FNS50107 Diploma of Financial Services – Practice Management for Financial Planning

AIFA joined forces with The Encore Group - a leading practice management specialist in financial services - to develop a nationally recognised qualification customised to the needs of financial planning practices in metropolitan and regional Australia.

Designed for:

Participants would ideally have business management experience, and possibly prior relevant studies, and include the following: 

• practice principals or equity partners or other staff who perform any aspect of the business management function in a financial planning practice;
• financial planning practitioners who intend to become equity partners or take on a management role; 
• practice managers who wish to enhance and formalise their skills; 
• dealergroup Practice Development Managers (PDMs) who wish to enhance their knowledge and gain tools to deliver high value practice development service to their licensees;
• institutional Business Development Managers (BDMs) seeking the skills and tools to enhance the value they provide to their practices;  
• business managers from other industry backgrounds who wish to transition to a financial planning businesses.
  

This course will equip you with:

• a comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of small business management in the context of a financial planning practice;
• comprehensive business planning and management skills covering all the aspects of running a commercial operation including management of budgets and forecasts, sales and marketing planning, setting up and managing practice systems, and HR and performance management;
• the only nationally recognised practice management qualification on the market.

Career Pathways

The course enables you to perform the business management function as a:

• Practice Principal or current or future equity partner
• Practice or Business Manager of a financial planning practice
• Practice Development Manager or Practice Support Manager in a dealergroup

Course Content

Four Core Units delivered within four specialist modules:


1. Running a Profitable Financial Planning Practice
This module covers the strategic planning process and key management principles. Participants will develop an outline of a practice business plan that establishes the vision and direction of the business, defines the core activities and resources necessary to achieve it. The module covers different business structures, fee models, teaches preparation and management of budgets and forecasts, cashflows and time management.


Participants will gain understanding of management accounting information, evaluating and benchmarking performance and business valuation models.


2. Marketing a Financial Planning Practice
In this module students will learn all the aspects of sales and marketing planning, including marketing segmentation, development of client value proposition, developing a service offer to address a client segment need, develop and nurture relationships with clients, other professionals and third party referrers.


3. Operations - Financial Planning Perspective
Effective operation systems form a crucial platform for practice profitability and expansion. This module teaches how to establish and maintain standardised processes and work flows to minimise structural overlap, duplication and key person dependence.


4. Managing People in the Context of a Financial Planning Practice
A successful business culture enables practice to recruit and retain the right staff and sets it apart from competitors. A strong leadership and effective people management processes are as important in a small business as they are in a large corporation. They influence behaviour an in turn impact on the service to your client.


Learn how to effectively acquire, manage and grow your staff through effective performance appraisal and reward systems, staff retention schemes and long-term incentive plans.

FPA Accreditation

This course is accredited by the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA).


Accreditation number 003558 for 15 CPD points per module covering Marketing, Operations, Commercial and Operational of the Diploma of Financial Services – Practice Management for Financial Planning.


Competency Areas: 60 CPD Points (Practice Management).  

Learn more about FPA's CPD reguirements.

About The Encore Group

The content for this course was developed by The Encore Group - a team of independent specialist providers of practice management products, systems and solutions with extensive financial services industry experience. To learn more about The Encore Group go to http://www.encoregroup.com.au/.

Course Delivery:

To obtain this qualification, students are required to complete four (4) modules.

Weekend Blocks Option:
Complete each Module in 2 weekend blocks:  
- 1st weekend: Friday & Saturday (9am – 5:00pm) 
- 2nd weekend (a fortnight later): Friday & Saturday (9am – 5:00pm)


Weeknights Option:
Complete entire course over 16 weeks:
- Tuesday & Thursday evening (6:00pm – 9:30pm)

• Course material for each module requires pre-reading and is typically shipped to a candidate three weeks prior to the workshops.
• We allow around two month elapsed time for each module from pre reading to final assessment task.
• To ensure high quality learning outcomes, AIFA’s Diploma programs are rigorous and demanding. Candidates should expect a solid workload. In addition to the face-to-face training, the program requires an estimated additional workload of approximately 16-20 hours per module for readings, completion of assignments, meetings, study and the like.
  

Assessment Requirements

To complete the course you are required to submit to AIFA an assignment for assessment and complete a multiple choice examination for each Module within designated time.

How to enrol

To enrol please download the Enrollment Form here or call AIFA on 1300 785 775 for more information.