It was opened on 2 March 1919, and its first rector was Dmitry Bogolepov [ru] – the Moscow State University graduate, the Deputy People's Finance Commissar of RSFSR.

[21] On 4 March 2011, KPMG opened its own department at the university to enhance cooperation based on lectures and practical activities covering audit, International Financial Reporting Standards, taxation and corporate finance.

[citation needed] The system of higher education established at Finance University includes: Admission requirements are among the highest in Russia.

[23] According to the latest admission statistics, successful applicant of the year 2024 required to have on average 94 points of the Unified State Examination score in each subject in order to enter the course.

These include both fundamental and applied research in the areas of finance, money circulation and credit, insurance, accounting and audit, business evaluation, international monetary relations; research done for post doctoral and PhD dissertations; development of expert-and-analytical materials requested by the bodies of legislative and executive power; organisation of scientific events (conferences, seminars, "roundtables", etc.).

It has federal university status and is included among the privileged consultative bodies of the Russian government, alongside institutions such as MSU, HSE, RANEPA and SPbU.

Graduates from these programs were frequently assigned to foreign offices of Soviet state institutions, including central banks and trade missions.

Western scholars have noted that, despite official state rhetoric denying elitism, Soviet higher education exhibited clear hierarchical stratification.

[44] While institutions such as Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI), Bauman Moscow State Technical University (Baumanka), and the Mathematics and Physics faculties of MSU were among the most academically rigorous, they were not necessarily at the highest elite level in terms of social mobility and political access.

Admission to these programs was exceptionally competitive, but even candidates (especially the Jewish ones)[45] with outstanding academic records often faced insurmountable barriers without the right political or family background.

In contrast, universities with strong ties to the nomenklatura, such as MGIMO, MFI, and select faculties of MSU, served as direct pipelines to influential government and financial positions.

[57] 2023– present: Dr. Pavel S. Seleznev[58][59] 2013-2022: Dr. Alexander I. Ilyinsky ru:Ильинский, Александр Иоильевич[60] According to Google Scholar, the following three papers have been cited most frequently: Among the graduates are: Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cutting of academic cooperation with Russia by a significant part of the international community, the Financial University had entered into over 17 new agreements with partner institutes of Australia, UK, Germany, Spain, China, United States, Czech Republic and other countries, including: Financial University is a member of the Russian Law Journal consortium.