Graduate Certificate of Financial Planning

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Graduate Certificate of Financial Planning

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Qualification

Postgraduate
Duration

6 months full time or part time equivalent
Units

4
Start Date

Mar, Jul, Nov

Overview of the course

You’ve got industry experience; here is your solution to the education requirements now required of financial planners by the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA). The Graduate Certificate of Financial Planning is designed to meet the FASEA bridging course requirements for existing financial advisers – approval is pending.

You’ll refresh your knowledge while drawing on your own experience in investment, insurance, taxation, superannuation and estate planning. Course work will take you through the foundation skills of financial planning – analytical and creative planning and decision making.

By and earning your qualification online you upskill without having to put your life on hold. You can continue to work and study at the same time.

While you are studying you can become a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) for free to get access to a network of financial planning professionals and resources.

The Graduate Certificate of Financial Planning is designed to meet the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) bridging course requirements for existing financial advisers – approval is pending.

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What are the entry criteria?

Entry requirements

A recognised bachelor degree in a related discipline

A recognised bachelor degree in any discipline PLUS a minimum of two years equivalent full-time relevant professional experience

A minimum of three years equivalent full-time relevant professional experience.

If you are applying as an international student, please view the English Language Requirements.

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The main benefits of online study are balance, time management and convenience. If I’m working late or if I’m interstate I just have to power up the computer and start studying.

Cassandra, Swinburne Online graduate

Career & Learning

Career opportunities

Financial Planner

Develop financial strategies for individuals or organisations and assist clients with complex decision to protect and grow their wealth.
Tax Analyst

Evaluates company operating information and recommend strategies on tax.
Treasury roles

Focuses on cash management, corporate finance and financial risk management within a business.

What you will learn

Professional Knowledge

Draw from your comprehensive knowledge of financial systems and relevant regulations to help clients achieve their financial goals.
Communication

Communicate proficiently with clients, gather and interpret appropriate data and use advanced tools and practices to produce a financial plan.
Critical Thinking

Apply coherent and advanced knowledge of financial planning and business concepts in diverse contexts and applications using critical thinking.

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Course Units

Elements of Financial Planning and Regulation (FIN60010)
Elements of Financial Planning and Regulation

FIN60010
About this unit

This unit provides an insight to the elements of the financial planning profession. Students will learn about the necessary acumen of analysing economic factors and their impact on individuals’ financial plans. This unit also examines the regulatory environment and contemporary issues within the financial planning industry and underpinning elements of an adviser’s professional capacity and conduct. Financial planning strategies, processes and related due diligence will be investigated in this unit. Additionally, students will be introduced to financial planning technologies and ethical principles.

Content
- Economic environment
- Overview of financial planning industry
- Financial advice regulatory and legal obligation
- Financial advice process
- Scopes and strategies to generate advice
- Construction and presentation of strategic Statement of Advice
- Use of technology in Financial Planning
- Client engagement and necessary elements for a contemporary professional.
This unit is found in the Graduate Certificate of Financial Planning and the Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning.

View further information on this unit.
Behavioural Finance and Investment (FIN60011)
Behavioural Finance and Investment

FIN60011
About this unit

This unit provides students with knowledge of the financial system, various regulatory bodies, key participants and potential risks in the financial markets. This unit focuses on the understanding and the application of the modern finance theories including various asset pricing models, modern portfolio theory, market efficiency and behavioural finance, and how these theories influence investment planning strategies. Students will learn to construct and defend a multi-asset portfolio that satisfies client’s objectives and constraints based on their financial literary and behavioural biases. Students will apply investment and behavioural finance knowledge to generate financial planning strategies using advice technologies.

Content
- Financial systems and regulatory bodies
- Investment markets
- Equity markets
- Debt markets
- Market efficiency
- Portfolio theory and construction
- Portfolio risk management
- Managed funds
- Regulation of markets
- Investment structures and products
- Financial technologies
- Behavioural finance
- Client Behaviour
- Consumer engagement
- Client decision making.
This unit is found in the Graduate Certificate of Financial Planning and the Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning.

