FAQ - Certifications Matter - The Importance of Professional Designations

FAQ

The AAFM ® Board of Standards is the official USA based Certifying Body and Accreditation Council for Professional Designations and Institutional Recognition to offer AAFM Certified Programs. The AAFM Board Certifications & Designations are certification credential marks strictly issued by the Board of Standards USA. AAFM was the 1st to recognize double accredited degree AACSB and ACBSP education as a path to "US Based Professional Certification. To receive authorization or accreditation to use AAFM ® Board Certification and Designations, the candidate must meet accredited education, degree, examination, experience, continuing education, and ethics requirements

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American Academy of Financial Management ® AAFM ® Board of Standards -

The AAFM ® is the global certifying body and standards council that issues charters, masters designations, and certifications while the Academy's Accreditation Commission recognizes qualified certification-education accredited programs worldwide. The Founding members have their origins with the Tax & Estate Planning Law Review and the Graduate Institute of Leadership in 1993. In 1997, The AAFM ® and Academy was re-instituted via a merger between the American Academy of Financial Management & Analysts (AAFMA) 1995 and the Founders Advisory Committee of the Original Tax and Estate Planning Law Review ™ 1995. The AAFMA was originally established in as a professional organization for investment managers, lawyers, and analysts. The Law Review was founded to examine strategic wealth and estate planning issues for Law, CPA, PhD, and MBA graduates and to award the wealth management, estate planning, and tax designations. AAFM currently recognizes over 55,000 PhDs, Lawyers, CPAs, AACSB Graduates, & Masters Degree Holders as associates, executive members, fellows, and certified members in over 150 nations. Presently, AAFM has over 200 thousand associate members and candidates. As there had not been a graduate professional financial organization specifically for accredited degree holders, MBAs, CPAs, Lawyers and PhDs, the AAFM ™ has met this need and become the organization of choice for highly educated individuals or industry experts because AAFM requires an accredited college degree for membership and certification.

Furthermore, AAFM ® has various international recognitions from private and governmental authorities. AAFM board certifications are compliance friendly and listed on investor education websites, and , AAFM is recognized by authoritative sources worldwide such as the US Department of Labor BLS Brochures and the Department of Education Registry and Directory. The AAFM ™ Board also has negotiated direct global trademark agreements with the CFP ™ Board of Standards and the CFA ™ Institute and also with the Arab Academy of Finance and the Indian Academy of Financial Management.   Because of the international recognition, the AAFM ® and related certification has been seen and featured in the: Investopedia, Forbes, Reuters, The Wall Street Globe, The Financial Times, The Arab Times, The China Daily, The El Norte Mexico, The South China Post, The Hindu National, CNBC, Forbes, Morningstar, and Black Enterprise Magazine.

AAFM ® is the regulatory Board of Standards for the much sought after AAFM ®  Designations and Credentials. The AAFM ®  Executive Designation Programs provide the assurance that the holder has met the suggested criteria for graduate credentials set out in cases such as the: Ibanez US Supreme Court Decision. As for high standards, the AAFM ® board certification requires passing 6 different levels of certification criteria. Acceptance into the AAFM ®  is a high distinction and requires the holder to possess a graduate level portfolio of skills and knowledge. Acceptance statistics are not high, and the designation when achieved is a high honor strictly for accredited degree and college educated graduates.

The AAFM ® has seen a meteoric rise to affluence and membership in recent years, as financial executives and managers strive to maintain and augment their education, credentials, integrity, and skill sets. The AAFM is the first in the world to extend strategic educational articulation and recognition to 560 double accredited business schools globally through the top business accreditation agencies worldwide: The AACSB ™ International and The ACBSP ™. The AAFM® is the first to have a direct alliance with an ABA recognized post-doctorate law school program and the RSOF Royal Society of Fellows Worldwide. The AAFM ™ has endorsed and sanctioned some of the most elite global conferences on economics, finance, tax, investments, law, wealth management, portfolio management, AML, and ecommerce issues. Events

AAFM’s mission is to serve its global membership and stakeholders as a world leader in educating and reinforcing the international knowledge of executives and potential leadership of financial based institutions. AAFM ™ now has representative offices and courses in the New York, UK, EU, Hong Kong, San Diego, Beijing, India, Cairo, Taiwan, Vietnam, Europe, Kuwait, Latin America and South America, and Singapore,  The West Indies and Bahamas, Europe, and more. Moreover, AAFM ® is a registered/listed Civil Society member with the United Nations. AAFM ® mandates consent to high standards of professional conduct, and AAFM activities are International in nature and scope.

The AAFM ® is a founder of the Accreditation Commission & Council for Finance and Management with AAFM Lead Certification Standards Councils in: Arabia, China, India, Africa, Latin America and more. The ACFM is the AAFM ® Accreditation Council and also the Board of Standards. This board formulates the policies to maintain competency assurance. The highest standards are created when an organization demands experience, education, testing, accredited education, graduate, ethics, and continuing education. The Accreditation Council is the first in the world to demand Graduate Education or Equivalency as a policy.

