited for SEC purposes. Many times, the adjustments are far more complex than the traditional public company adjustments. In addition, many private companies are niche companies where it is difficult to come up with suitable guideline public companies so valuation is tricky and requires a high degree of critical thinking skills.