Higher Certificate in Financial Planning

Purpose

The qualification will be offered by the Department of Financial Accounting.

The overall purpose of this qualification is to

• Promote the development of knowledge and skills that is required in the Financial Planning and Advisory industry.
• Assist learners to achieve their full potential in the Financial Planning sector.
• Enhance opportunities for both existing and prospective learners' career progression in this sector.
• Provide opportunities for life-long learning for individuals in the Financial Planning industry.
• Promote the professional development of the Financial Services Industry in ensuring the appropriate levels of qualification of financial advisors in line with the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) legislation and in line with Professional Development norms of The Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa.

Rationale

Within the context of a University of Technology, the existence of an entry level Financial Planning qualification is essential to achieve the goals of an industry where the consequences of non-compliance with legislation are far-reaching.

The qualification attempts to ensure that learners are competent to practice as specialist financial planners in the financial planning environment. The qualification will provide specialist professional financial planning services to a range of clients in business and to apply knowledge, skills and competence for personal advancement and gainful economic activity in a lucrative professional field.

The department has identified a niche in the market for this qualification and the need to be recognised as offering a qualification that is accredited by a professional body, in addition to the requirements of the Council on Higher Education (CHE). The Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI) is the independent professional body for financial planners in South Africa.

A motivating factor in the design of this qualification is obtaining FPI accreditation which will allow the graduates to write the professional competency examination for the Registered Financial Planner (RFP) professional designation. To this end, the curriculum has been aligned with the requirements of the FPI.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

RPL candidates will be considered for access on an individual, discretionary basis in alignment with the institution alignment criteria.

Entry Requirements

The minimum admission requirements are

• National Senior Certificate (NSC) allowing entry to Higher Certificate studies and must have achieved a pass in English Language.

Or

• Senior Certificate (SC) and must have achieved a pass in English.

Or

• National Certificate (Vocational) (NCV) Level 4 allowing entry to Higher Certificate studies and must have achieved a pass in English.

This qualification consists of compulsory and elective modules at Level 5 totalling 128 Credits.

Compulsory Modules at Level 5: 96 Credits

• Legislation for the Financial Planner, 20 Credits.
• Personal Financial Planning Practices, 20 Credits.
• Investment Planning, 20 Credits.
• Taxation for the Financial Planner, 24 Credits.
• Durban University of Technology (DUT) General Education (Gen Ed) Cornerstone module, 12 Credits.

Elective Modules: 32 Credits (Choose two)

• Entrepreneurial skills, 16 Credits.
• Basics of Business Financial Planning, 16 Credits.
• Financial Planning for Deceased Estates, 16 Credits.

1. Analyse the principles of financial planning, investment planning, planning for deceased estates and the law and taxation considerations applicable to financial planning.
2. Communicate effectively using verbal, non-verbal and written business communication forms in a workplace environment.
3. Apply knowledge of ethics and professional practice by conducting one's self professionally demonstrating ethical behaviour in a workplace environment.
4. Evaluate risk and risk tolerance in the insurance and Financial Planning environment.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Identify and categorise the role players in the industry and explain the relationship between them.
• Apply specialist technical knowledge to advise a client on risk, retirement, estate planning, health and investment scenarios.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Communicate financial solutions to the client in a manner that is understandable and clear against the background of the requirements of the FAIS legislation.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Demonstrate an understanding of ethical behaviour and the way in which ethics inform a code of conduct in the financial planning sector.
• Examine the relationship between ethics and compliance legislation against the background of client interaction, responsible business practice and the contribution to an ethical business environment in South Africa.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Identify the challenges and opportunities in the business environment in South Africa and propose ways of addressing these in a financial planning practice.
• Analyse the financial standing of the client to identify needs and risks.
• Propose insurance and investment solutions after applying specialised knowledge to satisfy the needs and wants identified.

Integrated Assessment

Integrated Assessments will be used to combine the assessment of a range of skills at the same time; assessing a number of outcomes together; assessing a number of assessment criteria together; using a combination of assessment methods and instruments.

This is to ensure that the purpose of the qualification is achieved. Integrated assessments will require students to bring together different sets of outcomes of learning into a demonstration of applied competence. Integrated assessment will be emphasized in the Higher Certificate in Financial Planning because it aligns to applied competencies, which are a central tenet of the National Qualification Framework. Applied competence will be achieved by combining practical competence, foundational competence and reflective competence.

Integrated assessments will

• Assess a number of outcomes together using written classroom tests, practical's, projects, presentations and/or assignments.
• Assess a number of assessment criteria together using written classroom tests, practical's, projects, presentations and/or assignments.
• In some cases use a number of assessment methods for an outcome.

Integrated assessment will support integrated learning. It will develop and measure students' abilities not only to understand the underpinning theory but also apply it in authentic contexts and to reflect on what they have learnt, what they are doing and why they are doing it.

Formative and summative assessment

Formative Assessments will be used to support the student developmentally and to feed back into the teaching and learning process. This links the relationship between assessment, learning and teaching and ensures that assessments inform and strengthen both the teaching and learning process, and the student improves from their areas of difficulty.

For summative assessment, especially where more than one marker is involved, internal moderation checks are undertaken to ensure the reliability of the assessment procedures. Summative Assessments will be used to make a judgment about achievement and to provide "snapshot" information about a student's level of competence at a given time. This includes assessment marks that contribute to the final mark.