Comparison · 16 material differences
Financial Executives International vs NAWBO
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact — it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Professional association
Verified September 2026 Financial Executives International
Senior corporate finance executives - CFOs, chief accounting officers, controllers, treasurers, tax executives and audit committee members
Professional association
NAWBO
Women who own an equity interest in a business in the United States, at any size, stage and industry
What the records say
- Role or title — Financial Executives International: Qualifying title: CFO, chief accounting officer, controller, treasurer, VP of finance, tax, risk management or planning and analysis, a director in those functions, or audit committee member; NAWBO: No published role or title.
- Minimum company revenue — Financial Executives International: Company must have at least $10 million in annual revenues (or meet an alternative size test); NAWBO: No published minimum company revenue.
- Minimum net worth — Financial Executives International: Alternative company test: $2 million in net worth; NAWBO: No published minimum net worth.
- Minimum ownership stake — Financial Executives International: No published minimum ownership stake; NAWBO: Ownership as "sole proprietor, partner, LLC member, independent contractor or 5%+ corporate shareholder".
- Annual dues — Financial Executives International: $399–499 a year; NAWBO: $479 a year.
Side by side
| Financial Executives International | NAWBO | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Professional association | Professional association |
| Founded | 1931 (Founded as the Controllers Institute of America in 1931; renamed Financial Executives Institute in 1962 and Financial Executives International in 2000.) | 1975 ("They formed NAWBO in 1975 in Washington, DC" - Susan Hager, NAWBO's founding president, and eleven other founding members.) |
| Headquarters | Morristown, United States | United States |
| Geographic footprint | United States: 56 local chapters listed on FEI's own chapter index, from Hawaii to Long Island | Chapters across the United States, grouped into four regions, plus a Virtual membership for women more than 45 miles from a chapter; NAWBO also maintains international alliances |
| Members | 10,000as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed. NAWBO describes itself as the voice of "more than 12 million women-owned businesses" in the United States, which is a national statistic rather than a membership figure. |
| Chapters | 56 | 46 |
| Primary audience | Senior corporate finance executives - CFOs, chief accounting officers, controllers, treasurers, tax executives and audit committee members | Women who own an equity interest in a business in the United States, at any size, stage and industry |
| Typical member | Members hold policy-making finance roles at companies across every major industry, from Fortune 500 businesses to mid-sized enterprises. Eligibility requires both a qualifying title and a company that clears a size test. | Women business owners of all sizes and stages, from sole proprietors and independent contractors to owners of larger companies. NAWBO's own definition covers "Any individual who identifies as a woman who owns an equity interest in her business (sole proprietor, partner, LLC member, independent contractor or 5%+ corporate shareholder)". Male business owners and executives of either gender may join as supporting members without voting rights. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Qualifying title: CFO, chief accounting officer, controller, treasurer, VP of finance, tax, risk management or planning and analysis, a director in those functions, or audit committee memberFEI describes membership as "exclusive to senior-level financial executives".verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published role or title |
| Minimum company revenue | Company must have at least $10 million in annual revenues (or meet an alternative size test)Alternative tests are $2 million in net worth or $6 million in capital (combined net worth and long-term debt).verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum company revenue |
| Minimum net worth | Alternative company test: $2 million in net worthThis is a company balance-sheet test, not a personal net-worth test.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum net worth |
| Minimum ownership stake | No published minimum ownership stake | Ownership as "sole proprietor, partner, LLC member, independent contractor or 5%+ corporate shareholder"The 5 per cent test applies to corporate shareholders; other ownership forms have no percentage thresholdverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Gender | No published gender | "Any individual who identifies as a woman who owns an equity interest in her business" qualifies as a woman business owner for the Premier, Basic, NextGen and Virtual levelsMale business owners and male and female business executives may join at the Individual Supporting and Corporate Supporting levels, which do not carry voting rightsverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | United States; members within 75 miles of a chapter must join that chapterverified September 2026 · source ↗ | Members within 45 miles of a chapter join at chapter level; those more than 45 miles away join the national Virtual membershipverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Candidates complete an online membership application on the FEI site, which checks the qualifying title and company size test and presents chapter options and rates. Chapter membership is required for those within 75 miles of a chapter. No sponsor or nomination is needed. | Three steps published by NAWBO: choose a chapter or the Virtual option depending on distance from the nearest chapter; choose a membership level; and complete a short online application. A welcome email is sent immediately, followed by a member packet, a connection to the chapter or Virtual community, and access to the member portal. There is no interview, sponsor or committee review. |
| Selectivity | No acceptance rate is published. Selectivity operates through the published title and company-size tests and the exclusion of service providers and start-ups. | Not applicable in the usual sense: NAWBO admits any applicant meeting its ownership definition and publishes no acceptance rate. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $399–499 a year"FEI membership dues are $399 for first year and $499 for subsequent years for all categories of membership" per the FEI Kansas City chapter. Other FEI chapter sites quote $309 a year for national dues, so the published figure varies by page.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $479 a yearPremier level: "$479.40* annually" - for women who actively participate in their business, with full voting rights, leadership and award eligibility, and both chapter and national benefits. The asterisk on NAWBO's page notes that a US$75 Spring Membership Campaign discount had been applied to the one-time application fee at the time of access.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee separate from first-year dues is published.verified September 2026 | Prices shown were displayed during a Spring Membership Campaign that applied a US$75 discount to the one-time application fee; the underlying application fee is not published. Chapter-level and national benefits come together at the Premier and Basic levels. |
| Local chapter dues | $75–468 a yearChapter dues are additional and vary by location: FEI Boston publishes $75 a year, FEI Northeast Ohio waives local dues in the first year, and FEI Sacramento lists $468 a year for executive, academic, in-transition and government/military categories, $399 for entrepreneur and $349 for retired. The Sacramento figures may be all-in rather than chapter-only.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Prices shown were displayed during a Spring Membership Campaign that applied a US$75 discount to the one-time application fee; the underlying application fee is not published. Chapter-level and national benefits come together at the Premier and Basic levels. |
| Membership term | Annual | Annual |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Local chapter meetings through the year plus national conferences, webinars and CPE-bearing courses | Chapter programming locally, plus national events including the NAWBO Summit, monthly new member orientations and virtual community events |
| Peer forums | No standing facilitated peer forum. FEI operates chapters, technical committees and special-interest programming rather than closed advisory groups | No confidential peer forums are published; NAWBO Institute programmes such as Circle ($1 Million+) group members by business stage |
| Confidentiality | No published forum confidentiality rule; FEI is a professional association with open programming and a member code of conduct | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Event-focused | Chapter-based, Event-focused, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | Partial |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Partial | Yes |
| Online community | Partial | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | Partial |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | Yes |
| Investment discussions | No | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Partial | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Low | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Financial Executives International · NAWBO