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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) is a nonprofit, professional regulatory organization located in Denver, CO. CFP Board fosters professional standards in personal financial planning so that the public has access to and benefits from competent and ethical financial planning. CFP Board offers the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) certification, held by more than 73,000 financial planning professionals worldwide.
To further their mission, CFP Board works to: - Create awareness of the importance of financial planning and the value of the financial planning process.
- Help underserved populations have access to competent and ethical financial planning.
- Create and enforce uniform standards of competency, practice and ethics of financial planners through rigorous, validated and professionally administered education, examination, experience and ethics requirements.
History In July 1985 the College for Financial Planning (College) and the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP) founded the International Board of Standards and Practices for Certified Financial Planners, Inc, (IBCFP). On February 1, 1994, the IBCFP became Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board). The Four Es By June 1986, CFP Board had acquired ownership of the CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ marks from the College as well as responsibility for the testing and certification of CFP candidates. That same year they adopted a Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice and Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. Shortly thereafter, CFP Board instituted the remaining elements of the certification process: the registration of financial planning educational programs of institutions other than the College in 1987, continuing education requirements in 1988, and the delineation of experience requirements and certifying procedures by 1989. The CFP® Certification In 1991, CFP Board introduced a single comprehensive examination to test candidates on their knowledge of the developed personal financial planning curriculum, modeled on the licensing examinations given to attorneys or Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). The ten-hour exam covers topics in the following major areas: - General principles of financial planning
- Insurance planning
- Employee benefits planning
- Investment planning
- Income tax planning
- Retirement planning
- Estate planning
On January 1, 1993, a new Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility was introduced to replace the IBCFP’s Code. With the new Code of Ethics, CFP Board completed its requirements, known as the Four Es: - Education
- Examination
- Experience
- Ethics
Practice Standards
In September 1994, the Board of Governors approved a plan for the development and dissemination of Financial Planning Practice Standards for personal financial planning, and created the Board of Practice Standards. During 1995, the Board of Practice Standards issued its first exposure draft of a proposed Practice Standard. The Board of Governors approved the first three Practice Standards in 1998, to become effective on January 1, 1999. Further Standards have become effective in 2000, 2001, and 2002. To learn more about CFP Board and CFP® certification, go here.
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