Each year CFP Board holds a Firm Meeting with representatives of financial service firms that employ CFP® certificants. This interaction provides firm representatives with insights into the CFP® certification process and furthers CFP Board's ongoing efforts to assess the requirements for CFP® certification to make sure they are set in a way that protects the public.

On August 2, 2006, an unprecedented number of representatives of major employers of CFP® professionals joined CFP Board in Santa Monica to engage in a full day of off-the-record discussions and debate over industry issues of mutual interest.

Karen Schaeffer, CFP®, Chair-Elect of CFP Board's Board of Governors, kicked off the meeting by asking each person to share opinions about what needs to occur to make financial planning profession everything it can be ten years from now. The wealth of ideas generated by this discussion ranged from the desire for a shift in the regulatory environment to requests and suggestions for demystifying what financial planning is, achieving greater coordination and unity among the organizations and persons involved in the financial planning profession, making current financial planning models more productive, designing and implementing different models to make financial planning accessible to the non-wealthy, and continuing the efforts to increase awareness of the CFP® marks.

The seriousness and depth of the discussions continued throughout the day as the meeting tackled such topics as the SEC's Broker-Dealer Rule, CFP Board's disciplinary process and the recently-released proposed revisions to CFP Board's ethical standards. Former SEC Commissioner Cynthia Glassman brought a Washington insider's view to the meeting by opening up the floor to questions and providing answers based on her four years of experience with the SEC. While at the meeting, Ms. Glassman's nomination to become Undersecretary of Commerce was announced by the White House.

We hope that all Firm Meeting attendees found the event to be as useful and dynamic as it was for CFP Board.

View the schedule of the meetings and activities for firm representatives.