Certifications Article Endorsed by the The AAFM ® American Academy of Financial Management ®

The Increasing Value of Professional Designations and Board Certifications in the United States and Globally:

Why Accredited Education and Exams from Accredited Programs matter.

Brief History of Important Financial Professional Designations in the USA and Why Certification Matters

These days it is becoming more and more important to have an accredited degree along with certifications, graduate credentials, or other professional designations. Many people have the term “Board Certified” or certified on their resume which shows that they have completed the requirements for certification under the standards of an Independent Body .

Certification bodies, honor societies, and Self Regulatory Organizations have been in existence for several hundred years in the United States. The proliferation of honors, designations, certifications, and other non-government regulated credentials has been well recognized since "academic honor societies" became popular over 200 years ago in the USA i.e. Phi Beta Kappa PBK/1776

Further, professional designations in the last 30 years have become almost a requirement to be hired into many job areas of: banking, insurance, project management, risk management, business, law, finance, and various other fields.

The Certifying Body, AAFM ® American Academy of Financial Management®, was the first to require exams and courses from a government recognized and double accredited business school by creating legal articulation agreements directly with Governmental Bodies and Accreditation Bodies.

Under US Government Laws, individuals generally must be registered with some federal or state governmental licensing authority before working in a regulated field such as law or accounting. However, Corporations, State Bar Associations and Accounting societies allow their members to use other professional certifications after your name. e.g. John Doe, MBA, CWM ®

Overall, if you research the ACBSP www.ACBSP.org - The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and programs, The American Bar Association ABA, or other accredited business schools in North or South America, we find that double accredited programs maintain the highest: admissions requirements, educational standards, and testing & assessment criteria in the world. These top business schools are also recognized by the CHEA through The US Government’s Department of Education.

Thus, there is a continued new movement toward applying, beginning or entering specific degree or accredited business programs with the intent to earn specialized-graduate certifications while working toward a diploma or degree. Some certifications, such as AAFM®, may even count toward credit for a Graduate Degree.

As for trends, research shows that more and more of the TOP ranked accredited institutions will continue to move toward offering independent "masters certifications", diplomas, charters, and even joint certification programs with external certification bodies..

Below are typical benefits for holding certifications taken from the AAFM® American Academy Website.

Benefits of Professional Certification from AAFM ® International Board of Standards

• Gain Recognition from The Professional Certifying Body and Accreditation Council.

• Use of Acronyms and Designations after your name on your Business Card and on your Promotional Materials. Ex. John Doe, MFP Master Financial Planner

• Achieve an accredited degree based designation that rewards you for your professional education, hard work and experience.

• Protect your job by achieving graduate recognition from: an independent, vendor neutral, recognized and global authority

• Enhance your digital resume a key membership and industry recognized certification.

• You can add AAFM ® to your Resume, Degree or Professional Licenses & Improve your professional image and salary potential

• Publish Research on a journal, publications, or website as a Certified Member.

• Assist in work helping governments, charity, United Nations, or NGOs.

• Use private career network of: alerts, communications and job tools.

• CPE continuing professional education from any affiliated business school.

• Networking with members in more than 150 Countries

• The AAFM ® Certification body has international alliances with Leading Associations in the Arab World, Asia, Africa, India, China, Asia, Singapore and more.

• The AAFM ® Official Approved Annual Conference is a TOP Global Conferences in Business, Management, Finance, Economics, Leadershipand more.

• Become a Fellow of the Institute or receive the CEC Academic Award for Professors and publish your approved articles with the CEC Institute.

• Professional Networks with LinkedIn

• Shows that Holder of certification has achieved Double Accredited Education from a government recognized business school such as ACBSP.

• Certifications are verified online to improve your ability to be hired.

• Certifications help your resume to be found in the digital world of “Search”.

Prof. Mentz, who is CEO of the AAFM ® American Academy and an attorney stated, “Board Certification that is backed by “double accredited business school exams and education” is the confirmation which validates your hard work and expertise, and tells the world that your graduate certification has met the highest global accreditation standards for business education under the US Department of Education and CHEA governmental standards.”

References

• AAFM ® Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/american-academy-of-financial-management.asp

• AAFM ® US Dept of Labor http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos301.htm

• AAPM ® Project Management Certification www.certifiedprojectmanager.us  

• Government licensed: Attorneys/Lawyers, CPAs, and Engineers who offer Advice and services incidental to their work are generally excluded from this regulatory registration http://www.sec.gov/divisions/investment/iaregulation/memoia.htm

• AAFM ® FINRA Referenced Designations: http://apps.finra.org/DataDirectory/1/prodesignations.aspx