Financial planning is the process of implementing financial strategies and concepts in a coordinated and integrated manner, in order to uniquely address an individual’s financial needs, goals and concerns. Financial planning, in broad terms, encompasses cash flow and budgeting needs, protection planning concerns relating to life insurance, disability coverage and health care, investment planning and asset management, tax planning, retirement planning and estate planning. The process of financial planning involves a coordinated effort from a team of professionals. These professionals include financial advisors, Certified Public Accountants and other tax professionals, in addition to insurance agents and attorneys. The literature provides varying
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In 1983, financial planning was defined as a process utilized by financial planners to objectively assess a client’s goals, developing a plan to meet those goals, followed by the implementation of the plan and thenceforth a periodic review of the plan to ensure the client was making progress towards their goals (Chene, Gold, & Gramlich, 2010). Boone (2000) provides a similar definition by suggesting that financial planning is the advice and service designed to help meet a client’s life goals provided through a written evaluation and analysis of an individual’s or family’s current financial status, with strategies being presented and assistance with implementing and monitoring the client’s plan. Altfest (2004) provides a broader definition of financial planning by describing the discipline as a process that literally incorporates all items of financial interest to an individual with the most common …show more content…
Warschauer (2002) also suggests that financial planning has emerged as a significant and possible essential consumer need despite not having a theoretical base for a substantial portion of the decisions suggested by financial planners. Cull (2009) posits that the lack of theoretical development poses a risk to the recognition of financial planning as a profession but a stand-alone theory would enhance the stature of the profession and assist the public in understanding why financial planning is performed. Yeske (2010) offers an encompassing perspective by stating that after four decades of growth and development, the financial planning profession is still without an overarching framework for organizing and testing the strategy-making activities of the profession’s practitioners. In other words, how is the success of financial planning actually measured? What types of empirical results substantiate our success? The common theme presented by these researchers is that the profession of financial planning has grown tremendously from inception, yet there is tremendous upside potential to advance the profession by the development of a theoretical framework. A theoretical framework should promote additional academic research and promote public awareness. Just as other disciplines have
In 1983, financial planning was defined as a process utilized by financial planners to objectively assess a client’s goals, developing a plan to meet those goals, followed by the implementation of the plan and thenceforth a periodic review of the plan to ensure the client was making progress towards their goals (Chene, Gold, & Gramlich, 2010). Boone (2000) provides a similar definition by suggesting that financial planning is the advice and service designed to help meet a client’s life goals provided through a written evaluation and analysis of an individual’s or family’s current financial status, with strategies being presented and assistance with implementing and monitoring the client’s plan. Altfest (2004) provides a broader definition of financial planning by describing the discipline as a process that literally incorporates all items of financial interest to an individual with the most common …show more content…
Warschauer (2002) also suggests that financial planning has emerged as a significant and possible essential consumer need despite not having a theoretical base for a substantial portion of the decisions suggested by financial planners. Cull (2009) posits that the lack of theoretical development poses a risk to the recognition of financial planning as a profession but a stand-alone theory would enhance the stature of the profession and assist the public in understanding why financial planning is performed. Yeske (2010) offers an encompassing perspective by stating that after four decades of growth and development, the financial planning profession is still without an overarching framework for organizing and testing the strategy-making activities of the profession’s practitioners. In other words, how is the success of financial planning actually measured? What types of empirical results substantiate our success? The common theme presented by these researchers is that the profession of financial planning has grown tremendously from inception, yet there is tremendous upside potential to advance the profession by the development of a theoretical framework. A theoretical framework should promote additional academic research and promote public awareness. Just as other disciplines have