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CFP board forms commission to review profession’s competency requirements

On Behalf of | Dec 23, 2022 | CFP Board

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has announced an initiative aimed at reviewing the current competency requirements for CFP® professionals.

In a news release, the CFP Board said it will form a Competency Standards Commission in 2023. The commission’s task will be to review and evaluate the CFP Board’s competency requirements for education, examination, experience and continuing education.

The commission will validate the requirements for financial planning professionals and determine whether changes are needed to improve the competency standard of the profession. The members of the panel will be a select group of volunteers consisting of individuals from financial services firms, educators, certification and credentialing professionals, and other stakeholders, including members of the public.

The CFP Board said this effort, the first-ever comprehensive review of its competency standards, is part of its mission to grant and uphold CFP® certification as the recognized standard of excellence for competent and ethical financial planning.

“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,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “As we enter the 50th year of CFP® certification, it’s timely that we review the competency standards for the profession to make sure that they remain relevant.”

Among the topics to be addressed in the review are CE credit for pro bono service, current education requirements and the efficacy of the experience requirement. In forming the commission, the board said it is responding to current trends in the financial planning profession as well as the best practices of certifying bodies.

“Periodic review of the competency standards is a core business function of a certifying organization, ” said CFP Board chair-elect Dan Moisand, CFP®. “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.”

The board will announce the members of the Competency Standards Commission early next year.

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