The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) has called for enhancements to the proposed guidance on the framework for financial adviser education in order to ensure fairness and appropriateness.
In its submission to the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA), the FPA addressed the seven consultation papers covering education pathways for all advisers, code of ethics, the financial adviser exam, professional year, provisional relevant provider term, continuing professional development (CPD) and foreign qualifications.
“Our recommendations to FASEA are about taking a pragmatic approach to lifting education standards and ensuring they are fair and appropriate,” FPA chief executive Dante De Gori said today.
“For example, in regards to the exam, we have called for an open book, multiple choice format of no more than three hours.
“In the area of CPD, we acknowledge the importance of maintaining professional competency and we believe this can be achieved by asking advisers to complete 30 hours of CPD per year and a single record-keeping standard.”
Regarding the education pathways, De Gori said the FPA continues to strongly advocate that all bachelor degrees be treated the same and for FASEA to give appropriate recognition to all financial planning-specific study, such as the certified financial planner (CFP) certification program.
“We have also submitted evidence of the CFP certification program mapped against the learning outcomes required at Australian Qualification Framework level 8 of the TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency) standard,” he said.
The FPA today publicly released its final recommendations and a one-page summary of the key recommendations in each area of the FASEA framework.
The industry body received over 7000 responses from its members.
As FASEA begins to confirm each of the standards for the adviser framework, the FPA will be focused on developing resources for members to help navigate the new landscape.
It will also be launching its new program, FPA Return to Learn, later this year, which will include a suite of tools and information that will guide members through areas such as the education pathway, understanding study credits, exam preparation and undertaking further study.
