Research Centre
The Institute conducts and publishes its own research on the standards, skills, and trust that define the finance profession. Each report draws on MIFS examination data, employer partnerships, and the community of credential holders across 90+ countries.
Evidence for a profession built on proof
MIFS research exists to inform the standards it sets. The Institute studies what competent, principled practice looks like across markets, and how verifiable credentials strengthen trust between professionals, employers, and clients.
Standards
How exam standards, pass marks, and curricula keep pace with the demands of modern finance roles.
Skills
The competencies employers value most, and where the gap between claimed and proven ability is widest.
Trust
How cryptographically verifiable credentials and rigorous proctoring reduce fraud and raise confidence in hiring.
Featured research
The State of Verified Credentials 2026
The Institute's flagship annual study examines how the market is moving from claimed qualifications to proven, verifiable ones. Drawing on more than 40,000 administered exams and 1,100+ employer partners, the report sets out the state of credential verification worldwide, the persistence of credential fraud, and the growing role of proctored assessment and public no-login verification in hiring decisions.
Read the findings →MIFS research reports
A growing library of the Institute's own analysis, spanning the competencies, disciplines, and conduct that the six MIFS programmes are built to certify.
The State of Verified Credentials 2026
The flagship annual study of how the market is shifting from claimed qualifications to proven, verifiable credentials.
Skills of the Modern Analyst
The competencies employers value most across investment roles, and where proven ability diverges from claimed experience.
Financial Modelling Standards Review 2026
A review of build quality, structure, and discipline in three-statement, DCF, and LBO modelling across the profession.
Global Risk Practices Survey
How firms approach market, credit, operational, and liquidity risk, model validation, and Basel-aligned practice.
Ethics & Conduct in Finance: 2026 Benchmark
A benchmark of conduct, conflicts management, and market-integrity practice measured against the MIFS Code.
Data & AI Readiness in Finance
Where finance teams stand on data handling, machine-learning foundations, model risk, and responsible AI governance.
Research themes
The Institute's research follows the questions that matter most to the standard the market can trust.
Competence and the skills gap
Which capabilities define effective practice in analysis, modelling, risk, and sustainable finance, and how they are best assessed.
Integrity and market conduct
How conduct standards, conflicts management, and the Code translate into everyday professional behaviour.
Verification and trust
The mechanics of proctored assessment and verifiable credentials, and their effect on hiring confidence and fraud.
The changing profession
How data, artificial intelligence, and sustainability standards are reshaping the work of finance professionals.
The Institute's own analysis
All reports published in the Research Centre are the Institute's own analysis. They draw on MIFS examination data, employer partnerships, member surveys, and the experience of credential holders across the profession. Findings inform the standards the Institute sets and are published in service of the wider market, not as a substitute for independent professional advice.
- ✓Grounded in data. Reports draw on more than 40,000 administered exams and a network of 1,100+ employer partners.
- ✓Standards-led. Research questions follow directly from the competence and integrity the six programmes certify.
- ✓Openly published. Findings are shared to raise the standard across the profession, not held behind the credential.
Standards must be tested against evidence. The Institute publishes its research so that the market can see how competence and integrity are measured, and why proof matters more than the claim.
Read the Institute's latest thinking.
Explore commentary and analysis from MIFS Research & Standards alongside the full report library.