The CFA program covers a wide range of financial topics and places a heavy focus on ethics and professional responsibility. The CFA candidate must pass three tiers of exams, as we briefly described. Each candidate should spend at least 250 hours studying for each level, according to the CFA Institute. The curriculum is self-study, which means that the candidate can work at his or her own speed. Due to the fact that tests are only given on specific dates, the candidate must choose their own pace to suit within those constraints. The fact that the training is self-paced is critical from an organizational standpoint. The candidate who successfully completes all three levels demonstrates that he or she is committed, determined, and goal-oriented. From an educational standpoint, we realize that every self-paced program necessitates this commitment and determination, as well as the discipline to make study a daily habit.

 

The second crucial part of the CFA curriculum is who chooses the topic areas, how they are picked, and who develops the content for those topics. First, because to the ongoing changes that occur on a global scale in the investment industry, the curriculum itself evolves from year to year. Every five years, major modifications are implemented - but only after a thorough examination of the practice on a global basis. In terms of curriculum creation, a committee of active CFA charterholders decides on the content, which is subsequently authored by the CFI Institute staff under their supervision. Many companies would love to have a council of practical experts who actively review curriculum to keep it relevant in terms of training and growth. Because of the ever-changing nature of the financial markets, the CFA curriculum must also alter on a regular basis. The CFA curriculum is powerful, relevant, and in constant changing with the financial sector because of the mix of professional Subject Matter Experts and field analysis.

 

Ethical and professional standards, statistics, analysis, economics, financial reporting, corporate finance, equity investment, fixed income securities and markets, derivatives, alternative investments, portfolio management, and wealth planning are among the topics currently covered in the CFA curriculum. Because the curriculum is developed by practicing CFAs, the content tends to be more practical than theoretical knowledge obtained through a university degree program. Furthermore, the CFA candidate can absorb subjects in a way that keeps them from becoming too product or market specialized because of the broad-based, generalist approach. This strategy also enables the company to develop a talent pool with a diverse set of skills that can be used to a variety of situations, jobs, and projects.

 

Within each topic area, the CFA curriculum is divided into many study sessions. Each session includes readings from Institute curriculum, textbooks, professional magazines, analyst reports, and case studies, as well as problem sets that correspond to the readings and require practical application of the information. Furthermore, each session and reading includes explicit learning objectives so that the applicant knows exactly what he or she will be required to achieve before the class begins. Additional materials at the CFA Institute contain extensive outlines and indices, as well as a lexicon.

 

The examinations are near-perfect demonstrations of Bloom's taxonomy in action. Exams are administered in numerous locations between June and December, as we've explained. Each exam is divided into three levels, each with its own testing technique and taxonomy. Level One exam questions, for example, are often multiple-choice and involve knowledge, understanding, and analysis. Level Two questions are case-study-based and cover analysis and application, while Level Three questions are essay and case-based and cover synthesis and integration. The fact that each exam has three levels that cover numerous testing methodologies and taxonomy levels is significant from the standpoint of adult education. This demonstrates the CFA Institute's commitment to ensuring that each CFA graduates with not only knowledge, but also the ability to use that knowledge in a variety of scenarios.

 

One of the other educational advantages is that the exams are solely administered in English. Although this may appear difficult to some, the Institute claims that it is a mechanism for assuring fairness and accuracy in both exam delivery and marking. The English-only tests offer a high level of learning and application for applicants from a consistency standpoint.

 

Let's take a look at the CFA curriculum and exam format in terms of organizational benefits before moving on. We've already established that a self-study curriculum necessitates a level of commitment and discipline that some people lack. However, because practitioners produce the content, a CFA candidate will receive the most up-to-date information accessible. This appears to relieve the organization of the responsibility for keeping the CFA up to current. In addition to the curriculum, your business can focus on training in additional functional or behavioral areas thanks to the network of CFA specialists. This is a significant advantage if you intend to create a CFA-only department. Finally, the exam structure assures that each expert not only has extensive knowledge, but also the ability to use it. We encounter a gap between knowledge and execution all too often as organizational development experts. In the case of the CFA, the chasm is likely to be quite narrow.