Financial Planners Standards Council (FPSC) today published a detailed picture of the full array of competencies required of Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professionals.

The new CFP Professional Competency Profile is available on FPSC’s website at www.cfp-ca.org.

The profile clearly defines the multi-dimensional and integrative nature of professional financial planning and distinguishes financial planning from other kinds of financial advice and service.

“For our stakeholders, the new CFP Competency Profile articulates the distinctive value proposition of financial planning and of the CFP professional. For FPSC, the new Profile will guide every aspect of CFP certification moving forward,” said FPSC Acting President and CEO Cary List, in a news release.

The profile is the culmination of a competency-based analysis recently completed as part of FPSC’s regular review of the profession. “Knowledge has generally been the basis for examination and professional certification in the past,” says List. “Today, Canadian professions are leading in the movement worldwide to a competency-based approach to certification. FPSC’s adoption of a competency-based approach for CFP certification reflects the logical progression of the young yet maturing financial planning profession.”

Going forward, the profile will eventually be reflected in all aspects of the CFP certification program. In the more immediate term, it will be reflected in the new Examination Blueprint that replaces the previous knowledge-based syllabus and guides the development of the CFP Examination and FPSC-accredited education programs.

The November 2007 CFP Examination will be the first examination to fully reflect the current CFP Professional Competency Profile.

The profile will help everyone better understand the profession’s purpose and value. It distinguishes financial planning from other financial services, and it distinguishes the role and value proposition of the CFP professional from those of other advisors.

A competency profile for the financial planning profession is currently being finalized by the international community of CFP certifying organizations from around the world with considerable leadership and contribution from FPSC. In addition to sharing the Canadian CFP Professional Competency Profile to serve as the foundation for the international profile, List has been active on the international certification committee charged with developing a common set of international standards for CFP professionals in 20 countries.