AICCCA counselors must be certified by either of two independent third-party sources which are approved by the Board of Trustees. The two approved independent certification sources are: 1) The Institute for Personal Finance/AFCPE and 2) The Institute for Financial Literacy. The education leading to certification is rigorous and usually takes about six months of study before the final test can be independently administered and graded. Counselors must also participate in on-going education and submit continuing education credits to the certifying body to retain their certifications. As every agency is periodically audited to our standards, any counselor that has not become certified within twelve months of hire or any counselor that subsequently loses certification must be discharged or removed from the
counseling role.
Further, the association conducts a blind review of counselor performance through a third-party analysis company (unknown to the agencies) by conducting "mystery shopper" calls and recording the results of the counseling session for later review by the agency. Any discrepancies from best practices are noted and the agency is required to submit remedial plans to the Membership & Compliance Committee for any counselor that does not meet the standards. The analysis company randomly reviews counselors from
every agency multiple times during the year and every analysis report is reviewed by the Committee before forwarding it to the agency.
counseling role.
Further, the association conducts a blind review of counselor performance through a third-party analysis company (unknown to the agencies) by conducting "mystery shopper" calls and recording the results of the counseling session for later review by the agency. Any discrepancies from best practices are noted and the agency is required to submit remedial plans to the Membership & Compliance Committee for any counselor that does not meet the standards. The analysis company randomly reviews counselors from
every agency multiple times during the year and every analysis report is reviewed by the Committee before forwarding it to the agency.
This entire education, audit, and follow-up process provides additional assurance that consumers are being served by knowledgeable and well-trained counselors; not telemarketers.
David C. Jones, Ph.D.
