Uh Oh, A Renegade Review Provider Caught by the Board…

On May 27, 2008 the CFP Board issued the following email to all review providers:

“Effective immediately and beginning with the July 2008 examination, students will be advised that programming functions on a programmable calculator are not to be used and calculators are to be cleared of all programmed formulas prior to each section of the examination. Calculators are subject to inspection by proctors and violation of this policy will result in removal from the examination and forfeiture of the exam registration fee.”

Why did the Board send this email 7 weeks ahead of the July exam? Well, the Board felt it was necessary to address an issue where a “renegade review provider” was providing students with instructions on how to program formulas and calculations into a financial calculator, which is a clear violation of a long-standing rule the CFP Board has regarding programmable calculators. Now, the most unfortunate part is that this “renegade review provider” put their students in a very difficult position. Students that were relying on “short-cuts” now find out their review provider misled them and students really have to learn the material just a few short weeks ahead of the July exam.

All of us with The Dalton Review realize that our student’s best opportunity to pass the exam is if they just learn the material. Regardless of how a question is asked, if you’ve learned the material, you’ll get the right answer. Short cuts, gimmicks and tricks only get you so far. There’s no substitute for just knowing the material. At The Dalton Review we strive to present the material in a concise, easy to understand format, with as many exam tips, mnemonics and insights from our experienced instructors (many of whom have served on the CFP Board in some capacity) as possible. Some review providers will pretend to know exactly what is on the exam, when they really don’t. Some review providers will pretend to know exactly what is not on the exam, when they don’t. Some review providers will encourage their students to program their calculators, when they can’t. Some review providers won’t answer your questions during class, when they should.

The Dalton Review is very proud of our student’s success, which is consistently 20-25% higher than the national average, resulting in a pass rate between 70-80% on each exam. We take the time to teach our students the material and answer their questions. Our goal is to help our students pass because ultimately, our success depends on your success!

Joseph M. Gillice, CPA, CFP®