Accountng and Business Certifications

 8/31/2026

1/14/2026 original post

The decisions senior and graduate accounting make and DO NOT MAKE at this time will determine their career destiny the rest of their lives. I maintain that independent certifications have trumped masters degrees. I begin with what I would call intro certifications. These are attainable by an accounting student with application to the study material. They consist of one exam.

Certified Internal Audit Practitioner

 https://www.theiia.org/en/certifications/iap/

Financial and Managerial Accounting Associate

 https://www.imanet.org/en/IMA-Certifications/FMAA-Certification

 https://www.gleim.com/fmaa-review/

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Now we move on to the far more difficult multi-part exams.  

Gleim offers free downloads on several exams so I am linking to them 

They are free and quite informative 

Certified Public Accountant - the Granddaddy of certs CPA

 https://www.gleim.com/cpa-review/exam-guide/

San Antonio CPA Chapter

 https://www.tx.cpa/sanantonio/about

Certified Internal Auditor CIA

 https://www.theiia.org/en/certifications/cia/

 https://www.gleim.com/cia-review/resources/cia-certification/

San Antonio Chapter

 https://www.theiia.org/en/chapters/united-states/texas/san-antonio/

Certified Management Accountant  CMA

 https://www.imanet.org/en/IMA-Certifications/CMA-Certification

 https://www.gleim.com/cma-review/about-cma-certification/

San Antonio Chapter

https://sanantonio.imanet.org/home?ssopc=1

Enrolled Agent EA

 https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/enrolled-agents/enrolled-agent-information

 https://www.gleim.com/enrolled-agent-review/about-ea-exam/

San Antonio Chapter

 https://txsea.org/Jalapeno_Chapter

Certified Information Systems Auditor CISA 

 https://www.isaca.org/credentialing/cisa

 https://engage.isaca.org/sanantoniochapter/about/aboutchapter

Certified Valuation Analyst CVA

 https://www.nacva.com/cva

Certified Fraud Examiner 

 https://www.acfe.com/cfe-credential

San Antonio Chapter

 https://acfesanantonio.org/

Certified Government Financial Manager CGFM 

 https://www.agacgfm.org/cgfm-certification/

San Antonio Chapter

 https://alamoareacouncilofgoverments.docu.team/mtiodew/index.php?store=12423

In case you wonder if my list is really complete I am listing the following sites 

and as a sign of our times, yes there really is

Certified Divorce Financial Analyst

 https://institutedfa.com/about-cdfa-course/

 Best Accounting Certifications in 2026

 https://thecfoclub.com/career/best-accounting-certifications/

 ttps://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/accounting-certifications

 https://www.accounting.com/certifications/overview/

 https://big4accountingfirms.org/accounting-certifications/

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AMA Certified Professional in Management 

 https://www.amanet.org/certified-professional-in-management/

American Marketing Association / Professional Certified Marketer

 https://www.ama.org/credentialed-learning/

Computer Certifications

ISACA 

As of 6/23/2026 I count 9 different certifications

 https://www.isaca.org/enterprise/training-and-credentialing

Finance 

Certified Financial Planner does not entitle one to do anything in particular 

It was actually created after the failure of Chartered Life Underwriter to gain much traction

This is a certification held by many who sell securities or are in the financial planning business

In and of itself it does not entitle one to do anything

FINRA.org

Security Industry Exams

These took the place of what were known as the NASD security exams

These exams are necessary to hold various position in the securities industry 

 https://www.finra.org/registration-exams-ce/qualification-exams

 

 

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