International standards for financial planning are in the works.
Four working groups established by an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committee to develop global planning standards are submitting their proposals. ISO, a federation of national standards bodies from 140 countries, promotes the development of quality standards worldwide.
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards is in charge of administering the ISO process. The CFP Board last year established the committee and its four working groups, which are working on the following topics:
* Definitions, processes and practices of financial planning. This working group is run by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a nonprofit group that administers a voluntary U.S. standardization system. The ANSI is the U.S. representative to the ISO committee.
* Competencies required for financial planning. The working group administrator is Deutsches Institut für Normung, the German representative.
* Ethical requirements of financial planning. The convener of the group is Standards Council of Canada, the Canadian rep.
* Financial planning experience requirements. Standards New Zealand, the New Zealand representative, heads this working group.
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