Program History

The CPFO program began in 1997 with the offering of five exams, each on a different discipline of public finance. Since launching the program, GFOA has had over 800 people earn the CPFO designation, and currently, there are over 500 active CPFOs. The program underwent an update in 2020 to better reflect the public finance field. You can read more about the program changes in the policy guide.