FPA farewells financial planning professor

The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) has bid farewell to the chair of the Financial Planning Education Council. Sharon Taylor has stepped down as the chair after more than three years, ahead of her plan to retire at the end of the academic year.

For the last 26 years, Taylor has been teaching future financial planning professionals at Western Sydney University.

FPA CEO Dante De Gori thanked Taylor for her contributions to the organisation, saying that she would be missed. "Since being appointed Chair in February 2018, Sharon has been a tireless advocate for both the profession and for educational standards of the profession. Sharon chaired FPEC through a challenging period for the profession and for the educational sector and saw through the transition of accreditation to FASEA and has ensured that FPEC members are now available to support FASEA on accreditations.

"Sharon also supported a number of initiatives designed to navigate these challenges, including the expansion of the FPEC sub-committee roles to include a representative from each university, and the exploration of a new research model for financial planning. She has always been steadfast in her drive to ensure quality education at a tertiary level, and has never been afraid to refuse accreditation or demand restructuring when deemed necessary", said De Gori.

The Financial Planning Education Council was founded in 2011 to act as an independent body to raise the standard of financial planning education.

Current Deakin University industry lead and financial planning educator Marc Olynyk has been named the new chair of the FPEC.