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Hi my name is Hisham Aziz and I have just finished my undergrad in software engineering from U of T in Canada. I have just started a job in Toronto with an ERP CRM company. I have about a year of pre graduation experience in IT.

After a summer of serious summer of introspection I have realised that I want to pursue a career in Accounting or/and Finance, where my IT skills would be a plus, after say 2 years with the company that I am with right now (or not if thats not the way I should go).

Here and now I am pretty stressed out. I am 24 and would like to use the next 6 years with maximum efficiency to achieve this goal. Now what would be the best combination at this point? To do a CFA, a CA, or an MBA (rather do one of the first two). Im leaning towards the CA but I fear this may take too long at this point.

Any suggestions or tips?

asteriskrntt1's picture

Finance and accounting are two very different fields. They are also 2 very big fields, so you need to define more narrowly what you want to do, or think you want to do.

I don't know that doing your CA will take you any more time than a part-time MBA or CFA. However, if you have absolutely no accounting or finance background, getting your CA or CFA will be torturous as they expect you have the basics in your tool kit already. That adds another couple of levels to what are already very grueling programs.

jhack's picture
shamwise's picture

I thought the CFA required no base knowledge of finance. Im not sure exactly what area, basically I want to be the bridge for ERP systems etc, between finance guys and systems software. Also I want to go into banking so there. The reason why I am even thinking CA is because it sets you up so well for any thing on the business side.

Hisham

kklogic's picture

It sounds to me like you want to look at Finance over Accounting. As was mentioned, they are two very different disciplines. The latter is the "bean counting" aspect - the former is more creative and interfaces with nearly every department in a company. I think it sets you up for better future growth.

I'm sure I'll offend someone unintentionally, but I have yet to see someone do their MBA straight out of school and get the proper value and knowledge out of it. It's best done with some experience in the working world to set the framework for it.

stephenbooth_uk's picture

[quote="shamwise"]I thought the CFA required no base knowledge of finance. Im not sure exactly what area, basically I want to be the bridge for ERP systems etc, between finance guys and systems software. Also I want to go into banking so there. The reason why I am even thinking CA is because it sets you up so well for any thing on the business side.

Hisham[/quote]

The role you describe sounds like a subset of the Business Analyst role, a large part of the Business Analyst's job is providing the link between the business (including finance) and IT. You might want to take a look at the International Institute of Business Analysis web site ([url]http://www.theiiba.org[/url]).

Stephen

shamwise's picture

Ok BA sounds interesting. Would a CFA or and MBA Finance be useful for such a role. Also somebody here mentioned the worth of a MBA, i know this is prob a whole other discussion, but for my particular background, which would you say is better, MBA(Finance) or a CFA?

Hisham

shamwise's picture

Ok, so I am now faced with a Quandry. I am preparing for my CFA. I am getting offered with a job in a bank and also a job working with ERP's. Since I know I eventually want to switch to finance I am not sure whether I should switch over NOW or after my CFA. Idea's?

Hisham

kklogic's picture

Which sets you up for future growth either within that organization or externally?

I didn't attend university, so I've always had to keep my eye on the prize. For me, that meant knowing what my dream job is. Because that dream job typically required a degree, I had to make sure I made smart career choices that got me one step closer.

When presented with an opportunity, I simply asked myself the question, "how does this get me closer to that dream job?" It made this type of decision more easy for me. The hard part is figuring out your goals and dreams! :)