“WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A FINANCIAL MODELER
Someone working with financial models typically has an undergraduate degree in business, finance, or commerce. Additionally, she likely has at least one of the following postgraduate qualifications:
An accountancy qualification, such as CA (Certified Accountant), CPA (Certified Public Accountant), CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), CMA (Certified Management Accountant), or CIA (Certified Internal Auditor)
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree
A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation
A Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation
Of course, you don’t need all those letters after your name to build and work with financial models. I know many skilled modelers who come from backgrounds in IT or engineering, or who don’t have any formal qualifications at all. Currently, “there is no specific certification qualification for financial modeling professionals — at least nothing that is publicly recognized — but I expect this might change in the near future. You can find courses in financial modeling, however. For example, I run a five-day Certificate in Financial Modeling Using Excel course through George Washington University several times a year in Dubai. And I have colleagues who run similar programs. I would classify these kinds of program as short-course vocational training rather than full certification.
If you simply want to list financial modeling as a skill on your résumé, a short course is sufficient (backed up by at least a couple of models you’ve built in the real world). If you’re aiming toward a financial modeling career, you’ll need formal finance qualifications such as those listed here, as well as intense, practical, hands-on work experience.”