Believe it or not, The Institutes’ has made the latest version of their CPCU 540 course easier!
To see what changed between the textbook for CPCU® 540 – Finance and Accounting for Insurance Professionals (3rd edition) and online-only course for CPCU® 540 – Impacting the Bottom Line of Insurance Financials (1st edition), we purchased the online course and did a comparison of the two.
We discovered that the newer course had a lot of the most challenging content removed, meaning the course will be noticeably easier for students testing on the latest version.
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The biggest changes were the removal of several major sections from chapters 6, 8, and 11. Also, chapter 12 was removed in its entirety.
Here is a more detailed list of the differences we found when reviewing the two editions side-by-side:
Please note: We do not provide any guarantee or warranty that this is an all-inclusive list of the changes to The Institutes’ latest edition of this course.
Chapter 1 [intro to finance & accounting]
- Financial Transparency
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 [reduced discussion]
- Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 [newly included]
Chapter 2 [about GAAP principles]
- Purpose of Financial Statements [reduced discussion]
- Notes to Financial Statements [reduced discussion]
- EDGAR: Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System [textbox removed]
- Letter to Shareholders [textbox removed]
Chapter 3 [about GAAP statements]
- Dupont Identity [section removed]
- Analyzing Financial Ratios Case [case study removed]
Chapter 5 [SAP analysis]
- A.M. Best Financial Strength Ratings
- Balance Sheet Strength [reduced discussion]
- Business Profile [increased discussion on innovation]
Chapter 6 [present/future value calculations]
- Future and Present Values of an Ordinary Annuity [major section, removed]
- Annuities Due [major section, removed]
Chapter 7 [financial markets]
- Interest Rate Risk [greatly reduced discussion]
Chapter 8 [bonds and stocks]
- Determinants of a Bond’s Yield of Maturity and Price [major section, removed]
- Derivatives [major section, removed]
- Valuing Bonds and Stocks [major section, removed]
- Financial Reporting of Bonds and Stocks [major section, removed]
Chapter 10 [insurer capital needs]
- Insurer Capital Needs [removed]
- Catastrophe Bonds [reduced discussion of special purpose vehicles (SPVs)]
Chapter 11 [capital management & capital requirements]
- Capital Structure [removed]
- Insurance Leverage [major section, removed]
- Insurer Cost of Capital [major section, removed]
Chapter 12 [mergers & acquisitions]
- [entire chapter removed]
CPCU 540 Study Materials
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For buyer's personal use only (non-transferrable and not for resale)
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Based on CPCU 540: Contributing to Insurer Financial Performance (1st edition)
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Delivery for online study program: Instant access provided after purchase
- Delivery for study guide bundle: PDF instantly sent by email after purchase
Full Study Program
Everything you need to fully prepare- Comprehensive study guide (PDF)
- Bonus Printables (PDF) (see full list below)
- Online video lessons (with captions & full transcripts)
- Streaming audio option (so you can study on the go)
- Chapter quizzes
- Full-length practice exam
- Hosted on Thinkific.com course platform
- Free lifetime updates
Study Guide Only
Our signature PDF study guides- Comprehensive study guide (PDF)
- Bonus printables (PDF) (see full list below)
Online video lessons (with captions & full transcripts)-
Streaming audio option (so you can study on the go) -
Over 200 practice questions -
Chapter quizzes -
Full-length practice exam - Free lifetime updates
Why our study programs work
Many companies offer study materials for the AINS & CPCU designations, but here is why our study programs stand out:
See concepts in action
You will be tested on your ability to apply the concepts to different situations, so we provide plenty of examples to show you how things work.
Less is not always more
Some things won't make sense until you have enough background info. We give extra context where you'd need it to fully grasp the material.
Easy to review
Besides learning the content, you have to remember it all. Our paid study programs include our famous study guides that make it super easy to refresh your memory.
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