Changes aimed at improving transparency and allowing more modern formats for hearings
In an ongoing effort to keep all its policies in line with current practices, FP Canada has unveiled a number of changes to the FP Canada Standards Council™ Disciplinary Rules and Procedures (DRP) and the FP Canada Standards Council™ Disciplinary Rules and Procedures for Examination Misconduct (DPEM).
“We are committed to regularly reviewing all policies and procedures to ensure they continue to be relevant, transparent and effective, for the benefit of all stakeholders,” Damienne Lebrun-Reid, executive director, Standards & Certification, and head of the FP Canada Standards Council said in a statement. “This helps financial planners understand exactly what we expect of them, and it gives consumers confidence in the rules and processes in place to protect them.”
The updates to both the DRP and DPEM include changes that would improve transparency for the sake of Canadian consumers. The DRP guides the manner in which the Standards Council conducts investigations and disciplinary hearings into conduct by CFP and QAFP professionals that may constitute a breach of their ethical and professional responsibilities, while the DPEM guides how the Standards Council conducts investigations and hearings related to misconduct on FP Canada certification examinations.
Following new provisions under the DRP, Statements of Allegations will now be publicized on the website of FP Canada within five business days of being filed. Full Hearing Panel Decisions and reasons in disciplinary proceedings will also be published on the site, along with summaries.
Meanwhile, a change to the DPEM will also now have anonymized summaries of disciplinary decisions to be published on the FP Canada site. However, names of FP Canada certificants under investigation may be disclosed under exceptional circumstances such as cases of fraud where protecting the public would take priority, there’s a criminal investigation being conducted concurrent to the Standards Council investigation, and a similar investigation by another regulator or law enforcement agency with respect to the same individual has been announced, among other situations.
While written hearings remain the preferred format, FP Canada is adding flexibility and modernizing the hearing process by expanding the formats available under both DRP and DPEM rules to encompass telephone and video-conference hearings on top of in-person or written hearings.
