An Honest Corporate Finance Institute Reviews 2024: Is CFI Worth It?

This is an honest review written by CFI graduate. If you buy the course through the links in this article, we can earn some affiliate commission.  This helps us to keep OnlineCourseing up and running for your benefit.

My Journey Into CFI?

You can call me a life-long learner. I am an MSc Fintech graduate (with distinction) from the University of Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Before my MSc, I have also done MBA (Integrated) from GNDU (gold medalist) and have worked as a global client and partner business manager with Singapore-based MNC for Two years. 

Apart from this, I was the finalist of the Women in Stem-Lovelace Colloquium that was held in 2019 at the University of Salford, UK, and Royal Bank of Scotland’s Hackathon in 2019.

I am also an Author and have also written various conference papers and have authored a book titled, The Magic of Compounding & Book chapters in the IGI Global’s upcoming book on Strategy Analytics.I have published 7 Publications and won 9 awards and honors till date.

Do I Have All Certifications Of CFI?

In total, I have 10 certifications from the CFI and 21 certifications in the finance sector.

Also, Finishing FMVA & BIDA Certification In Coming Days.

To do my job efficiently, I need to have sound knowledge of equity, derivatives, foreign exchange, commodities, and fixed-income fundamentals. That is why I decided to go for CMSA. I really enjoyed it and learned real-world concepts that a university degree hasn’t taught me.

After completing my CMSA, I decided to go for CBCA because I want to learn about credit evaluation, company analysis, industry analysis, etc., required to become a good credit analyst.

After passing my CBCA, I had the urge to learn more! Some people get hungry for food, I am always hungry for knowledge, which is why I decided to enroll in Financial Modelling and Valuation Certification (FMVA). 

After having such an amazing experience doing CMSA and CBCA, I was confident that I would enjoy FMVA too. To be honest, FMVA is the best course I have ever come across. I haven’t completed it yet and look forward to finishing it in the next few weeks.

In the next topic of corporate finance institute reviews, we will discuss additional features.

All About CFI Courses Offered:

Note: CFI Pricing Model has changed. You get access to 4 Premium courses FMVA®, CMSA®, CBCA®, BIDA® at one subscription cost.

FMVA:

FMVA Curriculum: 7 optional Prep Courses including an introduction to corporate finance, Capital IQ fundamentals, accounting fundamentals, Excel Crash Course, Macabus Essentials, reading financial statements, and maths for corporate finance. 

Then for building a strong foundation in financial modeling and valuation, complete 11 Core Courses ranging from accounting principles and standards to Scenario and Sensitivity Analysis in Excel.

Here is the full FMVA Review from another graduate.

Final Exam: Take the FMVA® final exam after completing the required courses to achieve your program certification (with a minimum passing score of 70%).

Opportunites After FMVA- Become an equity research analyst, investment banker, financial planner and modeler, private equity, and corporate development expert with the skills equipped.

Go To FMVA ➜

CBCA:

CBCA Curriculum: It offers seven optional Prep Courses to help you equip yourself with banking, credit, accounting fundamentals, banking products and services, forms of business structure, IBIS world fundamentals, and careers in commercial banking. 

Then ‘Core Courses’ to build a strong loan underwriting and credit analysis foundation. You will learn everything from 5 Cs of credit, building a 3-statement financial model, to professional ethics.

Finally, to obtain your professional CBCA designation, you need to complete and pass 3 & ‘ Elective Courses’ (out of the available 8 courses). The elective courses are designed to help the learners grasp advanced knowledge in lending. 

Here is full CBCA Review from another graduate.

Final Exam: Take the CBCA® final exam after completing the required courses to achieve your program certification (with a minimum passing score of 70%).

Opportunites After CBCA- You can land your job at the best banks. It offers a career as a commercial loan officer, commercial loan broker, private lender, credit analyst, risk manager, and credit adjudicator.

Go To CBCA ➜

CMSA:

CMSA Curriculum: To become a good capital market and securities analyst, you can complete 5 optional & ‘Prep Courses’ to learn about capital markets, foreign exchange fundamentals, economics for capital markets, math fundamentals, and Definitive fundamentals.

Then 7 ‘Core Courses’ will provide a sound knowledge of equity, derivatives, foreign exchange, commodities, fixed-income fundamentals, portfolio management, and professional ethics.Finally, out of 15 available & ‘Elective Courses’, choose 7 courses to get certified as CMSA®.

Final Exam: From 1st September 2021, the final exam will be mandatory to obtain CMSA®.

You can go through this indepth CMSA Review from a graduate.

Opportunites After CMSA- Be a portfolio manager, buy-side or sell-side analyst, wealth manager, risk manager, or become an asset management manager.

Go To CMSA ➜

BIDA:

BIDA Curriculum: To begin with there are 4 optional ‘prep’ courses to refresh your basic knowledge of Business Intelligence. These cover the fundamentals of Data Science, Machine Learning, Statistics and Excel.

14 ‘Core Courses’ will teach you how to use the most important tools and methods of BI, including Power BI, Tableau, SQL and Pythons. Real world examples and case studies ensure you get practical experiences.

You must also complete 3 out of the 7 ‘Elective Courses’ which cover advanced uses of the tools of Business Intelligence, ‘Bayesian Thinking’ and more.

Here is a full BIDA Review from another graduate.

Final Exam: After passing each course (with a minimum pass score of 70%) you can take the final exam to achieve your BIDA Certificate.

Opportunities After BIDA-  Become a Business Analyst, Data Visualization Analyst, Data Scientist, Quantitative Analyst or become a BI Developer.

Go To BIDA ➜

Will You Get A Job With CFI Courses?

Chances are good. Overall, the goal should be more skilled & confident in your financial endeavors after completing this course.

