You've invested
countless hours and hard earned dollars to achieve all that you now have. But
getting ahead is getting harder every day. The world of financial planning is
becoming more complex: Tax laws keep changing, the real estate market is in
transition and a winning investment is more difficult to predict than ever
before. That's why the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
(AICPA) has created the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) program.
CPAs who have earned the
PFS designation have demonstrated their ability to guide you through the
confusing financial environment. Whether you need to build college funds for
your newborn or develop investment strategies for retirement, a CPA/PFS is the
one who can best maximize the effectiveness of your personal financial plans.
Personal financial
planning is a process. It begins with an initial plan that is based on your current
financial situation. The plan is then monitored so that it changes along with
your lifestyle and the financial marketplace.
Financial planning means
more than just choosing the mutual fund with the best current yield or deciding
to buy a particular life insurance policy. It is the successful integration of
your goals, resources, stage of life, and tolerance for risk.
In today's volatile
economy, you cannot afford to leave your financial plans to chance. Invest in
yourself...select the best. Select a CPA/PFS.
CPA/PFS... The Mark of Distinction
When you select a PFS,
you are entrusting your financial well-being to a highly qualified professional
who has pledged to upload a strict code of conduct -- mandated by the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Candidates for the PFS
designation must first be CPAs. The CPA credential, in and of itself, implies a
great deal of education, experience and technical skill. Furthermore, a CPA/PFS
must:
Be an AICPA member in good standing and agree to comply
with continuing professional education and reaccredidation requirements.
Have at least three years of personal financial
planning experience, which must be documented with letters from clients
and peers.
Demonstrate special competence by passing a
comprehensive financial planning examination.
Once a CPA earns the PFS
designation, he or she must work to keep it by becoming reaccredited every
three years. This process includes taking continuing professional education to
stay abreast of the latest developments.
In addition, CPAs with
the PFS designation must periodically evaluate and document the professional
quality of their practices to ensure that they meet the highest standards of
professionalism and integrity. The CPA/PFS must also continue to practice
personal financial planning. If the nature of the CPA's practice changes and
the number of financial planning hours drops below the minimum required, the
CPA will lose the PFS designation.
All Financial Planners Are Not Created Equal
Find out whether your
financial planner has earned the right to use the initials "CPA" for
certified public accountant. These letters are your assurance of competence,
objectivity and integrity.
After completing the
various levels of higher education, CPA candidates must pass a rigorous
two-and-a-half-day examination. In most cases, they must also work under a
CPA's supervision for a specified period of time required by the CPA's state
board of accountancy.
The CPA also is
qualified to work with other professional advisers, such as attorneys,
insurance agents, stockbrokers, and bankers, to help you secure the best
possible financial future.
For more than 100 years,
CPAs have been trusted financial advisers to businesses as well as to
individuals. Therefore, they come to the financial planning marketplace with
broad-based knowledge, including tax, audit, financial consulting, and small
business expertise. CPAs who are financial planning professionals understand
the framework of finance and the business world far beyond your personal
financial planning needs.
A CPA/PFS can provide
you with services ranging from an informal personal consultation to a
comprehensive financial plan, carefully tailored to your needs and
circumstances. These highly individualized professional services will help
you to:
Manage cash flow.
Build retirement savings.
Develop an estate plan.
Minimize tax liability.
Maximize the return on investments.
Manage financial risk.
Determine insurance needs.
Build education funds.
Plan for the care of elderly parents.
Purchase a vacation home.
Make the most of real estate investments.
About the AICPA
The AICPA is the national professional association of CPAs and has
more than 300,000 members. AICPA members are committed to the highest standards
of quality, objectivity and ethics. In its continuing efforts to serve the
public interest, the AICPA sets audit standards, upholds the profession's code
of conduct, provides continuing professional education, implements peer review
and quality review programs, and prepares and grades the Uniform CPA and
Personal Financial Specialist examinations.