The FP Canada Standards Council™ Announces Amendments to the Standards of Professional Responsibility

Changes serve to enhance clarity and promote greater transparency

TORONTO, April 20, 2022 /CNW/ - The FP Canada Standards Council, a division of FP Canada™, today announces various changes to the FP Canada Standards Council Standards of Professional Responsibility. The Standards of Professional Responsibility define the ethical and professional responsibilities of Certified Financial Planner^® professionals and Qualified Associate Financial Planner™ professionals. They are maintained by the Standards Panel, an independent panel composed of CFP^® professionals, a licensed financial planner from the province of Québec, and a member of the public. The standards are enforced by the Standards Council.

The Standards Council recently revised the Standards of Professional Responsibility as part of a continuous effort to ensure that CFP professionals and QAFP™ professionals are held to high standards of competence, professionalism, and ethical conduct. The changes take effect May 1, 2022.

"Regular review of existing standards is critical," says Lesley Poole, CFP, Chair of the Standards Panel. "The latest amendments reflect changes both within the profession, and in the expectations of Canadians seeking financial planning services."

The changes focus in part on greater transparency in the public interest. For example, under Rule 7 of the Rules of Conduct, all disclosures to clients regarding how a certificant or the certificant's firm is compensated for providing products and services must now be made in writing. The result is increased disclosure to clients and less room for confusion or misunderstanding.

Another change is related to accessibility. Rule 13 has been updated to state that certificants must fulfill their professional responsibilities in a manner that is not only timely and thorough, but accessible and understandable, to clients. This change, meant to ensure that practice and communications are barrier-free to persons with disabilities and those who need accommodation, is consistent with FP Canada's commitment to equity, inclusivity, and diversity.

A new fitness standard has also been added to the Standards of Professional Responsibility, allowing FP Canada to consider whether an individual should become—or remain—certified if they were denied registration of a professional license or credential by another regulator (unless the denial was administrative in nature). Such a denial of registration would trigger a presumptive bar to new or continued certification, giving the FP Canada Standards Council's Conduct Review Panel the opportunity to consider whether the certificant meets the high standards of competence and professionalism and are fit for certification.

In addition, the term "client" has been defined more broadly. The new definition ensures that all individuals who receive financial planning services, advice, or recommendations from a certificant—not just those who receive formal financial plans—are afforded the protections of a client, as set out throughout the Standards of Professional Responsibility.

The above changes, along with several others that were implemented, will further strengthen the Standards of Professional Responsibility, ensuring that they remain highly relevant.

"The FP Canada Standards Council is dedicated to setting financial planning standards that reflect the Standard Council's public interest mandate," says Damienne Lebrun-Reid, Executive Director, Standards & Certification and Head of the FP Canada Standards Council. "To meet that objective, we continue to ensure that our standards are clear, transparent, and relevant."

To support certificants in their efforts to meet all disclosure requirements and comply with their professional obligations under the Standards of Professional Responsibility, FP Canada recently launched a tool for creating customized Terms of Engagement letters relevant to the practice of financial planning. The tool is available to CFP professionals and QAFP professionals through the FP Canada portal. Learn more about the tool in our Financial Planner Toolkits.

Learn more about the Standards of Professional Responsibility on the FP Canada website. 

About FP Canada

A national certification and professional oversight body working in the public interest, FP Canada is dedicated to championing better financial wellness for all Canadians by leading the advancement of professional financial planning in Canada. There are about 17,000 Certified Financial Planner^® professionals and about 2,000 Qualified Associate Financial Planner™ professionals (as at March 31, 2022), who meet FP Canada's rigorous professional and ethical standards. Visit the FP Canada website for more information. 

About the FP Canada Standards Council

A division of FP Canada, the FP Canada Standards Council establishes and enforces financial planning standards, sets the certification requirements for professional financial planners and develops and delivers certification examinations. The FP Canada Standards Council ensures FP Canada certificants― Certified Financial Planner^® professionals and Qualified Associate Financial Planner™ professionals―meet appropriate standards of competence and professionalism through rigorous requirements of education, examination, experience, and ethics. Learn more at FPCanada.ca.

SOURCE FP Canada

For media inquiries, please contact: Megan Harman, FP Canada [email protected]