cfi

CFI is an acronym with multiple meanings across different fields. In education and professional training, it most commonly refers to the Corporate Finance Institute, an online platform offering courses in financial modeling, valuation, Excel, and other corporate finance topics, with certification tracks that are widely used by finance practitioners and students.

In aviation, CFI stands for Certified Flight Instructor, a rating that authorizes a pilot to teach flight training. In the United States and many other jurisdictions, becoming a CFI requires holding a pilot certificate, meeting experience requirements, completing ground and flight training, and passing written and practical tests, including the Fundamentals of Instruction and a flight checkride. CFIs often work in flight schools, flight academies, or airline training programs and may specialize in instrument or multi-engine instruction.

In the nonprofit and international development sectors, CFI can denote the Center for Financial Inclusion, a global organization focusing on expanding access to affordable financial services and advising on policy and regulatory reforms. It conducts research, fosters collaboration among stakeholders, and supports initiatives to increase financial inclusion for underserved populations.

In computing, CFI also stands for Call Frame Information, a data structure used by compilers and debugger tools to describe how to unwind the program call stack during exceptions or debugging. CFI data helps runtime systems locate saved registers and return addresses, enabling stack traces and correct exception handling.

Because CFI has several distinct meanings, the intended referent is determined by context, domain, and accompanying terminology.