The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has appointed a new education manager for its certified financial planner (CFP) accreditation program, amid regulatory reviews of entry-level adviser education.

Margaret Klova, who was formerly on the FPA’s CFP certification committee and job task analysis team, which benchmarks the CFP program, has succeeded Anne-Marie McNally as CFP education manager. The appointment coincides with reassessments of the effectiveness and delivery channels of financial planning education within the industry. Dean Sanders, FPA head of professional standards and education strategy, said the association was considering minor changes to the CFP program, and that it had also taken part in an ongoing review of PS146 implementation, which is being conducted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Sanders said ASIC had addressed the area of minimum standards in education, and that the FPA had heard concerns about the quality of financial planning training courses. “[ASIC] wants the industry to increase standards…[It is] not delivering the sorts of outcomes that ASIC wants. “There are no glaring errors or omissions, they’re more concerned about the programs – particularly which programs the training providers are developing to deliver PS146. “We still get consistent feedback that PS146 training standards are poor.” Meanwhile, Todd Walters was also appointed as the FPA’s professional services manager, a role which would see him coordinate educational services and tools for members, Sanders said.