Credentials

Why choose a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

There are a number of reputable and applicable credentials that financial professionals may hold, but none is as rigorously focused on investment knowledge as the CFA, offered by the  CFA Institute. A distinguishing characteristic of the certification of a CFA is its uncompromising emphasis on analysis and the application of financial knowledge across core areas of the investment process. A relevant and evolving curriculum, rigorous examinations, and a stringent code of ethics and standards of professional conduct are the hallmarks of a CFA program.

Why choose a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA)

The designation of Certified Divorce Financial Analysts™ is awarded by The Institute for Certified Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA) to individuals who successfully complete the training and test requirements set by IDFA. IDFA is the pre-eminent national organization dedicated to the certification, education, and promotion of the use of financial professionals in the divorce arena. Certified Divorce Financial Analysts™ are trained to answer financially related questions for divorcing individuals in the process of divorce and to provide litigation support for their attorneys, which helps them prove and often settle their cases.

Why choose a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA)

When you select a financial professional with the elite CIMA designation, you are assured that this individual has a minimum of three years in the field of investment management consulting, has successfully completed a rigorous two-step, graduate-level program of study, offered exclusively by the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and has passed an extensive background check. CIMA designees must also prove their expertise through continual recertification requiring them to complete at least 40 hours of continuing education every two years.

Why choose a Certified Forensic Financial Analyst (CFFA)

The Certified Forensic Financial Analyst credential is designed to demonstrate to the legal community that the designee possesses a level of experience and knowledge deemed acceptable by the National Association of Certified Valuation Analyst (NACVA) to provide competent and professional forensic financial litigation support. CFFA professionals with their valuation background have come to be known as the premier litigation consultants because their knowledge of business value – and what drives value – perfectly positions them to counsel business owners and their legal advisors on issues going well beyond valuing a business enterprise. The CFFA professional must have over 1000 hours experience in the field or been involved in 10 engagements, as well as attend a five-day training program and pass a two part 8 hour exam.

The CFFA consultant is well positioned to leverage his or her expertise in a litigation strategic role. As a litigation team member, for example, the CFFA consultant can assist in discovery and trial preparation in a number of ways:

• Drafting and answering requests for the production of documents and interrogatories relating to the financial issues
• Monitoring, evaluating, and controlling documents produced during discovery
• Responding to the soundness of opinions of an opposing expert
• Evaluating expert witness testimony and work product
• Participating in the development of the overall strategy
• Assisting in compiling numeric summaries for briefs, pleadings or motions
• Offering testimony in discovery or at trial
• Preparing a trial (exhibit) notebook
• Preparing Visual Aids
• Rendering real-time assistance

The CFFA professional is an experienced litigation consultant who offers familiarity with Rules of Evidence, the attorney work product privilege, the professional standards of other organizations besides NACVA, the Rules of Court, courtroom protocol and etiquette, and visual, written, and auditory communication techniques.