Page 11 - PR Communication Age January 2016

als licensed in similar fields who have the ability to properly
figure out financial for plan individuals or businesses in their
related fields.

In a seperate development, the Malaysian Financial Plan-
ning Council, incidently also introduced a professional des-
ignation for financial planners called Registered Financial
Planner (RFP) in 2004, which was recognised by the regula-
tory bodies, Bank Negara and Securities Commission in the
country for the purpose of licensing financial planner.

The Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential was estab- American College. Till date, more than 43,000 individuals
lished for CPAs in the United States who specialize in per- have attained this distinction.
sonal financial planning. The credential is awarded exclu-
sively to members of the American Institute of Certified This designation has also spread to Asia, where designers
Public Accountants (AICPA) who have demonstrated consid- are found in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,
erable experience and expertise in that area. China and Hong Kong. In India a few courses has been
started within last four years in a modest scale. In Europe,
As of today, the AICPA has granted approximately 3,500 the European Financial Planner (EFP) designation conferred
CPA/PFS credentials. In Australia, the financial planning by the European Financial Planning Association (EFPA) is
specialisation, CPA (FPS), is available to those members of gaining ground as a financial planning certification mark.
CPA Australia who can demonstrate their eligibility through
experience and education within the financial services in- The EFPA is the largest professional and educational
dustry. organisation for financial planners and financial advisors in
Europe and is the only Financial Planning Association cre-
The objectives of the CPA (FPS) designation are to: ated solely in the interest of European financial planning
consumers and practitioners. Globally the Chartered
O Achieve public recognition for those who hold the Wealth Manager (CWM) is one of the fastest growing fi-
specialisation; nancial planner specializations which focuses on develop-
ing critical relationship of management skills for financial
O Enhance the quality of financial planning services that planners and advisors.
members provide; and
The designation is conferred by the Board of Standards of
O Increase practice development and career opportuni- the American Academy of Financial Management in 145
ties for CPAs. countries worldwide. The rest of the certification qualifica-
tions related to financial planning include: Fellow, Financial
The FPS designation is available to CPAs, and is based on a Services Institute (conferred by LOMA, USA); the Certified
point system, where minimum of 100 points must be ac- Private Banker designation (conferred by the American
crued. Although all CPA Australia members who provide fi- Academy of Financial Management); the Certified Finan-
nancial product advice must be licensed by ASIC, a mem- cial Marketing Consultant (CFMC) conferred by the Institute
ber does not have to be licensed to first obtain the CPA (FPS) of Marketing Malaysia.
designation. The Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) is
another financial planning qualification, conferred by the

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