- CFA Exams
- Forums
- General Forum
- Topic: Seeking advice to a current MBA student
| Author | Topic: Seeking advice to a current MBA student |
|---|---|
| amitv @2014-12-01 09:39:10 |
Hello all, First time post - thanks for all of the great responses I have been reading - this is a really helpful resource. I am a 2nd year full time MBA student and have taken a bunch of finance classes already. I am taking Level 1 in June and will start studying next week. My question is around course load. I am debating whether to take more accounting and finance classes this term or whether to take the proverbial "leadership" type of courses in order to lighten my load to study for Level I. I guess the question is how helpful will more accounting and financial statement analysis case discussions be at this point - would you recommend just learning from this point on from the study guides or keep taking more challenging finance classes and focusing some study time on these courses which take more time? And of these two course choices: accounting and financial communication (accounting concepts, pension accounting, etc.) or, business analysis valuation (using BAV framework for financial statement analysis) would you think is most relevant? Thanks so much for your help and best of luck. |
| pachisa @2014-12-02 06:29:40 |
I would take the Finance and Accounting courses, that way its something that you're always thinking about and it won't make it hard or difficult to study. |
| Nisha @2014-12-22 22:23:34 |
I'd advise the opposite. Take the strategy/management course (assuming it's worth a crap). You'll learn the relevant finance/accounting by studying for the CFA....and if you feel left out by not getting enough accounting, take the CPA too. You're pursuing an MBA, not a Master's in Finance. I work with several people who have MS in Finance, and they absolutely suck as managers. What kills me is several of them often refer to their degree as "basically an MBA"; but they're wrong, and it shows. Not to say an MBA guarantees excellent management skills, but you might as well try and pick as many classes outside of finance/accounting as you can that will be applicable to your career. Others will probably disagree with me, but this is based on my experience. Each option has its merits, so you need to decide how well diversified you want your studies to be. |
| wiggly @2014-12-25 16:51:25 |
Level 1 FSA is very basic stuff and your material for CFA (required readings or analystnotes) should be more than enough ( assuming you had you undergrad degree in business / finance) .....you dont really need accounting/ finance classes as a supplement. If i were you, i would try to lighten my course load.... |
| ncfa @2015-02-24 19:38:11 |
well amitv basically u should try at least 2 full case studies for fsa. that's all. after that u will realize what is next best 4 u . |
| jjhigdo @2019-04-26 09:43:02 |
A little over a year ago, I considered this very question. I had two semesters left in my (part time) MBA and was preparing to take CFA Level I in June. I ultimately decided to pair back my spring credits just a tad (from 8 to 6 credits) and I chose finance elective classes that have some overlap with the CFA material. Although, I wouldn't necessarily call them "overlap" as much as complementary. MBA finance courses tend to focus more generally on the theories and spend more time on application and analysis. In terms of how much it helped prep for CFA, time spent in class could have been more efficiently used reviewing the actual CFA material, but at least I wasn't "distracted". I agree with the comment that you don't want to turn your MBA into just a masters in Finance (better off saving a ton of money and just pursuing CFA), but for me at least, it was just one semester and I still had the opportunity to take plenty business management and strategy courses. Most people did tell me I was nuts for attempting CFA I while working and going to school, but it honestly wasn't that bad. Now I'm recently graduated and on to Level II! |