When you’re in your workplace doing real-world analysis, developing practical skills will help you excel. This is what CFI courses will offer you- an opportunity to be a better version of yourself and build a career that you will love!

Pro Tip: While theoretical knowledge is essential, it won’t help you when you’re back at your desk and need to execute a trade for a customer, assess credit application, or forecast sales for the next five years.

“ You get more if you bring more to the table, it is as simple as that! ” – (Guneet Kaur)

How CFI Impacted My Career?

CFI courses have been a career booster for me. Being a finance professional (more into the research side), I have a solid theoretical and practical understanding of corporate finance topics now.

The experience and the knowledge that I have gained through the programs helped me reach one step ahead in life as I have been working with top companies. My friends and my colleague sometimes call me ‘Wikipedia of Finance and FinTech’.

Moreover, many of my friends and friends of friends ask for honest reviews and then decide to go for the program of their choice, and they thank me for introducing CFI to them.

I think the best thing in life is to help raise other’s level up in life, this is how we grow, and I am happy that I am capable of doing so.

In the next section of Corporate Finance Institute reviews, we will see courses differences.

CFI Vs CFA: Which Is Better?

 Let me explain CFA Vs CFI in Short.

Parameters	CFI	CFA
Pricing	$ 497-$847	$3000-$4000
Duration:	100 Hours	600 Hours
Best For	-Corporate Fin. Individuals -Finance Students -Bankers	-Experience Individuals -Research Roles -Advisory Roles
Unique Features	-Interactive Practical Modules -Get Access To All 4 Courses -Good Reviews & Feedback	-In-depth Knowledge -3 Final Exam -Structured Curriculum
Work Experience	Not required	4 Years
Exams	Online (Anywhere, Anytime)	On-Site (Fixed Dates)
Pros	-Learn Practical Skills -Credible Courses Globally -Job Assistance	-Extensive Applications -Rigorous & In-depth Training -Most Relevant Certification
Cons	-Not Much Rigorous -Not as credible as CFA	-Expensive & Time-Consuming -Not For Beginners
Discounts	Regular Offers 10% Off Code – OCGRAD10	Not any active Offers
	Get Started➜	Get Started➜

CFI Cost: Self Study Vs Full Immersion?

CFI offers Self-Study and Full-Immersion Subscriptions. All of the courses in the program and the exclusive collection of modeling templates are included in both the Self-Study and Full-Immersion bundles.

I am consistently working on various academic and industrial projects since I enrolled in FMVA, which has prolonged my journey. Details about CFI Certification Cost.

How Much I Paid?

• For CMSA and FMVA, I paid $497 for each course
• For CBCA I have got financial aid and have paid $200.

Now the pricing model has changed you get all 4 certificates and 100+ other courses at $847.

Added Advantages In Full-Immersion:

• Additional financial modeling case studies
• Free entry to financial modeling competition
• Reviews & Feedbacks
• Various premium access
• Premium Support

What About Offers & Discounts?

There are regular discounts on CFI All-Access Subscriptions

Limited Code – OCGRAD10

CFI Reviews: Any Additional Features?

When I enrolled in FMVA, the exam wasn’t compulsory, so I decided to wait until the exam takes over to enhance the credibility of the designation. In this section of CFI reviews, we discuss more additional features

The CFI introduces new courses from time to time like Macabacus Essentials, Capital IQ Fundamentals, recent case studies for practice, which makes it valuable than any other finance course.

CFI is a member of the NASBA (CPE Sponsors) and offers five free courses (Excel Crash course, introduction to corporate finance, fundamentals of credit, forms of business structure, and introduction to derivatives) that are certified by NASBA as verifiable CPE. 

These courses provide 10.5 hours of free CPE and can be completed at your leisure. Overall, CFI keeps adding new courses from time to time to help alumni and prospective students upgrade themselves. Before jumping to a conclusion, let’s see things I liked & disliked in this corporate finance institute reviews

What I Liked?

Good quality of video lectures: There were several aspects of the program that I particularly enjoyed. For starters, there’s the video lecture format. All topics are well discussed, and students are often guided by developing a financial model (depending on the course).

Presentation design: CFI’s design rules are great; the colours of financial models may appear overly varied. Aside from that, All the courses give charts and formatting the attention they need. There will be a small dashboard part and instructions on making the charts in the most visually pleasing way in each model covered in the course.

Instructors: CFI’s curriculum courses were well-designed. Most of them were narrated by Tim Vipond, the CFI’s founder, and CEO. Tim’s delivery of the subject and explanation of complicated ideas impressed me. They also provide excel shortcuts and chart design features.

Reputed Institute Globally: A certification is only worth as much as the provider’s reputation. According to my analysis, the Corporate Finance Institute has become one of the top names in finance and is positioned for substantial development. They have been generating a lot of excitement in the sector, with over 100,000 enrolments per year, and it’s having a far-reaching effect.

What I Disliked?

Relaxed tests and exams: Aside from the benefits, the programs have disadvantages. The most significant burden is the program’s entirely online character. The ability to access an online curriculum from anywhere globally is a plus, but the online format also involves online assessments.

Moreover, the tests can be passed by someone with minimal prior knowledge of finance because multiple retakes are allowed.

Conclusion: Is Corporate Finance Institute Legit?

CFI Courses are adaptable & can be valuable in a variety of Financial sectors, Corporate finance, Capital market. CFI’s Practical approach, modular course structure, and entirely online certification process provide good flexibility. 

Also, in terms of brand recognition, it is getting a lot of traction globally. Hence, I do recommend CFI courses to finance enthusiasts and those looking to shift or upgrade their careers in finance.

Hope you find this CFI review Helpful!

FAQs:

We would be happy to take any suggestions regarding this corporate finance institute reviews or CFI, feel free to mention in the comments section below.

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