Putting a new face on the FPA

Financial Planning Association (FPA) chair Corinna Dieters and her team can take considerable credit for the industry’s major image overhaul in the past year.

Far from winding down in her final year with the association (she hands over to Julie Berry next month) Dieters has amped up the volume; overseeing the implementation of a variety of innovative solutions designed to enhance members’ capabilities and integrity in the eyes of the public.

Numerous enhancements to the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) program have seen it attract a record 3,000 plus enrolments for the 2007-08 financial year.

The ‘de-linking’ of CFP accreditation (planners no longer have to be members of an FPA principal to be allowed to display the CFP mark) raised standards for FPA membership and the establishment of the new Conduct Review Committee (CRC) are three initiatives that will undoubtedly boost standards of advice and consequently the public’s perception of the industry.

Dieters has also demonstrated a dedication to improving the financial lot of low to mid-net-worth Australians, whom the industry has historically neglected.

In May, Dieters announced that the FPA would set up a charitable foundation offering free or reduced-cost financial advice to the innumerable Australians struggling to make ends meet. She stressed that the foundation, Future2, would enable planners to use their skills for the benefit of their communities.

“More than 70 per cent of Australians have experienced financial difficulty at some point in their lives,” she said at the time.

“A small number are among society’s most marginalised or under-privileged. These are the people Future2 will support.”

The FPA has also extended a helping hand to individuals and small businesses, including farmers, horticulturalists and wine-makers, whose livelihoods have been affected by severe drought.

Developed in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the program will involve planners and rural financial counsellors offering pro-bono advice on everything from debt management to saving and investing, insurance, risk management and succession planning.

The pilot program, underway in the Sunraysia region, is expected to be rolled out to other parts of the country next year.

“Over time, we will seek to extend the program to other communities, whether drought-stricken, devastated by [another type of] natural disaster or dealing with other social issues,” she said in October.

As a long-standing member of the FPA Regulation Committee, Dieters has also devoted a lot of time over the past year to developing a toolkit designed to help planners understand and meet their obligations under new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing legislation — albeit that she isn’t exactly a fan of the legislation itself.

“While this is all part of global changes to minimise the opportunities for money-laundering and terrorism financing, unfortunately it means more process for the planner, and one wonders how it benefits the consumer and whether it delivers value for them.”

Dieters’ achievements reflect a steadfast belief in the industry’s ability to have a positive and substantial impact on the wellbeing of both individuals and the community at large.

As she herself has said: “A priority of the FPA over the past year has been emphasising to consumers, regulators and the Government the value of advice and the positive impact it can have on the community.”

And although her role as chair of the FPA may nearly be at an end, her involvement with the industry certainly isn’t.

In January next year, she will take up a directorship on the global Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB), which manages industry certification and education programs in 23 territories.

“I am really pleased about this appointment as it will allow me to continue my involvement with the FPA and financial planning, dealing with a similar range of … issues on a global basis,” she said.

— Lorna Thornber