I am looking into registering for the CFA Level 1 exam next June, but recognize the strong quantitative element of the exams. I never took Calculus in high school, undergraduate or graduate degrees (MBA). The closest I got was taking pre-calc in HS, and Applied Math for Management in college. Will I be at a disadvantage? How important is calculus to the CFA exams? Thank you.
Knowing calculus is not necessary. You will be fine without it.
not at all, ur good to go as calculus is not required at any level of CFA
calculus is definitely not necessary, but it can be useful if you’re an ultra nerd and like seeing where some of the equations are derived from. e.g., value added (VA*) based on optimal level of residual risk (w*)
I know absolutely nothing about calculus. The last math class I took was my junior year of high school, and it was basic HS algebra. And I passed all three CFA exams.
^I have a vacation home in Stanley. Yes, it’s close to Argentina.
Your undergrad had no math Greenie??? A business undergrad?
^Long story, but…
I have no business undergrad. My undergrad is in Spanish, and I tested out of Algebra (due to high scores on my ACT or something).
When I went back to get my MBA, there was no math requirement.
Ergo, no math classes beyond my junior year of high school. I didn’t even know how to spell “calculus” before I saw this thread.
CPA/CFA without MATHS background!!!
Do you guys really think the charter is only achievable with graduation? I just passed my A levels, permitting university entrance and then started an apprenticeship, anyway feeling fine in the program… 
^^ Hey medal man, you said you wouldn’t post unless your name was mentioned in the comments. That didn’t last very long.
US educated does not equal German education. Nonetheless I was more surprised that CPA didn’t have some minimal post secondary math requirement. It had single variable calculus and stats as a minimum in Canada.
the racist troll cant hide for long
I told I won’t post in WC section only.
racist troll…i hope you know how to read "…“english”…I had taken an oath to never post in WC unless i am quoted…and i have kept my words…
To take the CPA exam, there are no explicit math requirements. However, all CPA’s have to have a Bachelor’s degree, which has a math requirement of at least college algrebra.
And most CPA’s also have a BBA, or Bachelor’s in Business Administration, which has a statistics requirement. Most BBA programs also require a very basic “Business Calculus” class which doesn’t have all the trig stuff in it, but shows the basics of an area under the curve, the first derivative, and an integration.
Remember–I took a very unusual path to…pretty much everything I’ve done professionally. So don’t use my experience as a “guide” for anything.
I went from writing software to run numerical control systems (mills, lathes, punch presses, and so on) to writing software for navigation using GPS satellites and deep-ocean transponders (DOTs) to designing explosively formed penetrator warheads to writing software to control traffic cameras to analyzing mortgage backed securities (MBSs).
Does that count?
^Is that all you got, Magician? Pshaw…
Went to Hacksaw State straight out of high school. Majored in psychology, because I knew I could solve all the world’s problems. Got disillusioned with college because I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life. So I joined the Marines.
Spent five years in the Marines doing NSA spy work. Went to college to finish my bachelor’s in Spanish during those five years. (Why Spanish? Simple. The Marines sent me to Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, to learn Spanish. It’s an accredited institution, and it gave me 47 hours of Spanish. That was the quickest way to finish a Bachelor’s degree.)
Got out of the Marines and went to work as a mutual fund and insurance salesman Financial Advisor, selling products I didn’t understand to unwary fools enriching the lives of all people who sought my woundrous advice.
Got disillusioned with the industry because I was terrible at sales (mainly because I didn’t know shit from shineola), so I went back to school to get a Master’s in Finance, because I wanted to be a Portfolio Manager at JPMorgan or something. (BTW–when they say “MBA preferred”, they don’t mean “MBA from Hacksaw State”. They mean "MBA from Harvard/Stanford/Wharton/Notre Dame/MIchigan, etc.) While in school, somebody mentioned, “Hey–you’ve got a lot of accounting there. You should think about doing two more classes and becoming a CPA.” So I took two more classes, took the CPA exam, and became a CPA.
A few years later, I’m working at a small tax CPA firm, hoping to become partner so I can transform it into a “total wealth advisory” firm, where we do tax, valuation, financial planning (including estate and retirement), investment management, etc.
