Become a Certified Forecasting and Budgeting Analyst (CFBA®).
The global certification of GAFM® — Global Academy of Finance and Management — for the professionals who forecast, budget, approve investment and answer for results: FP&A analysts, controllers, finance managers, CFOs, auditors and board members. A quantitative decision methodology built on EVA, WACC, NPV, IRR, zero-based budgeting, rolling forecast and variance analysis.
“From Forecast to Value. The Global Standard for Budgeting.”
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- START
- Immediate, rolling admission
- DURATION
- 4 months · 50 hours · 100% online
- LANGUAGES
- English and Portuguese content
- INVESTMENT
- USD 550
The credential of those who forecast, budget and answer for results.
The CFBA® program was built from the official CFBA® Certification Manual, which consolidates the global practice of forecasting, budgeting and managerial control and translates it into executive decision-making: value creation, financial planning, investment analysis, zero-based budgeting, responsibility centers and variance analysis.
Other certifications test what you memorized. The GAFM CFBA® program evaluates what you do when revenue misses the second-quarter assumption, when a project shows IRR above WACC but insufficient cash, when a 12% zero-based cut threatens delivery capacity, or when the board demands to know how much EVA the company actually created.
GAFM established — nearly three decades certifying finance and management professionals.
First certification body in the world to hold ISO 9001, ISO 21001 and ISO 29993 simultaneously.
Nations represented on the GAFM advisory board of CEOs, executives, professors and deans.
Credentials verifiable online at GAFM.org and listed in the FINRA professional designations database.
What you will be able to do
- 01Build the full budget chain — from the sales assumption to the cash budget, projected income statement and balance sheet.
- 02Quantify value creation with NOPAT, invested capital, WACC, EVA and MVA — and explain what EBITDA hides.
- 03Approve or reject investments with CAPM, NPV, IRR, modified IRR, discounted payback and working-capital analysis.
- 04Run zero-based budgeting with decision packages, avoidable-cost criteria and capacity protection.
- 05Decompose variances into price, volume, mix, efficiency and capacity — and defend the explanation before the budget committee.
- 06Design responsibility centers, transfer pricing and executive compensation aligned with value creation.
“Budgeting is not a spreadsheet exercise: it is the discipline of turning assumptions into decisions and decisions into value. The CFBA® was designed so that every candidate learns to decide as a CFO does — with method, evidence and accountability.”
- Doctor of Administration (World Christian University, 2019) and Master of Accounting Sciences (Rio de Janeiro State University — UERJ, 1997).
- Graduate of the Brazilian Naval Academy (Naval Sciences, 1985) and of Business Administration (SUESC, 1989).
- Holder of Chair nº 22 of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Arts, History and Literature (ABRASCI).
- Co-author of the book Análise Econômico-Financeira (FGV Management series, Fundação Getulio Vargas).
- Former Controller of Financial Execution of the Brazilian Navy Ministry (1997–2000); led a World Bank partnership project for the State of Rio de Janeiro.
- Professor in graduate programs at IBMEC, PUC-RJ, FGV and UFRJ; corporate teaching for CEMIG, USIMINAS, Eletronuclear and Promon Engenharia.
Professionals who answer for the budget and for results before management and the board.
FP&A analysts and managers
Assumption building, sales, production, purchasing and expense budgets, rolling forecast, calculation memory and monthly performance reports.
Controllers and management accountants
Budget consolidation, ABC/ABB costing, contribution margin, responsibility centers, transfer pricing and variance analysis.
CFOs, treasurers and finance managers
Cost of capital (WACC), EVA and MVA, cash budget and working capital, covenants, capital rationing and investment portfolio prioritization.
Auditors, board members and consultants
Budget-cycle governance, authority matrix, budget-slack detection, post-implementation audit and critical reading of the financial plan.
Ten modules, 50 hours — from the concept of budgeting to the governance of control.
Foundations of corporate budgeting
Value creation: EVA, MVA, NOPAT and WACC
Executive compensation aligned with value
From strategic planning to the financial plan
Risk, return and investment analysis
Zero-based budgeting (ZBB)
Managerial control: responsibility centers
Budgetary control and variance analysis
Cycle governance and bibliometric analysis of the field
Building budgets and managerial control with Lovable
A complete decision methodology — not just reading.
Official CFBA® Manual
Ten technical chapters covering budgeting, value creation, compensation, financial planning, investment analysis, ZBB, responsibility centers, budgetary control, the bibliometrics of the field and building the budget with Lovable.
CFBA® Decision Guide
50 case studies with context, objective data, a dilemma, antagonistic views, a step-by-step analytical solution, a recommended decision and a key lesson.
Budget Decision Simulator
50 assessed rounds in 5 phases of rising complexity — in each one you take the seat of an FP&A analyst, controller, finance manager, CFO or board member.
Executive mentoring & specialist
A live 1:1 mentoring session and a specialist chat throughout the preparation period.
CFBA® Toolkit
Five ready-to-use deliverables: maturity diagnosis, assumption package, EVA/WACC/investment calculator, cascading variance analysis and authority matrix.
See the standard before you enroll.
Hundreds of decision cases built on the CFBA® body of knowledge are open to the public — direct evidence of the depth of the certification.
4 hours. 100 questions. One complete case study.
The final stage is the official GAFM® exam, scheduled by the candidate within the 4-month window: 100 online questions covering NOPAT and EVA, cost of capital, NPV and IRR, break-even and variance decomposition, plus a case study — building and defending a company's annual budget plan with an executive report of assumptions, scenarios and action plan. Pass mark: 70%.
A credential verifiable worldwide.
Upon passing, you receive the CFBA® title and digital seal, verifiable online at GAFM.org. The certification is valid for two years; maintenance requires 15 continuing-education hours and the annual GAFM maintenance fee, due in the 25th month after certification.
The CFBA® is part of the GAFM Six Crown — stackable designations such as CRA®, CTS™, CAMC™, CCP™ and CFOS™ on the same business card.
Common questions about the CFBA®
Do I need a background in statistics or financial mathematics?+
No. Modules 02 and 05 build the entire foundation — NOPAT, invested capital, CAPM, WACC, NPV, IRR, discounted payback and profitability index — from practical cases, with ready-made spreadsheets in the toolkit. The focus is the correct reading of results and the decision they support.
Is the CFBA® suited to small companies or only large corporations?+
Both. The program explicitly distinguishes what is essential at any size — documented assumptions, cash budget, variance control and clear authority levels — from what only larger structures justify, such as continuous ZBB, transfer pricing and a formal budget committee.
Who needs the CFBA® certification?+
FP&A analysts and managers, controllers, management accountants, CFOs, treasurers, internal auditors, board members and consultants who build, review or approve budgets and forecasts — as well as holders of CRA®, CFOS™ or CTEP™ who need to integrate the budgeting dimension into their work.
How is the certification maintained?+
The GAFM certification is valid for two years. Maintenance requires proof of 15 hours of continuing education in GAFM-offered or GAFM/ACBSP-certified business-school courses, plus the annual GAFM maintenance fee due in the 25th month after certification.
Your CFBA® certification starts here.
Join the select group of professionals who hold the Certified Forecasting and Budgeting Analyst title — recognized by GAFM® and verifiable internationally.
One-time payment. Credential maintenance — 15 continuing-education hours and the annual GAFM fee — applies from the 25th month after certification.