The word charter isn’t used a lot in everyday conversation but the impact and benefits of charters can be seen everywhere, particularly in professional services.
The most obvious example is in accounting, where there are 1.8 million Chartered Accountants globally including 139,000 in Australia and New Zealand.
The history of the Chartered Accountant designation, an internationally recognised professional certification, dates back to 1854 when three organisations: the Edinburgh Society of Accountants, the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries, and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants, received a royal charter and united to form the first professional accounting body.
Back then, a royal charter granted an individual or group specific rights and powers.
They are still used to establish significant organisations such as universities and academic societies.
In investment management, the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is the gold standard of investment credentials, symbolising the highest level of ethics and professionalism. Globally, there are 200,000 CFA charterholders, including around 3,500 in Australia, who all belong to one of 160 local member CFA societies.
The clients, employers and colleagues of Chartered Accountants and Chartered Financial Analysts know that they have completed and passed rigorous education and training requirements, and are qualified to perform certain accounting and investment tasks.
But in financial advice, the industry’s main body does not have a charter for members. Instead, they are bound by a professional code of conduct.
While codes of conduct are important and useful for laying down rules and responsibilities, particularly in a corporate setting, they don’t fully capture the reciprocal nature of the partnership between organisations and their members.
This creates an opportunity for licensees and large advice firms to stand in the gap and develop their own charters, in collaboration with advisers, to set out their mutual expectations and obligations, as the industry marches towards professionalism.
This approach reflects the original purpose of charters to safeguard the rights and freedoms of members, and support them to reach their full potential.
To that end, national advice firms are ideally positioned to spearhead the development of charters to give principal practices greater transparency, certainty and pride around a group’s core values, philosophy, and governance framework. It can also include details on a group’s ideal client, brand, and education and training standards.
Furthermore, a charter can be an effective tool for unifying members and building community.
But there are numerous consumer benefits too. A charter can help groups consistently deliver high quality service and advice to clients because underlying practices and advisers share the same vision, brand and purpose, and adhere to the same standards.
Annoyingly close
For some advisers, the idea of a charter has little appeal. They are happy to operate in relative isolation, without being accountable to a broader group and without the benefit of their collective input, encouragement and influence.
However, the majority want to be part of a community that shares ideas, experiences and opportunities, and sharpens each other.
They’re also typically passionate about seeing advice become recognised as a bona fide profession.
When it comes to professionalism, the advice industry is annoyingly close.
Of the three essential components that make up a profession, commonly referred to as cognitive, normative and organisational (or regulative), advice has achieved two out of three.
On the cognitive front, advisers must complete, pass and maintain specialised education and training requirements.
They must also meet normative requirements including ethical standards and fiduciary obligations.
The only remaining point of contention is the organisational component, which refers to a professional body that has real powers to discipline and ban members, as well as support the ongoing development and implementation of the cognitive and normative aspects.
Despite significant progress on the organisational front, advisers who are banned by their industry association can still continue to be licensed.
This sticking point has stalled progress for years with the industry unsure of how best to move forward.
Regulatory reform will play an important role but advice groups can also lead by working with advisers to create and promote charters that define their group’s structure, purpose, operations and commitment to clients, fellow charterholders and the broader industry.
In a competitive market, full of advisers looking for support, leadership and connection, a comprehensive and compelling charter is also an effective way for advice groups to articulate their unique points of difference, such as their advice philosophy, value proposition and culture, in order to attract like-minded people.
Jasia Fabig is general manager of Fitzpatricks Advice Partners.
An interesting concept, but your definition of profession is not in line with contemporary academia. A charter is nowhere symbolic validation for professionalism…..and in addition CFA is not a professional designation. Otherwise, your writing does raise some interesting points worthy of further thought.
Jasia Fabig’s article rightly highlights the important role of charters in elevating our profession. As we transition from an industry to a true profession, shared values, ethical, and community standards are essential. But there’s one vital element we must address: business capability. Across suburban and regional Australia, thousands of advisers are delivering quality strategic advice – often under pressure. While standards have risen, many are running businesses without the training, systems, or support needed to do so efficiently. The result? Overworked teams, inconsistent service, and lost time that could be better spent deepening client relationships. We must go beyond ethics and governance to equip planners with the core skills needed to run a process-driven business. Operational excellence isn’t just a “nice to have” – it’s the main ingredient that powers scale, consistency, and trust. When a practice runs smoothly, every team member gains time to focus on client engagement. Advice groups and licensees are in a prime position to embed business training into their support models. Let’s complement charters and codes of conduct with practical education in business systems, data integrity, and workflow management. When a planner cares deeply about doing the right thing and knows how to run a tight business, it’s a win for everyone – the client, the team, and the profession.