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.
An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certified Accountant or Certified Public Accountant, or Registered Public Accountant. Such professionals are granted certain responsibilities by statute, such as the ability to certify an organization's financial statements, and may be held liable for professional misconduct. Non-qualified accountants may be employed by a qualified accountant, or may work independently without statutory privileges and obligations.
Professional development, also known as professional education, is learning that leads to or emphasizes education in a specific professional career field or builds practical job applicable skills emphasizing praxis in addition to the transferable skills and theoretical academic knowledge found in traditional liberal arts and pure sciences education. It is used to earn or maintain professional credentials such as professional certifications or academic degrees through formal coursework at institutions known as professional schools, or attending conferences and informal learning opportunities to strengthen or gain new skills.
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the British Institute of Management (BIM) in 1947 or 1948, merged with the Institution of Industrial Managers (IIM) in 1992 to form the Institute of Management (IM), and gained a royal charter, and its present name, in 2002.
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 Project Management Institute is a U.S.-based not-for-profit professional organization for project management.
The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), formerly the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, is a U.S. organization offering accreditation services to business programs focused on teaching and learning.
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.
The University of Management and Technology (UMT) is a private for-profit online university headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It was founded in 1998 and offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees as well as certificate programs.
The American Moving & Storage Association (AMSA) was the non-profit trade association representing members of the professional moving industry based primarily in the United States. Its approximately 4,000 members consisted of van lines, their agents, independent movers, forwarders, industry suppliers, and certain individuals and organizations.
MCI Management Center Innsbruck is a privately organized business school in Innsbruck, Austria offering study programs leading to Bachelor and Master degrees as well as Executive Master programs, Executive Certificate programs, Management seminars, Customized programs and research.
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology or MMUST, formerly Western University College of Science and Technology, is a non-profit public university in Kenya. The university is named after Masinde Muliro, a Kenyan politician who helped found the institution. It has approximately 25,000 students across its branches: Main Campus and its two satellite campuses, Webuye Campus and Bungoma Campus
Lagos Business School (LBS) is the graduate business school of Pan-Atlantic University and is owned by the Pan-Atlantic University Foundation (PAUF), a non-profit foundation registered in Nigeria. LBS was founded on inspiration from the teachings of St. Josemaria Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei. LBS offers academic programmes, executive programmes and short, focused programmes in Management. The LBS main campus is located in Ajah, Lekki, Lagos State.
The Computing Technology Industry Association, more commonly known as CompTIA, is an American non-profit trade association that issues professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. It is considered one of the IT industry's top trade associations.
The Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.) is one of the two main U.S. organizations that accredit personnel certifications or certificates. In November 2009 the ICE formally changed its name from the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA).
In business, a B Corporation is a for-profit corporation certified by B Lab for its social impact. B Corp certification is conferred by B Lab, a global nonprofit organization. To be granted and to maintain certification, companies must receive a minimum score of 80 from an assessment of its social and environmental performance, integrate B Corp commitments to stakeholders into company governing documents, and pay an annual fee based on annual sales. Companies must re-certify every three years to retain B Corporation status.
Smithbucklin, based in Chicago, is an association management company, founded in 1949 with secondary offices in Washington, D.C.; Old Lyme, Connecticut; St. Louis, Missouri; and San Ramon, California.
MCI Group is based in Geneva, Switzerland, it is the world's largest professional conference organiser employing 1,800 people in 31 countries as of April 2016. The company also operates as an association management company, or AMC.
Boston University Metropolitan College (MET) is one of the 17 degree-granting schools and colleges of Boston University.
