Need some advice?

D

dejavu

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
I’m currently in my 2nd year of Bachelor of Business Administration. It’s a three year course and I’ll be specializing in finance in my third year. I have a few options in front of me to pursue after I graduate and would like your opinions on them:
1. CFA
2. Chartered Accountancy
3. MBA
4. CIMA
Also, how much of accounting knowledge is necessary for CFA? Is CFA also flexible like CA? In CA, I will be exempted from giving the Common Proficiency Test (CPT) if I’m a graduate. If I pursue CFA after graduating from BBA will I be exempted from any exams?
Also, I’d like to know your opinions on CIMA and MBA and what order should one ideally complete them in.
 
If you want to work in institutional portfolios or be a security analyst, go CFA.
If you want to audit or produce financial statements, go with CA.
If you want to be in management or administration, go MBA.
If you want to work with smaller, individual portfolios, go CIMA.
A whole whole lot of accounting knowledge is necessary for CFA.
I don’t know the answer to the rest of your questions, but I’m sure you can google it.
 
Greenman72 wrote:
If you want to work in institutional portfolios or be a security analyst, go CFA.
If you want to audit or produce financial statements, go with CA.
If you want to be in management or administration, go MBA.
If you want to work with smaller, individual portfolios, go CIMA.
A whole whole lot of accounting knowledge is necessary for CFA.
I don’t know the answer to the rest of your questions, but I’m sure you can google it.
Click to expand...
Is the official study material provided sufficient or would you suggest attending tuitions or something for CFA?
 
dejavu wrote:
Greenman72 wrote:
If you want to work in institutional portfolios or be a security analyst, go CFA.
If you want to audit or produce financial statements, go with CA.
If you want to be in management or administration, go MBA.
If you want to work with smaller, individual portfolios, go CIMA.
A whole whole lot of accounting knowledge is necessary for CFA.
I don’t know the answer to the rest of your questions, but I’m sure you can google it.
Click to expand...
Is the official study material provided sufficient or would you suggest attending tuitions or something for CFA?
Click to expand...
There are not exemptions to the CFA.
I have found the materials provided by the CFAI to be sufficient but others opt for 3rd party note providers.
As you will soon find out on this forum, it is not clear which is better for studying.
 
^I think Schweser will teach you “just the facts”. It just teaches you what you need to know in order to pass. (And that’s what I was after–just passing the exam was good enough for me.)
The CFAI material is really long, wordy, and contains more narrative than you possibly want to read. But it probably does a better job of teaching the material, if you really want to immerse yourself in it.
Personally, I used Schweser’s Premium package for all three levels. I only touched the official curriculum for end-of-chapter questions. Lots of people pass using official curriculum though. The choice is yours.
.
 
^Good point.
@OP - you need to clarify your CIMA. (I normally think of CIMA as the Certified Investment Management Analyst, because the US doesn’t have the other CIMA. At least not widely known.)
 
I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear earlier.
I meant CMA (Certified Management Accountant), a qualification awarded by CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) UK.
 
^Erego, I retract my earlier comment. I know nothing about that CIMA, since I’m a US CPA.
 
Also, what are the cut-off/passing marks for all 3 levels of CFA? I can find varied opinions/facts scattered all over the internet…
 
dejavu wrote:
Also, what are the cut-off/passing marks for all 3 levels of CFA? I can find varied opinions/facts scattered all over the internet…
Click to expand...
The passing mark is never released and likely changes every year. Think of it more like your score vs. other candidates.
The general rule of thumb is if you score 70%+ you will definitly pass
 
And regarding the nature of the exams. Is there a lot of cramming up to do? I recently appeared for the first stage of the Chartered Accountancy exam in India and there are loads of laws, sections and other theoretical stuff to mug up. So is CFA application oriented or is it like CA?
 
this should not be your concern. this is putting the cart in front of the horse in a big way and will simply cause you a loss of valuable time and money. dont worry about which certification or degree ur gonna pursue after the one ur currently pursuing. figure out who you are and what you want and then get a solid 2nd year internship and then get a job. then work that job for a year and make sure its what you want. then, whatever certification or degree makes the most sense for you will be obvious and you should pursue that one.
 
dejavu wrote:
Also, what are the cut-off/passing marks for all 3 levels of CFA? I can find varied opinions/facts scattered all over the internet…
Click to expand...
This shouldn’t matter to you at this moment. Study your a$$ off and aim for the best score possible. The cut off passing mark is out of your control.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top