Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications that use post-nominal letters are an acknowledgement of educational achievement, or an agency appointed to safeguard the public interest.
A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and may need to hold a relevant license and may be a member of a stock exchange. They generally act as a financial advisor and investment manager. In this case they may also be licensed as a financial adviser such as a registered investment adviser.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United States, the CPA is a license to provide accounting services to the public. It is awarded by each of the 50 states for practice in that state. Additionally, all states except Hawaii have passed mobility laws to allow CPAs from other states to practice in their state. State licensing requirements vary, but the minimum standard requirements include passing the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination, 150 semester units of college education, and one year of accounting-related experience.
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined finish; regardless of industry. Project managers are first point of contact for any issues or discrepancies arising from within the heads of various departments in an organization before the problem escalates to higher authorities, as project representative.
Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is a professional certification credential in the management accounting and financial management fields. The certification signifies that the person possesses knowledge in the areas of financial planning, analysis, control, decision support, and professional ethics. There are many professional bodies globally that have management accounting professional qualifications. The main bodies that offer the CMA certification are:
- Institute of Management Accountants USA;
- Institute of Certified Management Accountants (Australia);
- Certified Management Accountants of Canada.
The Canadian Securities Institute is a Canadian organization that offers licensing courses, advanced certifications, continuing education and custom training for financial services professionals in Canada and internationally.
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is a postgraduate professional certification offered internationally by the US-based CFA Institute to investment and financial professionals. The program teaches a wide range of subjects relating to advanced investment analysis—including business analysis, statistics, probability theory, fixed income, derivatives, economics, financial analysis, corporate finance, alternative investments, portfolio management—and provides a generalist knowledge of other areas of finance.
The Certified Financial Planner certification is a professional certification mark for financial planners conferred by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards in the United States, and by 25 other organizations affiliated with the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB), the owner of the CFP mark outside of the United States. The certification is generally considered the gold standard in the financial planning industry. The certification is managed by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which was founded in 1985 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; it is neither a government designation nor an accredited degree.
"Certified management consultant" (CMC) is an international professional certification established in 1967 for management consulting professionals, awarded by institutes in 50 countries. The CMC enjoys global reciprocity; consultants certified in one country are recognized in most other countries. The standards for CMC in technical competencies and professional conduct were developed by international associations; in the US, such an organization is the Institute of Management Consultants USA, and internationally, The International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI).
Cisco Certifications are the list of the Certifications offered by Cisco Systems. There are four to five levels of certification: Associate (CCNA/CCDA), Professional (CCNP/CCDP), Expert (CCIE/CCDE) and recently, Architect, as well as nine different paths for the specific technical field; Routing & Switching, Design, Industrial Network, Network Security, Service Provider, Service Provider Operations, Storage Networking, Voice, Datacenter and Wireless.
There are also a number of specialist technicians, sales, Business, data center certifications and CCAI certified instructors.
The Oracle Certification Program certifies candidates on skills and knowledge related to Oracle products and technologies.
A certified flight paramedic (FP-C) is a person who has met the advanced certification requirements for flight paramedics established for this designation by the International Board of Specialty Certification (IBSC), a not-for-profit organization responsible for the administration and development of specialty certification exams for critical care professionals. The FP-C exam was the first specialty paramedic certification offered by the Board for Critical Care Transport Paramedic Certification in 2000. This certification is designed for experienced paramedics who have demonstrated advanced knowledge of critical care medicine.
A professional transportation planner is a professional engaged in the practice of transportation planning, relating to the transportation aspects of urban planning and infrastructure planning.
Following is a partial list of professional certifications in financial services, with an overview of the educational and continuing requirements for each; see Professional certification § Accountancy, auditing and finance and Category:Professional certification in finance for all articles. As the field of finance has increased in complexity in recent years, the number of available designations has grown, and, correspondingly, some will have more recognition than others. Note that in the US, many state securities and insurance regulators do not allow financial professionals to use a designation — in particular a "senior" designation — unless it has been accredited by either the American National Standards Institute or the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.
Certified safety professional is a certification offered by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. The accreditation is used in the United States by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and internationally by the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission and 193 Countries Consortium.
In the United States, Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) is an insurance agent professional certification designation. The CIC certification program was started by the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research in Austin, Texas in 1969. Some CIC courses can be used to fulfill state continuing education requirements for licensing as an insurance agent.
Forensic accountants are experienced auditors, accountants, and investigators of legal and financial documents that are hired to look into possible suspicions of fraudulent activity within a company; or are hired by a company who may just want to prevent fraudulent activities from occurring. They also provide services in areas such as accounting, antitrust, damages, analysis, valuation, and general consulting. Forensic accountants have also been used in divorces, bankruptcy, insurance claims, personal injury claims, fraudulent claims, construction, royalty audits, and tracking terrorism by investigating financial records. Many forensic accountants work closely with law enforcement personnel and lawyers during investigations and often appear as expert witnesses during trials.
The Certified Professional Organizer (CPO) designation is an experience and exam-based certification for professionals who have met specific minimum standards, and proven through examination and client interaction that they possess the requisite body of knowledge and experience.
Chartered financial consultant (ChFC) is the advanced financial planning designation awarded by The American College of Financial Services to individuals that have completed the specific training and have had three years of relevant business experience. Charter holders use the designation ChFC on their resumes and are qualified to provide comprehensive advanced financial planning for individuals, professionals, and small business owners.
The International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI) has since 1987 been the professional body worldwide for management consultants. ICMCI since 2013 is called CMC-Global.
