The Demographics that Predict Success in the Australian Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) Certification Program

Recent ethical concerns in the financial services industry have prompted renewed calls for reform in the area of professionalism of financial advisers. The Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) certification program exists as part of the ongoing educational and ethical framework established by the Financial Planning Association. While research has been undertaken in relation to the international versions of the same program, to date the factors that predict success on the Australian version have not been examined. This project used data collected from the program enrolment forms which were accessed after permission was obtained from the Financial Planning Association. As many of the samples did not provide the required points of data, 109 complete data sets were analysed as a pilot study using cross-tabulation in SPSS with a chi-square 0.5 level of significance. The results of this pilot study suggest success in the Australian CFP® certification program is positively correlated between gender and the number of exemptions granted.