The CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) program stands out as a valued certification in finance. Passing the CFA exam marks a significant achievement, but many candidates ask themselves, “What after CFA exam?” The CFA program gives you a deep understanding of financial ideas and investment approaches, but combining it with hands-on skills can boost your career. Financial modeling is one such skill. If you’ve just finished your CFA exams or you’re pursuing the CFA program, adding a Financial Modeling certification to your resume could make a big difference. Let’s explore why this mix has such a strong impact and how it can improve your job prospects.
What is Financial Modeling?
Financial modeling creates a number-based picture of how a company performs . It uses Excel or other software to predict future earnings, weigh business choices, and gauge an organization’s financial well-being. In other words, it’s a key ability that helps you examine and predict financial results.
People use financial models in the following areas:
- Investment banking (valuations and mergers)
- Equity research (analyzing stocks)
- Corporate finance (budgeting and fundraising)
- Private equity and venture capital (assessing investments)
Learning financial modeling doesn’t just teach you ideas but you pick up hands-on skills that apply to sought-after finance jobs.
Why Financial Modeling After CFA?
The CFA program lays a solid base in areas such as equity fixed income, and portfolio management. Yet, companies often seek applicants who can mix this book learning with hands-on skills. For the following reasons, your answer to what after CFA? is learning financial modeling:
1. Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice
While CFA studies focus on ideas, financial modeling brings these ideas to reality. Take discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis, which you might have learned about during your CFA studies. When you learn financial modeling, you’ll build a DCF model from the ground up, helping you to use your knowledge in real-life cases.
2. Standing Out in the Job Market
The world of finance is tough to break into. A CFA title already makes you stand out, but when you add financial modeling skills, you show that you grasp both big-picture thinking and nitty-gritty details. Employers find this mix very appealing.
3. Improving Job Readiness
Jobs such as investment banker, equity analyst, and financial consultant require practical abilities. If you get training in financial modeling, you’ll be ready to handle tasks like creating valuations or putting together pitch decks from your first day at work.
4. Upskilling While Studying CFA
You don’t need to wait until you’ve completed all three levels of the CFA program to pursue financial modeling. Many students pursue this certification alongside their CFA studies to stay ahead of the competition. The time investment is manageable, and the skills you gain can even help you better understand the CFA curriculum topics.
5. Unlocking Diverse Career Opportunities
Professionals having financial modeling certifications can explore multiple roles in:
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Risk management
- Startups (building business plans and forecasting revenue)
- Project finance
How Financial Modeling Complements CFA
Suppose you’re analyzing a company’s stock performance. CFA knowledge will help you calculate ratios like return on equity or price-to-earning and interpret them. Financial modeling skills will enable you to build a complete model in Excel that projects ROE, price-to-earnings, revenue and cash flow to help create a valuation report that will be ready for the presentation to clients.
Why is Financial Modeling the Perfect Upskill?
The financial industry is changing quickly as monotonous processes are replaced by automation and advanced instruments. Professionals must be able to think critically and be creative in order to succeed, and financial modeling focuses on these abilities.
By 2025, job-ready professionals are expected to be in great demand as companies turn towards efficiency and focus on cost optimization. By obtaining financial modeling certification, you will mark yourself as a candidate with practical experience and strategic insight.
Why Choose The WallStreet School for Financial Modeling?
Among the most trusted names in the field of finance, The WallStreet School is the preferred institution for both financial modeling and CFA courses due to its industry-aligned curriculum and practical approach. These programs are the best choice for students because of the course’s flexible learning options, placement support, highly knowledgeable trainers and approach to practical training.
So, if you are asking yourself ‘What after CFA result? The answer is simple – obtain a financial modeling certification to boost your career with numerous new job options.
FAQs
- What after CFA if I want to learn while pursuing the program?
To enhance your skills and gain a deeper understanding of CFA ideas in real-world applications, you can take courses like financial modeling in addition to your CFA certification. - What after CFA if I want to stand out in the job market?
Adding financial modeling to your CFA credentials can make you stand out in the job market. It demonstrates that you’re not only knowledgeable but also job-ready with hands-on expertise.
What after CFA if I want to switch to investment banking?
For those looking to enter investment banking, financial modeling is the perfect upskill after CFA. It equips you with the technical skills required to handle valuations, pitch decks, and financial projections.
