Certifications: A way to build one’s profile

In today’s competitive field of management, everyone is looking for opportunities to differentiate his/her profile from others, and certifications provide them avenues to do so. Certifications exist in different domains, with different coverage, different specializations, having varied difficulty levels, different expenses, and opening various career paths at different roles and responsibilities.

Getting new certifications is the best way to build one’s profile.

Some of the most known set of certifications are

1) NCFM (NSE).

National Stock Exchange introduced this program in 1998; It is an online testing and certification programme. The program focuses on building conceptual base in the initial modules in terms of understanding financial markets: debt/equity, money market / capital market, to more advanced levels in equity research, commodity research etc. These certifications provide a good financial background prior to an MBA in finance.

For more info
http://www.nseindia.com/content/ncfm/ncfm_introduction.htm

2) FLIP Certifications:

They provided finance based certifications and trainings for b-school aspirants, current students and even non-MBAs for making a career in finance. They have tie-ups with various financial institutions as industrial interfaces for employment purpose

For more info
http://www.learnwithflip.com/

3) FRM Certifications:

Another very important certification in finance is FRM. Financial Risk Management. They cover the following modules

• Foundations of risk management
• Quantitative analysis
• Financial markets and products
• Valuation and risk models
• Market risk measurement and management
• Credit risk measurement and management
• Operational and integrated risk management
• Risk management in investment management
• Current issues in financial markets

The exam has two parts FRM Part1 and Part 2…

For more information visit the following website
http://www.garp.org/frm/overview/overview.aspx

4) CFA:

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is an international professional designation offered by CFA Institute to financial analysts who complete a series of three examinations. To become a CFA, candidates have to pass three six-hour exams. There are 3 levels for this examination L1, L2, L3 respectively.. It helps one to differentiate ones profile from others and also marks a stamp on the knowledge base of a student, who is in turn highly valued during the placements

For more information you can visit the following links
https://www.cfainstitute.org/pages/index.aspx

5) Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

The CFP Certification Examination is a 10-hour multiple choice exam, divided into one four-hour session (Friday afternoon) and two three-hour sessions (Saturday). The exam includes three major case problems and is designed to assess the student’s ability to apply his or her knowledge of the aforementioned areas to financial planning situations. Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_Financial_Planner

For more information you can visit the following links
• http://www.iifpindia.com/cfp.php
• http://www.cfp.net/

6) iCISA. Information Systems Audit – for Chartered Accountants.

For more information
http://www.icisa.cag.gov.in/

7) APICS CPIM/CIRM/CSCP.

These are domain certifications in Supply Chain Management. The course is CPIM which comprises of 6 modules. Conducted by IMRMI in most Indian Metropolitan Cities. CPIM is taken by most of the b-school students interested in specializing in operations and supply chain management

For more information visit the following website
http://www.apics.org/certification/cscp/
8 ) ITIL and ITSM

These certifications are useful for students or aspirants interested in making a career in IT or Systems
For more information visit the following links
• http://itsm.certification.info
• http://itil.certification.info

9) Six Sigma. Quality certifications.

Six Sigma certification for both Green and Black Belts is offered by the Institute of Industrial Engineers. It involves the streamlining of quality management functions. Six Sigma programs adopt a ranking terminology (similar to some martial arts systems) to define a hierarchy (and career path) that cuts across all business functions.

Six Sigma identifies several key roles for its successful implementation.

• Executive Leadership includes the CEO and other members of top management.
• Champions take responsibility for Six Sigma implementation across the organization in an integrated manner.
• Master Black Belts, identified by champions, act as in-house coaches on Six Sigma. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma.
• Black Belts operate under Master Black Belts to apply Six Sigma methodology to specific projects. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma.
• Green Belts are the employees who take up Six Sigma implementation along with their other job responsibilities, operating under the guidance of Black Belts.

Source: Wikipedia.com
For more Information Visit the following website
http://www.sixsigmaonline.org/index.html

Project Management Certifications: PMI provides certifications in project management
It provides following certifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP)®
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®
• Program Management Professional (PgMP)®
• PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)®
• PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)®

For more Information Visit the following website

http://www.pmi.org/en/Certification/What-are-PMI-Certifications.aspx