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ICAEW Business and Finance Professional

ICAEW Business and Finance Professional (BFP) is an internationally recognised designation and professional status from one of the world's leading membership organisations.

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Benefits

  1. Gain access to specialist resources

  2. Professional recognition from ICAEW

  3. Keep your skills and knowledge up-to-date

  4. Demonstrate your commitment to professionalism and development

  5. Add the BFP letters to your name

  6. Become more employable and progress in your career

What is BFP?

BFP is an internationally recognised designation that shows you have the technical knowledge, skills and experience in business and finance. It is also a stamp of professional recognition, demonstrating that you meet the standards of a membership organisation.

A great stepping stone towards chartered accountancy, BFP is also a professional title in its own right that will help you become a well-respected professional in any organisation and prepare you for more senior roles.

What are the requirements?

The BFP designation combines technical knowledge with work experience and an understanding of ethics. There are three requirements you have to meet to become an ICAEW Business and Finance Professional (BFP):

  • ICAEW CFAB

    • The ICAEW Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business (ICAEW CFAB) is an internationally recognised qualification comprised of six modules covering the essentials in finance, accounting and business.

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  • Work experience
    To apply for the designation you will have to demonstrate 12 months’ work experience in a business and/or finance role. This will need to be properly signed off and you will need to you have acquired the essential business skills listed. If you don’t yet meet this requirement, you can still start your BFP student journey and complete your work experience at a later stage and before you apply for the designation.  

  • Ethics Learning Programme
    Organisations value employees who have a solid understanding of ethics. With this online programme, you will get to grips with our ethical framework and practise how you would respond to an ethical situation. This means that as a BFP, you will be able to demonstrate compliance with an internationally recognised Code of Ethics.

What support do you get as a BFP?

In addition to the prestige associated with the BFP designation, ICAEW Business and Finance Professionals also have access to a wide range of resources to support them in their personal and professional development. Here is an overview of what is included:

  • The designatory letters BFP: Using these can help you demonstrate your status and recognition from a membership organisation.
  • Business and finance refresher: An A-Z of reference materials covering a wide range of finance, accounting and business topics.
  • Microsoft Excel training and community: A suite of online Excel training modules, a personalised training plan, model spreadsheets and video tutorials.
 
  • Your chosen technical specialism: Tailored technical content that’s most relevant to your current job or chosen future career.
  • Helplines: One-to-one, free and confidential help from ICAEW’s technical advisory and ethics helplines, as well as support from ICAEW’s library research team.
  • Newsletters: Business, finance and accountancy news
  • Lifestyle discounts and offers: A range of discounts and offers from high street and online retailers.
 

How do you become a BFP?

Register icon

Step 1 Sign up for ICAEW CFAB

If you’re new to ICAEW, your first step will be to sign up for ICAEW CFAB. You will then have access to the six modules, so you can start studying for the qualification and gain essential business knowledge. If you are already an ICAEW student, currently studying for ICAEW CFAB or the ACA, you can skip this step and go straight to step 2.

Register for ICAEW CFAB
BASE Registration

Step 2 Register as a BFP student for free

Using your ICAEW student number, you can register to start the BFP journey for free. This will provide you with access to the Ethics Learning Programme and allow you to send over your 12 months’ work experience so you can tick off two of the requirements.

register for bfp
Study icon

Step 3 Apply for the BFP designation

Once you have completed ICAEW CFAB, passed the online Ethics Learning Programme and had your work experience properly signed off,

you can apply to become a BFP.
BASE National Final

Step 4 Become a BFP

After you submit your application, we will assess everything and send you confirmation of your BFP status. This means that you will be able to call yourself a BFP and demonstrate that you have gained professional recognition from an international membership organisation. To become a BFP and retain your title, there’s a one-off registration fee of £25. The annual subscription fee is £125, or £50 if you’re earning less than £28,028 p.a.

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