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Question of the Day: What's the most interesting small town you've visited in South Africa?
CFA vs CIMA
- Thread starter Devill
- Start date
HavocXphere
Honorary Master
I'd definitely do the CFA.
Chances are you've already done large parts of the CIMA syllabus as part of the BCom. I've worked through parts of their course material as part of the CA route & frankly it didn't strike me as particularly challenging. Every time I spotted something where I though "whoa...tricky"...invariably the next line is a pointer that says this won't be tested.
Most difficult thing I saw that was in the scope was hedging calcs (options, futures etc). Admittedly I don't know how the stuff I looked at falls into their Level system, so its possible that I looked at the easy stuff.
If you do go the CIMA route chances are you'll see a few people who dropped out of a CA course if you catch my drift. It has merit in its own right, but I wouldn't want it as the primary selling point on my CV if I can avoid it. As a secondary selling point it would work for me though.
Some companies pay for your CFA...so if you've already got employment hooked up do ask. CFA might limit the companies who want you a little bit though...mainly banking and trading, while CIMA is useful in pretty much any business.
Chances are you've already done large parts of the CIMA syllabus as part of the BCom. I've worked through parts of their course material as part of the CA route & frankly it didn't strike me as particularly challenging. Every time I spotted something where I though "whoa...tricky"...invariably the next line is a pointer that says this won't be tested.
Most difficult thing I saw that was in the scope was hedging calcs (options, futures etc). Admittedly I don't know how the stuff I looked at falls into their Level system, so its possible that I looked at the easy stuff.If you do go the CIMA route chances are you'll see a few people who dropped out of a CA course if you catch my drift. It has merit in its own right, but I wouldn't want it as the primary selling point on my CV if I can avoid it. As a secondary selling point it would work for me though.
Some companies pay for your CFA...so if you've already got employment hooked up do ask. CFA might limit the companies who want you a little bit though...mainly banking and trading, while CIMA is useful in pretty much any business.
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I'd definitely do the CFA.
Chances are you've already done large parts of the CIMA syllabus as part of the BCom. I've worked through parts of their course material as part of the CA route & frankly it didn't strike me as particularly challenging. Every time I spotted something where I though "whoa...tricky"...invariably the next line is a pointer that says this won't be tested.
If you do go the CIMA route chances are you'll see a few people who dropped out of a CA course if you catch my drift. It has merit in its own right, but I wouldn't want it as the primary selling point on my CV if I can avoid it. As a secondary selling point it would work for me though.
Some companies pay for your CFA...so if you've already got employment hooked up do ask. CFA might limit the companies who want you a little bit though...mainly banking and trading, while CIMA is useful in pretty much any business.
Thank you very much
I just do not want to do CA as they are over rated in my opinion and I am not going to do my articles for 2-4 years
Maybe Ill just do both. The thing with CIMA is (IIRC) it has four levels and yes the first one is easy, but level 2 to 4 I heard is challenging.
I'm also finishing a financial management degree and asking the same questions. The 2 routes are nothing alike. But both would be like completing your masters. I think CFA is far more difficult to obtain. For CIMA you at least get some exam exemptions ;-)
HavocXphere, I take it you're a CA. Have you thought about obtaining the CFA charter? With a 40% or so pass rate, do you think becoming a CFA is more difficult than a CA? Just asking to get a comparison and some perspective.
HavocXphere
Honorary Master
If you say so.
Just checked. The stuff I looked at is evenly split between 2 & 3rd level. It appears they shuffled the syllabus around since then though...I think its called Managerial & strategy lvl now respectively.
You can probably get some credits for CIMA from your BCom.
HavocXphere
Honorary Master
I wish. No not a CA yet...still working on that & its gonna take a few more years and lots of running around making photocopies & coffee. Yeah, maybe I'll do CFA later. That is solidly in the "I'll cross that bridge when I get there" category.
Can't really judge the difficulty level of CFA. I know people who have done both CFA and CPA say the CFA is more difficult. I gather that most people attempt the CFA after having done some related qualification already, so it distorts it somewhat. If I had to guess I'd say its about even, the one is just a different type of difficult.
Of the people setting out on the CA route very few make it. We started out with something like 350 people in 1st year uni & I think about a 100 got their CTA. Of those most should make it through the QE and articles.
One more thing I forgot about the CIMA...I reckon with that the amount of experience you've got is crucial. i.e A CIMA related position puts you pretty solidly in a central operational position by definition. So a CIMA dude with experience is probably gonna earn a pile of cash.
I'm kinda surprised that MickeyD hasn't rocked up in this thread. Not sure which route he went, but he knows a lot about this stuff....and probably has a better balanced view on this than I have.
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Never took him for a "financial" type
I think I will start doing CIMA as soon as I am done with my honours.
Honours, gosh im busy with that hurdle at the moment! M O T I V A T I O N! Already 1/3 of a way through the year and im already cutting out, easter isnt going to be much of a break considering we write DP2 the week we get back! JOY
Never took him for a "financial" type
Really? It's kinda his bread and butter...
My 2c, CFA is worthless unless you want to be in financial services, and as I understand it, it is very tough. As in p-difficult. CIMA is a brilliant qualification if you into financial management/management accounting, but still isn't widely recognised in SA. Personally, I'd probably hire a CIMA before a CA if I was looking for a management accountant.
I don't really know if they would compliment each other all that well, I for one wouldn't do both.
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I don't really know if they would compliment each other all that well, I for one wouldn't do both.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
I sense a joke in there, but I do not know Mickey well enough to either get the joke or know what he does irl
Every Tom, Dick, Harry and their pet koala have a CFA these days. Hardly any of them really know what they're doing with it though. I know that the criteria has been increased exceptionally over the last two years though, so do some research...
I do not know from where you get your info but CFA lvl 3 every tom, dick and harry does not have
But I think I have made up my mind and will finish my honours degree in risk and then do CIMA.
****, do both. I wrote CA board exam and CFA 1 in the same year. Then kind of lost interest (also had a Jhb audit which I couldn't get out of) so never wrote CFA 2.
Though from what I've heard CFA years 2 and 3 are significantly more difficult than the first year. First year is not very challenging.
Though from what I've heard CFA years 2 and 3 are significantly more difficult than the first year. First year is not very challenging.
sure I heard / read somewhere that only 15% or something crazy of people who try for lvl 3 after they have done lvl 1 actually get it.