FP Canada™ Announces Updated Disciplinary Rules and Procedures

Changes improve transparency, ensure policies reflect current practices

TORONTO, Sept. 1, 2020 /CNW/ - FP Canada has announced various changes to the FP Canada Standards Council™ Disciplinary Rules and Procedures (DRP) and the FP Canada Standards Council™ Disciplinary Rules and Procedures for Examination Misconduct (DPEM), which come into effect today. The changes are part of an ongoing effort by the FP Canada Standards Council to ensure all policies are reflective of current practices and are as detailed as possible. This helps to ensure transparency and procedural fairness for the benefit of CFP^® professionals, QAFP™ professionals, certification candidates and the Canadian public.

The DRP guides how the Standards Council conducts investigations and disciplinary hearings into conduct by CFP professionals and QAFP professionals that may represent a breach of their ethical and professional responsibilities, as defined in the FP Canada Standards Council Standards of Professional Responsibility. The DPEM guides how the Standards Council conducts investigations and hearings relating to misconduct on FP Canada certification examinations.

"We are committed to regularly reviewing all policies and procedures to ensure they continue to be relevant, transparent and effective, for the benefit of all stakeholders," says Damienne Lebrun-Reid, Executive Director, Standards & Certification, and Head of the FP Canada Standards Council. "This helps financial planners understand exactly what we expect of them, and it gives consumers confidence in the rules and processes in place to protect them."

Several of the changes to both the DRP and DPEM aim to improve transparency for the benefit of Canadian consumers. Specifically, under changes to the DRP, Statements of Allegations, which describe the misconduct alleged by the Standards Council, will now be publicized on FP Canada's website within five business days of being filed. In addition, full Hearing Panel decisions and reasons in disciplinary proceedings will be published on FP Canada's website, along with summaries. Under a change to the DPEM, anonymized summaries of disciplinary decisions will be published on FP Canada's website.

In addition, while written hearings remain the preferred format, to add flexibility and to modernize the hearing process, the hearing formats available under both the DRP and DPEM have been expanded to include telephone and video conference hearings in addition to in-person or written hearings.

A variety of other changes aim to ensure that the DRP and DPEM reflect current practices, providing clarity to consumers regarding the complaint review and enforcement process and to certificants when responding to complaints. The full DRP and DPEM are available on the FP Canada website.

About FP Canada

A national professional 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 approximately 21,000 professional financial planners in Canada who, through CFP^® certification and QAFP™ certification, meet FP Canada's standards.

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.

CFP^®, Certified Financial Planner^® and the logo are trademarks owned by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB) and used under license. All other trademarks are those of FP Canada™. © 2020 FP Canada™. All rights reserved.

SOURCE FP Canada

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