Financial planning means different things to different people. For the purposes of this website, financial planning is defined by the CFP board 1 as “the process of determining whether and how an individual can meet life goals through the proper management of financial resources. Financial planning integrates the financial planning process with the financial planning subject areas.” These areas include:
- Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship
- Gathering client data, including goals
- Analyzing and evaluating the client’s current financial status
- Developing and presenting recommendations and/or alternatives
- Implementing the recommendations
- Monitoring the recommendations
“Financial planning subject areas” denotes the basic subject fields covered in the financial planning process which typically include, but are not limited to:
- Financial statement preparation and analysis (including cash flow analysis/planning and budgeting)
- Insurance planning and risk management
- Employee benefits planning
- Investment planning
- Income tax planning
- Retirement planning
- Estate planning
