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CFP Board News - April 2006


CFP BOARD SEEKS FINANCIAL PLANNING CLINIC VOLUNTEERS

A Financial Planning Clinic for the general public will be held during the afternoon of Friday, August 4, 2006, at the General Session of CFP Board's Annual Meeting at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Financial Planning Clinic will give consumers interested in financial planning a chance to sit down and discuss financial topics with a financial expert, allowing them to apply to their own lives some of the financial planning ideas heard during the morning sessions.

CFP® certificants interested in helping to make the Financial Planning Clinic a success should contact CFP Board by e-mail at annualmeeting@CFPBoard.org or by phone at 303-830-7500 with the following information:

  • Name
  • Mailing Address
  • E-mail Address
  • Phone Number
  • Any specific financial planning topics you would be interested in discussing with Financial Planning Clinic attendees.
  • If you are multi-lingual, the languages you would be willing to use during the Financial Planning Clinic.

Volunteers will be required to participate for 1-3 hours during the Financial Planning Clinic by providing financial information and personal financial planning advice to attendees. In exchange for the shared time and expertise, CFP Board will offer volunteers free admission to the General Session of CFP Board's Annual Meeting on Friday, August 4, 2006.

The Financial Planning Clinic may be the first opportunity many attendees have to meet face-to-face with a CFP® professional, and we look forward to assembling a group of first-rate volunteers to assist with the effort. If you have questions about this opportunity or about the Annual Meeting, please contact us at annualmeeting@CFPBoard.org or 303-830-7500.

Read more about CFP Board's 2006 Annual Meeting.

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INTRODUCING CFP BOARD'S DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND EXAMINATION

CFP Board is pleased to announce that Keith J. Soressi has agreed to become CFP Board's new Director of Education and Examination.

Many of you have met Keith during the past few months as he oversaw the development and administration of the CFP® Certification Examination. Keith will add to his responsibilities oversight of the education requirement for CFP® certification, including the education requirements for initial CFP® certification and the continuing education requirements for renewal of CFP® certification. With both education and the exam in his purview, Keith will effectively be responsible for overseeing all of CFP Board's initial certification processes.

Before coming to CFP Board in late 2005, Keith was a senior executive with the District of Columbia Bar where he oversaw numerous volunteer regulatory programs, including ethics and practice management. As Regulation Counsel, he also revised the practice standards and disciplinary procedures for the bar members. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and a law degree from the University of San Francisco. He is licensed in California and the District of Columbia and before the United States Supreme Court.

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DEVELOPING THE CFP® CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION

CFP Board continues to see record numbers of people taking the CFP® Certification Examination, with 2,607 applicants taking the exam at its most recent offering on March 17 and 18, 2006. Everyone who has taken or is planning to take the exam knows considerable time and effort are required to prepare for a comprehensive exam of this nature. Not everyone knows how much time and effort is required to prepare a the exam itself.

The process begins with the development of test questions, called "Items." Each Item goes through a lengthy review process before it appears on the exam. Items are initially developed in Item Writing Workshops where volunteers working in the financial planning industry, both professionally and academically, create questions specific to the current Topic List.

Following the creation of new Items, the Items are subjected to "Field Tests." Field Tests are held around the country and involve the administration of mock exams, consisting of recently developed Items, to current CFP® certificants. CFP Board gathers statistics and comments from the Field Test volunteers regarding the quality of the Items. Following a Field Test, the content of the Items is referenced to academic and/or industry publications to ensure it is representative of current and mainstream practices in personal financial planning, after which the Items are distributed for Pair Review.

During the "Pair Review" phase, volunteers are paired with members of CFP Board's Board of Examiners to evaluate and edit the Items. At this stage, a final determination is made whether an Item is appropriate for the CFP® Certification Examination. Items passing the Pair Review stage are placed in an Item Bank and may be selected for an upcoming exam.

Prior to the administration of the exam, the Items selected for a particular testing cycle are again scrutinized. Volunteers selected to represent the demographics of the certificant population review the proposed exam with members of the Board of Examiners to determine if the Items are fair, appropriate, current and correct. If all Items on the exam pass muster, the exam is administered to exam takers.

