CPA thinking about CFA

CFA General
#1

Hi everyone,

I’m thinking about sitting for the CFA exam, I’ve passed all 4 parts of the CPA exam but about half way through studying for that I realized i didn’t want to work in public accounting anymore. Since I had already passed two parts I figured I would finish it, but like I said before I don’t see myself being an accountant as a career.

I just recently got a new job in a very niche real estate capital markets group and I’m trying to get a figure out if the CFA is worth sitting for or not. The most critical question that I have for you all is this: what types of firms value the CFA? Are they PE, VC, IB, Hedge Funds, Mutual Funds etc? What kinds of jobs do CFAs most commonly have?

Also anyone who has taken both the CPA and CFA that has any insight regarding similarities/differences between tests please share.

Thank you!

#2

I’m a CPA and CFA.

Imagine the four different parts of the CPA exam. Remember how hard they were? How much you studied?

Now imagine taking all four parts at once.

And you can only take the test once per year.

And there is no partial credit. Just a P or an F.

Thats a fair view of CFA Level 1. Level 2 is about 50% harder than 1. And Level 3 is even harder than 2.

#3

Damn - is this true?? When people ask me the difficulty, or to compare CFA to something else, I say think of it as the Bar exam of Finance, has a nice ring to it.

#4

I have both.

If given a choice, I would take all four CPA exams rather than any one level of the CFA program.

That said, CFA level 1 had a decent amount of overlap with the CPA materials, so you will not be starting from zero. There are a lot of variables impacting CFA career options. I would check job postings in the market where you live to see what possibilities are available to you.

#5

My closest friend is a CPA and a Level II candidate in the CFA program. He’s echoed identical sentiments to me as Greenie and whacim.

#6

Don’t do it kid. You will end up like greenie an unemployed bum!

#7

LOL. Best of luck to you Greenie, like someone else wrote, you’ll do just fine.

#8

Out of line.

#9

Yes, for those that don’t frequent the Water Cooler forum, this is what’s known as a “meta” joke made by our resident jackass (I say that with love). You can trust Greenie’s advice.

#10

I am working for a Real Estate investment firm, CFA is a major asset for the analyst job. Also, it adds a lot of credibility to our pension funds partners.

#11

im actually the opposite. I’m a L3 candidate and thinking about the CPA as a career as I think I want to get into accounting and internal audit. Capital markets is kinda boring for me…

#12

I am both. If you have completed the CPA, CFA Level 1 and CFA Level 2 will be relatively easier for you than other candidates - simply put, anything that is Financial Statement Analysis you should already know, and that’s a huge chunk of Level 1 and 2. I would say the CPA also has overlap with another 10% of the Level 1 exam. CPA doesn’t help with Level 3 at all.

In conclusion, the CFA program is certainly more arduous and (likely) will take longer than the CPA exams, but at least with the first two parts you will have a clear advantage over your competition.