Which one is harder to pass CA or CFA?

Sounds to me we are comparing apples to oranges. An accounting designation VS a finance designation.
In terms of difficulty, I would say the CFA is harder based on the pressure we go through during that 1 day of the year (1st Saturday of June). I believe the CA exams are like a curriculum, where you can take it as you go along the course (Correct me if I m wrong).
However, I don’t believe using # of charterholders is an indication of difficulty. CFA is quite the narrow designation that applies to asset management and maybe some analyst work. Therefore, most corporate workers will go for the accounting designations instead (CA/CPA/CMA/CGA). I would say do the CA if you want more corporate work or even a broader spectrum of career paths. Like I said earlier, CFA is for the asset management crew.
 
I have my CPA license and just passed Level 3. Based on my experience, the CFA is much, much more difficult than the CPA exam. Not even close. I know a handful of others with both and they agree without exception.
By the way, I know a lot of CPAs who don’t know squat about technical FASB standards or IRS regulations. All it proves is that at a point in time(probably years ago) they knew enough to pass what is a very general and broad curriculum of accounting, auditing, regulation and tax.
 
To the OP:
As a Canadian CA (Ontario), who has just passed the Level 3 CFA exam, I feel comfortable saying that the CA exams are much more demanding.
That said, its important to remember that we prepare academically and mentally for the CA exams for years… through University, through our firm experiences - everything you do is geared towards passing the UFE. The UFE itself should be mentioned. It is a 3 day exam - that you can only sit once you’ve passed all of the other qualification exams - which by themselves are on par with a single CFA exam. The 3 day uniform final examination is 100% case based - entirely subjective. There are no “questions”. No case tests a “single” competency. You sit 5 hours on day 1 and 4 hours on each of day 2 and day 3. The first day is a 5 hour case study. I remember reading 15 pages of block text about “Ostrich Farms” in the 2006 UFE… and I wrote nearly 10 pages in response and performed a 5 page cash flow and financial valuation. There is no “do over” in a month. You can only write the “one exam” which is done over 3 days, once a year.
Remember: there are no questions. You simply have to identify the problems, prioritize them, and address them - as your professional judgement guides you.
Contrasted against the CFA - yes, the curriculum is intense from top to bottom. The Level 2 is a nightmare. I failed it the first time through. The depth and breadth of material is staggering. Many concepts are abstract and counter intuitive (hello derivatives!). But most of us - me included - studied for it while living my life and working a full time job. I didn’t live and breathe the material for 5 years. So to compare the relative difficulty of the CFA versus the CA isn’t easy.
I stand by my assertion though. The CA exams required 5 weeks of intensive, 8 hour per day case study practice leading up to the UFE in September. And that was after months of weekends given up to firm-organized case study sessions and practice exams that were graded by fellow firm members. That easily trumps the 2 weeks of practice exams and 3 months of casual reading (2-3 hours a day) I did for each of the CFA exams. Sure, the CA knowledge helped me at level 1 and 2… but not at 3.
Both exams are rigorous, and personally, the CFA exam is nearer and dearer to my heart as my philosophy and aspirations are finance/wealth management focused. But that doesn’t say that one designation is in any way “superior” to the other.
I simply think that the mental anguish I went through to get through the CA exams makes the CFA exams a walk in the park. :)
*Edit: The number of pages in the UFE on Day 1. Seemed high - so went and actually checked it.
 
I am a complete twit when it comes to accounting…I think i could never pass the accounting stuff…reading 20 pages of block text and writing 15 pages…good god…eventhough i failed L3, cfa does sound much easer..writing 2 sentences max for each mini question
 
notwithstanding my earlier comments, the discussion is moot, it’s like saying what’s more difficult, the tour de france or an ultra-marathon, or is an olympic sport harder than a non-olympic sport?
next up…is red better than blue? is green better than yellow.
 
I know a couple charterholders that also have CPA and they say pretty much the same thing that LawDog said.
I think thats where this conversation ends. Unless the CA is significantly different/tougher I can’t see the point in this debate. It seems pretty clear CFA is much more challenging.
Not….Even….Close…..
 
Harder can mean very different things. Some people think a long exam with several pages is hard, some people think that stuff where you’re doing repetitive useless things for a long time are hard, etc… Those two I mentioned I think should be categorized more as waste of time than as a challenge.
I would dare to say that hard should mean “number of hours of relevant learning needed for a lay person to pass the exam with confidence”
So a medical residence is hard, but also isn’t - performing the 3000th same shot doesn’t teach you much more than performing the 3000th DCF. Repetition usefulness stops at a time.
Pass rates are also a very weak measure in my opinion. I know someone who passed a public job exam (it’s like a contest - best score gets the job) in which the pass rate was like 0,1% and she didn’t even study. It was a challenging exam to some extent, but way less than the pass rates could lead one to believe - most candidates simply didn’t have a clue on what they were being tested on.
I don’t have an opinion on which exam is harder than which since I don’t even know what’s needed to past most exams.
However, certifications aside, it’s hard to beat the Putnam:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,400000,00.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top