CSC to oversee approval of CFP professionals and suggesting adjustments to the requirements for the profession
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) has announced plans to form a Competency Standard Commission (CSC) in 2023 to study and assess the competency standards for education, examination, experience, and continuing education.
The goal of the CFP Board is to serve the public interest by giving CFP certification and maintaining it as the de facto benchmark for expert and ethical financial planning.
The aim of the CSC will be to verify the present standards for CFP professionals and/or suggest improvements to the standards for the industry.
In accordance with industry standards for certifying organizations, the commission's examination will focus on both the initial and ongoing competency of CFP practitioners.
A chosen group of volunteers from financial services companies, educational institutions, certification and credentialing experts, and other stakeholders, such as the general public, will make up the CSC.
The commission may suggest modifying the competency criteria or it may advise CFP Board to keep the existing standards in place depending on the results of its study.
“As the professional organization that sets, administers, upholds and enforces competency and ethical standards for CFP certification, CFP Board has the obligation to ensure that its certification requirements remain valid, reliable and legally defensible for the benefit of the public,” CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE, said in a statement.
Topics including CE credit for pro bono service, existing education requirements, and the effectiveness of the experience requirement will all be covered in this first-ever complete examination of the CFP Board's competency standards.
Furthermore, the CSC will guarantee that CFP Board responds to both current financial planning industry trends and certifying body best practices.
“The financial advice ecosystem recognizes CFP certification as the standard for financial planning and expects CFP Board to remain current,” said CFP Board chair-elect Dan Moisand, CFP. “Periodic review of the competency standards is a core business function of a certifying organization. The Competency Standards Commission will look at not only the appropriateness of each requirement, but also at how the requirements work together to ensure financial planning competency.”
Early next year, the CFP Board will make the composition of the CSC public.
The CFP Board will also allow CFP professionals and other interested parties the chance to comment on the present requirements for CFP certification.
