Financial Modeling Institute taps into China's booming finance sector

Eyeing China's vast talent demand in the financial sector, Financial Modelling Institute, the only financial modeling accreditation body in the world, said on Friday that its accreditation programs will be introduced to the country for the first time.

"The demand for financial modeling professionals in the Chinese market will be huge, (even) massive, because everybody who has to make a financial decision about an investment around planning, budgeting, valuation, credit or risk needs to be able to build a strong forecast through strong modeling skills," said Ian Schnoor, executive director of Financial Modeling Institute.

Schnoor added that China's financial industry remains vibrant and full of development potential.

The country is currently undergoing a transformation from a big financial power to a super financial power, which presents significant opportunities for growth and relevant talent.

"The opportunity here in China is for students and professionals to become the best in the world at that core discipline, and then use some of these new tools in tech to support their research and work," he said.

In terms of possible influence of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and fintech on financial modeling, Schnoor emphasized that the fundamentals of becoming a strong financial modeler have not changed and will continue to be extremely important.

"The fundamental core of building a financial forecast in a model hasn't changed much and that won't change because it still requires understanding how a company works and how the company will perform into the future," he said.

As the institute has established its first training center in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, with the first batch of faculty training already started, it plans to continue increasing its investment in the market over the next year, said Zhang Chijun, managing director of Beijing Huakun Jiye Education Technology Co Ltd, the institute's local partner and operator.

"FMI plans to establish strategic partnerships with 20 renowned institutions in China and offer certification training in 30 major cities across the country, with an initial target of certifying over 2,000 candidates," Zhang said.

lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn