History of the CFA

A Brief History of the College of Finance and Accountancy

Like the two other colleges constituting the Budapest Business School, the College of Finance and Accountancy (CFA) has its own history. The origins of the CFA (and also that of the College of Commerce, Catering and Tourism) date back to 1857 when the Commercial Academy of Pest (Pesti Kereskedelmi Akadémia) was established. The Academy had a long and eventful history, during which both colleges underwent a number of changes in name and role. The present profile of the CFA was formed in 1953, when a College of Accountancy was established in Mester utca, Budapest. In 1958, due to financial reasons, the activities of the college were temporarily suspended, and the school restarted its operation in 1962, when a higher education institute was set up to train specialists in accounting and finance, in a new location, the CFA’s present headquarters in Buzogány utca, Budapest. The original building has been enlarged several times; the latest addition is a new wing containing a large lecture theatre that can quickly be converted, by easily removing the chairs, into a ballroom, or used for other purposes.
CFA has two satellite institutes, one in Zalaegerszeg, 220 km South-West of Budapest, and another one, in Salgótarján about 100 km to the North-East.
The centre of higher vocational training of the CFA is in a separate building in Liget utca, Budapest.