Value of a CMA after a CPA

CPA should be good enough. You should focus more on gaining extensive management experience rather than another certification.

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Your CPA,management ability, and people skills are more valuable than a CMA would be at this point IMO.

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This.

CFO is just another rung up the ladder. There are plenty of people who climb up the ladder who minimum required boxes checked. There is almost no one who climbs the management ladder who doesn't have management experience or people skills

Depends on what type of company you are looking to be CFO at too.

For example, if you are in the insurance industry, getting actuarial certifications will fast track you at public audit firms that have insurance clients and make you extremely attractive to insurance companies.

That said, CPA exams are a cakewalk compared to actuarial exams so this is not recommended in the slightest

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Depends on what type of company you are looking to be CFO at too.

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This too. Generally speaking I wouldn't give it much consideration for most industries. It can't hurt, but likely not going to add much value at your juncture. I just don't see many circumstances where I'd give the nod to somebody over two equally qualified CPAs because one had the CMA at upper management levels.


Timing and luck sometimes are just as important as anything.

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Timing and luck sometimes are just as important as anything.

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Aggravating but it's the truth.

I'm going to sit on it a while and see where I'm at in a year or so. Who knows...maybe I'll be a CFO by then and the whole point will be moot...but I doubt it.

Also 10 years in public is by no means a prerequisite to make CFO, if anything it probably puts you at a disadvantage.

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CPA exam is universally considered as one of the more difficult cprofessional ertifications to obtain.

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One of my coworkers with his FSA (actuarial certification) self studied for the CPA and passed every section first try in 6 months compared to 6 years and a couple fails at actuarial exams.

If companies give you over 300 paid "study hours" in a year, allow budgets that can exceed $15,000 just for "study materials" and give you raises + bonus just for passing one exam not getting fully certified, odds are it is pretty hard.

Basing your analysis on one guy seems to be an adequate sample.

You completely dismissed the difficulty of one of the more difficult professional exams because of one co-worker. I passed the CPA exam in a similar manner to your co-worker...doesn't mean it was easy. I've seen really intelligent people fail the CPA exam.

External factors such as a family etc. could have attributed to his failed attempts at the actuarial exam.

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External factors such as a family etc. could have attributed to his failed attempts at the actuarial exam.

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Considering actuarial examination process is over the course of 9 years on average, instead of these external factors being considered an anomaly, it is expected and the stamina it takes to get through is part of what makes the process difficult. The grind never stops. You can't just put your whole life on hold for 9 years, it is slightly easier to do something to that effect for 6-18mo

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You completely dismissed the difficulty of one of the more difficult professional exams because of one co-worker

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While I gave a single anecdote as evidence, that generally holds true

If you want a better argument, you are missing the obvious bias in that I am using people who have mastered how to study for professional exams. The expectation is that they would study better than your average CPA candidate and perform better.

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Back to the OP, passing the CMA won't make up for years of experience but it will put you ahead of people with same experience that don't have the certificate.

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It all boils down to industry.