FINANCIAL PLANNING STANDARDS BOARD NAMES DENNY SMITH AS DIRECTOR OF CERTIFICATION

DENVER, 08 June 2007 – Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB) announced today that it has named Dr. Denny Smith to be the association's Director of Certification. Smith will oversee the development and enforcement of global competency standards for financial planning, with an emphasis in developing globally-consistent curricula, education content and assessment programs.

"Denny Smith is a seasoned assessment professional with significant expertise in association management and global experience in certification operations, exam development and certification governance relationships,” said Noel Maye, FPSB CEO. “Denny’s experience with managing global certification programs is a natural fit with FPSB’s strategic mission to establish financial planning as a global profession, with CFP certification recognized as the mark of the professional financial planner.”

Prior to joining FPSB, Smith managed Project Management Institute’s (PMI) global certification and exam activities and guided the organization’s efforts to achieve accreditation by the International Organization for Standardization.

Previously, Smith was Director of Certification and Education at WorldatWork, an association specializing in compensation and benefits for human resource practitioners, where he oversaw job analyses and exam quality programs.

“I am excited about the opportunity to embark on the first effort to define what it is that a financial planner should be able to do and know to best serve clients, and to develop education and experience certification requirements and assessment standards to ensure the global public can access and benefit from the advice of competent and ethical planners,” said Smith. “It is a great time to join FPSB and work with its international Affiliates to establish a framework for a global financial planning curriculum and to enhance standards of global assessments.”

Smith is currently a member of ISO’s International Accreditation Forum Working Group for Personnel Certification Accreditation. Smith earned his Master’s degree from Miami University, Ohio, and his doctorate from Purdue University, Indiana.

FPSB is governed by a nine-member international board of directors and supported by the FPSB Council, an advisory group representing 19 organizations (FPSB Affiliates) that currently manage the CFP certification in their respective countries and one organization in the process of becoming an FPSB Affiliate. Countries or regions where FPSB has a nonprofit member organization that offers, or is preparing to offer, CFP certification include: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. There are currently over 105,000 CFP professionals worldwide.

Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB) is a nonprofit association that manages, develops and operates certification, education and related programs for financial planning organizations so that they may benefit and protect the global community by establishing, upholding and promoting worldwide professional standards in personal financial planning. FPSB’s commitment to excellence is represented by the marks of professional distinction – CFP, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and CFP (with flame logo).