Summary:
Are you interested to know how you can become a Certified Cost Controller?
Do you know what internationally recognized certifications are available in Cost Management?
AACE International provides a variety of certifications in Cost Management including:
- Certified Cost Technician (CCT)
- Certified Cost Professional (CCP)
- Earned Value Professional (EVP)
Watch this video to learn the requirements for each certification and which certification(s) you can pursue in Cost Management/Controls.
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Video Transcript:
Are you a Project Controller or a Cost Controller who in interested in becoming a Certified Cost Controller?
Are you a Project Planner/Scheduler who is keen on getting into the Cost Control field and interested in obtaining a certification in Cost Controls?
If your answer is YES, you will benefit from this training, because I’m going to walk you over different certifications that you can pursue to further advance your skills and knowledge in Cost Controls.
Ready to know what those Cost Control certifications are?
Cost Controls Certifications
Certified Cost Technician (CCT)
The first certification is a “Certified Cost Technician” or “CCT,” which is offered by the “Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE).”
CCT certification is suitable for someone who is relatively new to Cost Controls, such as Junior Cost Controllers, or the ones who are interested in further advancing their knowledge and understanding of Cost Controls. The reason is that the entry requirements for this certification are not challenging. You can go through the CCT certification if you just study and learn more about Cost Controls and Cost Management.
Let’s see what you need to have in order to be eligible for this certification.
All you need to have is “four years of experience” or “four-year college degree.” This means that if you only have a four-year college degree and “zero experience” in Cost Management, you are still eligible for this certification! It’s cool, isn’t it?
If you are a Project Planner/Scheduler who is interested in switching to Cost Controls field and you’re looking for ways to push yourself to learn Cost Controls, you can consider taking the CCT exam. By doing so, you not only learn more about Cost Controls but also you are recognized as a Certified Cost Technician.
Therefore, as long as you have a Bachelors degree, you meet the criteria for the CCT certification. If you don’t have a bachelor’s degree, you need four years of experience.
In addition, you need to pass the CCT exam. The exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions on Cost Management, which takes three hours to complete.
Once you pass the CCT exam and become a Certified Cost Technician, you need to re-certify every three years. Recertification requires obtaining 12 Continuing Education Units or CEUs in a 3-year period; otherwise, your certification will expire after three years.
Check more details about the CCT certification here.
Certified Cost Professional (CCP)
The next certification is “Certified Cost Professional,” or “CCP,” which is offered by the “Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE).”
The CCP certification is a bit harder to obtain as compared to the CCT certification discussed earlier. The reason is that you need to have four years of Cost Management experience in addition to four years of a college or Bachelors degree.
If you don’t have a college or Bachelors degree, you need to have “eight years of experience” in Cost Management. Furthermore, you need to write and submit a “technical paper” on Cost Management to AACE before you are qualified to sit for the CCP exam.
Although the requirements of this certification seems a bit demanding, they will push your limits further by encouraging you to write a technical paper and advancing your skills and knowledge in Cost Controls.
So if you’re qualified for the CCP certification, you need to pass the exam, which consists of 120 multiple-choice questions, taking five hours to complete.
Once you’re a Certified Cost Professional, you need 12 CEUs in order to re-certify after three years.
Is this certification for you? Are you going to challenge yourself and go through that certification?
I highly encourage you to consider any of these cost related professional certifications. Obtaining these certifications will help you further advance your skills and knowledge in Cost Controls, and stay in continuous learning and growth in your career.
Check more details about the CCP certification here.
Earned Value Professional (EVP)
Last but not least certification, which I highly encourage you to pursue, is the Earned Value Professional (EVP) certification, offered by AACE International.
To be qualified for the EVP certification, you need four years of Cost Management experience plus four years of a college degree, or eight years of experience if you don’t have the required education.
You also need to pass a five-hour exam, which consists of 120 multiple-choice questions, and memo writing. In addition to answering the multiple-choice exam questions, you also need to interpret and analyze an Earned Value Management (EVM) report and write your findings of the report.
Once you become an Earned Value Management Professional (EVP), you need to re-certify after three years by accumulating 12 CEUs.
Check more details about the EVP certification here.
In summary, the recommended internationally recognized certifications on Cost Management includes:
- Certified Cost Technician (CCT)
- Certified Cost Professional (CCP)
- Earned Value Professional (EVP)
Check more details about these certifications at AACE website.
I have to remind you that, although I listed the criteria for each certification in this post, they might change without any notice. So, make sure that you check the website of the AACE association that provide those certifications to get the most recent information
I highly encourage you to consider pursuing any of these Cost Management certifications. Set it as a career goal for yourself. It’s really worth it. The process of obtaining and maintaining these certifications will add a lot to your career development and to the projects that you do. It will also help you to become a more effective Cost Controller.
Interested in learning more about how to succeed as a Cost Controller and Project Controller in general?
Make sure that you check the Project Control Success Roadmap Training, where you learn various roles that you can play in Project Controls and how to succeed in each role to step up the ladder of success in Project Controls.
About the Author, Shohreh Ghorbani
Shohreh is a licensed project management professional (PMP) recognized by Project Management Institute (PMI) and holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering.
Connect with Shohreh via Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
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