Hey guys and girls, what is the recognition of CFA like in Malaysia? i.e. like for those who have completed their CFA, be it level 1, 2, 3. From what I see, CFA is more for those who work in the banks or as finance analysts/researchers/consultants, etc, and this qualification will set the bar for those who want to climb the ladder.

So my question is mainly:
During recruitment stage, do employers bother with interviewers with CFA looking for new jobs in the role of banks/analysts/consultant, but the interviewers only have experiences in other industry - like auditing/accounting/engineering?

Long answer short, ranking imo:
1) CFA + relevant experience + prestigious company background
2) No CFA + relevant experience + prestigious company
3) CFA + relevant experience + smaller company
4) Irrelevant experience + CFA + prestigious company
5) irrelevant experience + no CFA + prestigious company

There are few more permutations but essentially my view is ultimately based on your relevant skills, followed by your company reputation then followed by qualifications like CFA. CFA is geared towards portfolio management or analyst which are niche fields.

Nowadays, it's good to combo with IT/data management skills like SQL, power query/ pivots, ...etc. CFA on itself is pretty hard sell unless you are already a member with 4 years relevant working experience. It also depends which finance field. CF is more to pm/legal/regulatory/finance. ECM/Debt/LF are more financial modelling/ pm/ legal. PM/ finance analyst lots of dm/ analytics/ legal

This post has been edited by Topace111: May 2 2021, 04:44 PM

charterholder here. pointless lol. many other ways to stand out.

Thanks, my gut feeling somehow told me the same, niche fields. And it really depends, I think it's more like bosses will ask you to take it later if really necessary.

Any suggestions if I want to venture out of the accounting field? I come from auditing background and I've seen enough politics just to take advantage of others instead of taking the responsibility to actually upskilling ourselves. I wouldn't mind CF or finance analysts roles.

Lol I am thinking since it's more to staying at home, maybe time to use the time more wisely by doing something.

Leaving is natural. The question is how much you willing to learn to venture into new roles. Without personal endorsement/ referral, it's very hard for you to venture into CF/ FA as those requires high level of adjustment from you when there are much more relevant / better candidates.

In terms of skills, data management is crucial right now and can really differentiate candidates. Those skills are mostly free too on internet like Microsoft BI, Access, power. You can branch out to SQL too. Anything than can make data gathering faster. Next, you can get familiar with regulations like listing requirements from Bursa and companies act 2016. Those are crucial during market deals and basic knowledge won't get you lost during meetings.

But how to get into CF role? i applied for all jobs but they all turn down on me

Opening is very limited as they only need 2 or 3 new entries per year.

Personal endorsement/ referral is very powerful here as HR will filter most candidates away as the requirements are very stringent compared to hundreds if not thousands of applicants.

If it's not fresh entry position, you will also face competition from many experienced staffs and some are willing to take pay cut/ demotion for the career growth.

do you know anyone where vacancy is available?

Hmm, what is the career growth like for CF or FA? Do you know? I mean in terms of hierarchy in the company and pay range.

I always have the idea like this - accept the demotion but in a high increment industry, then eventually pay will catch up even with smaller title. This shows the potential to earn much more in the career ladder.

FA is like FM/FC level. You will only see such posts in very large conglomerates/banks/MNCs. They are normally -1 or -2 below CFO as they do lots of analysis on how to improve for future and lots of coordination with other depts. This is different from those working in shared service center though that only focus on one/ limited aspect of FA.

CF promotion is similar to big4 advisory. Highly dependent on turnover and deals. Due to high learning curve, it can be slower and the cutthroat environment may make it tougher to stay on. CF under low basic pay but high bonus model depending on company and dept performance.

No guarantee for the higher salary range later as it depends on you also. Got some friends did that, few burnout after 2 hellish job, some turn out very successful but this are very ambitious people and big4 too "small" or restrictive for them. I think more sustainable is to find which skills you are good or willing and able to learn and find a job that allows you to achieve that. Most of those in big4 will tell you to jump to McKinsey or JP Morgan but its not the same for everyone. I know some that actually do very well staying in big4. Some become director at age 30 plus when the rest are still in managerial around that age in other field. Pay is different though, some MNC pays their manager 2x or 3x big4 pay.

Pay range can check hays report:
https://www.hays.com.my/salary-guide

Hijack the thread abit

Topace111 Currently I am studying for my Level 1 while working in a medium audit firm (I just started and I'm in insolvency).

Would you say it is relevant work experience?

My original plan was to apply for Analyst/ Trading roles but I did not get any responses so I opted for the current position.

This post has been edited by green_algae: May 6 2021, 09:20 AM

If you finish level 1 and level 2 you will find that the syllabus is a rojak of multiple financial products like equity, debt, alternative investment + accounting, corporate finance, ethics, quants, ...etc. Level 3 more to portfolio management.

Your current background on the low to medium relevance I guess?

Hello guys, thinking to join the party. current role finance analyst, more to accounting. is this will be added value to me? wanna try cfa lvl 1 first