Even at this stage, the review process may not yet be complete. Following the administration of the exam, exam takers and the exam administrator may identify problematic Items. Any specific Items identified as being ambiguous or lacking a single correct answer are reviewed by the Board of Examiners before the exam is scored to ensure the accuracy and fairness of the exam results.

As even this quick overview of the exam development process makes clear, the development and implementation of new Items for the CFP® Certification Examination is dependent on the work of many volunteers, especially the extended volunteer efforts of the Board of Examiners members. CFP Board appreciates the participation of all of the volunteers whose effort and commitment have helped keep the CFP® Certification Examination strong and consistent throughout the years.

CFP® certificants and financial planning educators interested in assisting with development of the CFP® Certification Examination may submit an online volunteer application or contact CFP Board at exam@CFPBoard.org.

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REPORT ON MARCH 2006 BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL REVIEW MEETING

The Board of Professional Review (Board) held its first meeting of the year on March 17 and 18, 2006. As part of the meeting, the Board considered 31 disciplinary cases. Two cases were dismissed with a letter of caution and 12 individuals were issued private censure letters. Two cases resulted in decisions to suspend an individual's right to use the CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERT and federally registered CFP (with flame logo) certification marks (the CFP marks), and two cases resulted in decisions to permanently revoke or relinquish an individual's right to use the CFP marks. Three applicants for CFP® certification received decisions that would delay their applications. The cases included 11 settlement offers: four were accepted, one was rejected, and seven resulted in the Board proposing a counter settlement offer. Because the appeal periods in these cases have not expired, the disciplinary actions are not yet final.

The Board also issued an Order of Interim Suspension to Mr. William Alan Gay of Greenwood Village, CO, with respect to his December 2005 indictment on four felony counts, including theft from an at-risk victim, conspiracy to commit theft from an at-risk victim, securities fraud through an untrue statement or omission, and conspiracy to commit securities fraud through an untrue statement or omission. Due to the seriousness of the matter and the related media publicity, in January 2006, CFP Board issued Mr. Gay an Order to Show Cause requiring him to provide evidence why his right to use the CFP marks should not be suspended during CFP Board's investigation. After a hearing, the Board determined that Mr. Gay failed to provide sufficient evidence that his right to use the CFP marks should not be suspended, and accordingly, his right to use the CFP marks is immediately suspended until further notice.

At its business meeting, the Board discussed creating more specific guidelines to assist respondents in proposing settlement offers. The Board also discussed a proposed increase in the hearing and appeal costs charged to respondents; the current hearing and appeal costs were set more than 7 years ago and have not been increased to reflect the actual costs associated with the hearings. Character and fitness requirements for those seeking CFP® certification were also approved by the Board for proposal to CFP Board's Board of Governors at its May 2006 meeting.

The Board's meetings would not be possible without the help of the many CFP® certificants willing to volunteer their time and expertise. In addition to the ongoing support of the Board of Professional Review members, the March 2006 meeting included the assistance of Martin Franks, CIMA, CFP®, Thomas Grzymala, CFP®, Edward Mora, ChFC, CFP® and James Williams, CPA, CFP®. CFP Board is grateful to these volunteers who serve to protect the public by helping to enforce CFP Board's standards of ethics and comptency.

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CFP BOARD UPDATES POLICY ON COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION

CFP Board has updated its policy on the collection and dissemination of information it collects from CFP® certificants, applicants for CFP® certification and others who visit its Web site. The newly-stated policy clarifies the manner in which CFP Board may use information provided by Web site visitors who provide their contact information during the course of completing requests for brochures, newsletters and other services. CFP Board may provide collected information to education providers, industry organizations, associations or businesses related to the financial planning industry as CFP Board deems appropriate.

As part of the updated policy, all those who provide contact information to CFP Board have the choice to opt out of any lists CFP Board may provide to third parties. Online request forms on www.CFP.net are being updated to include an opt-out function, and opt-out requests may also be sent to CFP Board via e-mail or fax.

The updated policy does not change the information about CFP® certificants that CFP Board provides in response to searches made through the online "Search for a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERT Professional" function.

The full policy can be read at www.CFP.net/legal. If you have questions or comments about the updated policy, please send them to mail@CFPBoard.org.

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