Corporate Finance Qualification

Corporate Finance qualification FAQs

Study specific

• Will the CF qualification give me useful practical information to help me in my career?

  Absolutely. The programme is designed by corporate financiers and tailored to the specific skills that corporate financiers require. The assessment at the intermediate and advanced stage is case study-based and aims to simulate the real life business issues that you will face in your career.

• Will this designation help my career prospects?

  Once you gain the CF designation, you can be secure in the knowledge that you possess a qualification that defines you as a specialist to employers all over the world.

  • Attaining your CF demonstrates that you have reached a level of professional competence.
  • The CF designation is the only specialist examination tailored to the demands of corporate finance.
  • The CF has globally recognised status and prestige, with delegates participating in the programme from over 50 countries worldwide.
• Do I need to be working in corporate finance to enroll in the programme?

  No. However, the large majority of students enrolling are either working in corporate finance or have relevant financial experience. As the assessment is so practical, students find it highly beneficial to relate their studies to their work experience. Attaining your CF designation requires that you pass the relevant exams as well as satisfy the work experience requirements.

• How much preparation do I need for each tier of the CF qualification?

  This very much depends upon the individual. The first stage of the qualification is a multiple choice exam testing your knowledge of relevant regulation and introductory corporate finance concepts. Most students are in a position to sit the assessment within two weeks of attending the course. The intermediate and advanced qualifications both have approximately four month study periods, leading up to the exam in March/ September. How intensively you need to work over this period will depend upon your experience to date.

Suggested study time:

SII Certificate in Corporate Finance	Approximately 100 hours
ICAEW Diploma	Approximately 200 hours over four months
ICAEW Advanced Diploma	Approximately 300 hours over four months.  Mostly self study, but as group work is core to this stage classroom tuition is essential.

• Does an accounting qualification help?

  An ability to understand and appraise the financial position and performance of a company is a pre-requisite skill for a corporate financier, and thus an essential part of the CF qualification programme. An accounting qualification will certainly provide useful skills to help with this.

• What textbooks do I need to purchase to prepare for the exam?

  None – the material provided to you is comprehensive and tailored to the syllabus requirement. The Advanced material includes a number of notable CF textbooks and academic papers that you will find useful not just in your CF qualification studies but also in your future career.

• How does the tuition programme work?

  The courses at intermediate and advanced level are highly practical. They draw upon real life business case studies that require delegates to work together to come up with practical solutions.

• What exactly does the course cover?
  
  SII Certificate in Corporate Finance
  • UK Financial Services and Markets Act
  • FSA's Conduct of Business Rules
  • Equity capital markets
  • The Takeover Code
  • Basic accounting
  • Basic quantitative techniques
  • Introduction to corporate finance
  ICAEW Diploma
  • Professional foundations of corporate finance
  • Financial statement analysis and international financial reporting
  • Changes in control
  • Valuation
  • Debt and equity
  ICAEW Advanced Diploma
  • Changes in control and restructurings
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Debt and equity
  • Strategic financial management and advice
  • How long are your Corporate Finance courses?
• How long are your Corporate Finance courses?

  SII Certificate in Corporate Finance			3 days
  ICAEW Diploma
  	Phase 1	Financial Statements Analysis	3 days
  	Phase 2	Valuation	3 days
  	Phase 3	Debt and Equity & Changes in Control	3 days
  	Phase 4	Exam Preparation	3 days
  ICAEW Diploma
  	Kick off day		½ day
  	Phase 1	Changes in Control, Restructurings & Mergers and Acquisitions	3 days
  	Phase 2	(residential) Debt and Equity, Srategic Financial Management & Advice and Mock Examination	4 days

• Do you produce a study guide to help me in my studies?

  Yes

• What additional support do you offer?

  Tutor support is always available.  By attending the classroom course you will also meet a network of CF professionals.