Resources to Help CFP® Professionals Comply With The New Code And Standards

To help CFP® professionals understand and comply with the new Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct (Code and Standards), CFP Board has developed a comprehensive Compliance Resource Library that contains a variety of guidance resources. Keep reading to learn more about these resources, which are available at www.CFP.net/compliance.

Navigating the Compliance Resource Library

The best place to begin is with the Roadmap to the Code and Standards. As its title suggests, the Roadmap is a convenient, easy-to-read guide that uses graphics and images to help CFP® professionals and their firms gain a practical understanding of the Code and Standards.

From there you have a few options:

1. If you have a specific question, then you might search the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to see whether it has been answered.
2. To see how the Code and Standards applies to “real world” situations, examine the Case Studies. Here CFP Board has applied the Code and Standards to dozens of hypothetical situations that might interest you.
3. To help with day-to-day client interactions or topics of interest, review our checklists and guides.
4. For those of you who like to digest information visually, our collection of videos and webinars brings it all together.

Roadmap to the Code and Standards Reference Guide

The Roadmap to the Code and Standards is a tool that CFP® professionals and their firms may use to develop a practical understanding of the Code and Standards. Filled with graphics and images, the Roadmap serves as a user-friendly reference guide for CFP® professionals and their firms.

In addition to an overview of the structure and content of the Code and Standards, the Roadmap includes several quick-reference guides that address key issues, including:

• Disclosure Guides for Financial Advice Engagements and Financial Planning Engagements;
• Compliance Guides for Financial Advice Engagements and Financial Planning Engagements; and
• A Reference Guide for the Practice Standards.

Download the Roadmap to the Code and Standards

Case Studies

CFP Board developed a series of Case Studies to enable CFP® professionals to apply the Code and Standards to situations that may arise in their own practice. There are dozens of Case Studies that explore a variety of important topics including:

• The Fiduciary Duty;
• Disclosing and Managing Conflicts of Interest;
• Recommending, Engaging, and Working with Other Persons; and
• Applying the Practice Standards.

Explore the Case Studies

View the Animated Case Studies Series

Guides and Checklists

To address broader topics of concern, CFP Board has produced topical guides that provide a more in-depth analysis. For instance, the guide Comparing CFP Board’s Code and Standards to the SEC’s Reg BI provides readers CFP Board’s perspective on their similarities and differences. Other guides include:

• Duties of a CFP® Professionals Working in a Call Center;
• Notice Regarding Bankruptcy Standard and Procedures;
• Implications of the Code and Standards for "Fee-Only" CFP® professionals; and
• Duty to Report Information to CFP Board and Duty to Cooperate with CFP Board Investigations.

Get more information with the guides

To use in day-to-day client interactions, CFP Board has also designed handy checklists that track some important requirements set forth in the Code and Standards. These Checklists are some of our most popular compliance resources:

• Financial Planning Engagements Compliance Checklist; and
• Financial Advice Engagements Compliance Checklist.

Start using the checklists

Additional Compliance Resources

Other guidance resources you may find helpful include:

• Frequently Asked Questions about the new Code and Standards;
• Video Series on key elements of the Code and Standards;
• Recorded Webinar: Roadmap to the Code and Standards;
• Focus on Ethics newsletter article series;
• Commentary on new Code and Standards; and
• Side-by-Side Comparison of the new Code and Standards to the previous Standards of Professional Conduct.

Access the Compliance Resource Library

• Through the new Code and Standards, CFP Board is advancing the value of CFP® certification. We commend all CFP® professionals for their adoption of the new Code and Standards, which furthers our collective efforts to elevate public trust in CFP® professionals and the financial planning profession.