CFA with no accounting background

[Saurab]

Hello Guys,
I have been going through CFA materials and I plan to take it on this June. I encountered with one of my finance professors today with whom I was taking finance elective class called "Financial management". Since the Financial Management course required a perquisite class called "Accounting 101" he hesitated to sign me in for that class. ( I never took any accounting class since I am a mathematics major with economics minor) So i told him that "I am preparing for CFA exams so I think I would be able to manage it" and then he goes "Wait you are planning to CFA exams and you havent had any accounting background". Then he started how tough it would be for me to pass CFA exams if i have no accounting background and basically he said I cant do it on my own. But I thought one can manage on your own to prepare for CFA exams. Am I getting something wrong over here or he is just scaring me here. Is Accounting section (Financial reporting and analysis) that bad for CFA level I that any student with no accounting background will have to go through a lot of struggling.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

A lot of people passed CFA L1 without any financial background. As long as you can read and memorize all the voluminous CFA materials, you'll be fine. I'm not sure if they follow up on CFA L2 and the rest.
I'm more concerned about you asking CFA question on a quant forum. What are you planning to do with it?

 

[Saurab]

I am planning to take CFA level 1 on june and then FRM exam on november. After that I plan to go grad school for my masters in mathematics. So when I am done with my masters in mathematics I will be done with my CFA too and then if i plan to do portfolio management I will do MBA or if i get more inclined to quants I will join financial engineering program.

 

[bansalmohit]

I am planning to take CFA level 1 on june and then FRM exam on november. After that I plan to go grad school for my masters in mathematics. So when I am done with my masters in mathematics I will be done with my CFA too and then if i plan to do portfolio management I will do MBA or if i get more inclined to quants I will join financial engineering program.

wow

 

[Saurab]

why? very Bad Idea?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

why? very Bad Idea?

Not sure if you are serious and not realize that but anyone reading it will see: CFA, FRM, MS Math, MBA, MFE. Are you planning to spend your life collecting degrees and letters without knowing what you want to do?
One of them will be enough.

 

[ICQuant]

Mind you Saurab that yes CFA level 1 is mainly about accounting more than anything else. The FSA section is something like 35% of the exam. It's not hard though, you can do it on your own, but what I'm saying is that yes, you will have to study accounting.
Good luck

 

[darth]

Mind you Saurab that yes CFA level 1 is mainly about accounting more than anything else. The FSA section is something like 35% of the exam. It's not hard though, you can do it on your own, but what I'm saying is that yes, you will have to study accounting.
Good luck

I don't think FSA is 35% .Check the curriculum for break-up. Also if you feel you can do it , you will . I did not even know what inflation and balance sheet was when I started my L1 preparation , but I could manage to pass it in around 20 days of study. So it all depends on you .

 

[purplyboy]

Yes, it can be done. Focus on practice questions, get your hands on as many questions as possible and answer them. The CFA exam will be harder than your practice questions. Focus on accounting if thats your weak part. Know what happens to ratios when you increase assets or debt and etc. Don't take the exam lightly what ever you do. Otherwise you're looking to take it again. Good luck.

 

[Kenneth_Chan]

It would be difficult without any accounting knowledge, but you could probably pass L1 with some quality study time and memorization skills. How much you understand is a different story, which I think is more important than passing. I'm taking L2 in June.

 

[nightkid]

but I could manage to pass it in around 20 days of study. So it all depends on you .

It is not typical for somebody to pass the CFA L1 with 20 days of study time, with or without prior background. If you want to do it, be prepared to commit a whole lot of time to studying. The material is by no means difficult, but it does cover a wide array of topics.

CFAI recommends (I think) 250 hrs of study time. Personal experience: I started around mid-Aug (Dec exam) and passed, though I did take time off from work prior to the exams to focus on studying. Also, I am an Engineer, so you can ignore what your prof told you.

Cheers.

EDIT: come to think of it, maybe darth is referring to study time required from a student's perspective, e.g. 20 days*10 hrs/day = 200 hrs, which is definitely doable.