View further information on this unit.
Corporations and Contract Law (LAW60003)
Corporations and Contract Law

LAW60003
Unit code: LAW60003
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

The general aim of this core unit is to enable students to gain an understanding of the law applicable to contracts and companies that are employed in the modern business environment. In particular the primary focus is on the contracting activities and its repercussions relating to businesses and entrepreneurial activities. The operations of the Corporations Act2001 (Cth) which regulate the activities of companies, company officers and shareholders also take significance in this unit.

Content
- Topic 1: The Australian Legal System, Formation of Contract
- Topic 2: Terms of Contract
- Topic 3: Validity of Contract
- Topic 4: Termination of a Contract and Remedies
- Topic 5: Characteristics of a Company & its Constitution
- Topic 6: Company’s Relations with Outsiders including Company Contracts
- Topic 7: Directors’ Duties
- Topic 8: Members’ Remedies and Company Insolvent Trading
This unit is found in the Graduate Certificate of Professional Accounting, the Master of Professional Accounting, the Graduate Certificate of Financial Planning, and the Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning.

View further information on this unit.
Ethics and Client Management (FIN60012)

Ethics and Client Management

FIN60012

About this unit

This unit prepares students to engage advanced critical and reflective skills in analysing the ethical principles and standards of professional practice in financial services, and to understand (and effectively apply) the legal compliance requirements of the financial adviser profession. Students learn to identify complex ethical issues and propose sound solutions; effectively apply resources available in support institutions; and use creative skills to improve the ethics regime of the profession. Client management concepts and principles are practised in the context of: enhancing communication, conflict resolution and trust building skills; developing ethical and legally compliant solutions to systemic problems; and applying recent theoretical developments in social psychology and behavioural finance to foster ethical cultures.

Content

• Applications of the FPA Code of Professional Practice
• Recent developments in the institutionalised ethics regime of the financial planning services industry
• Complex ethical issues and dilemmas in financial planning services
• Conflicts of interest: understanding and managing systemic sources
• Advanced applications of professional conduct: applying integrity, resisting power pressure and giving voice to values
• Advanced management of client relationships
• Advanced communication and interpersonal skills
• Behavioural finance: managing cognitive bias and improving heuristics
• Advanced ethical reasoning and social intuitionist approaches to decision making
• Advanced conflict management skills: building empathy and trust.

This unit is found in the Graduate Certificate of Financial Planning and the Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning.

View further information on this unit.
Taxation Principles and Planning (ACC80012)

Taxation Principles and Planning

ACC80012

Unit code: ACC80012
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 10 hours of study per week

About this unit

This unit aims to foster an understanding of the policy, principles and practice that underpin the Australian taxation system. The main emphasis is on taxation principles associated with the Income Tax Assessment Act, 1936 and 1997 as amended, together with those acts which are complementary to the Assessment Act. The unit provides students with the skills and expertise to tread more confidently through the tax law maze and enhance student’s ability to identify and evaluate taxation issues and tax planning opportunities.

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
1. Critically evaluate the various principles of taxation based on the taxation legislation and decisions from case law in Australia
2. Apply advanced knowledge of the principles that distinguish between the concepts of income, capital and gifts and incorporate these into a tax planning environment
3. Critically analyse the complexities of taxation principles in relation to various taxable entities and
analyse and critically address the key issues related to tax planning opportunities
4. Apply knowledge of research principles to communicate the importance and significance of
current and landmark taxation decisions issued by the courts and Administrative Appeals Tribunal

This unit is found in Master of Professional Accounting and the Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning.

View further information on this unit.

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Course learning outcomes

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Frequently asked questions View all FAQs

Do I have to purchase learning materials?

For students undertaking a degree, most of your learning materials are included with a free license provided to you by Swinburne Online. However, in some cases, you will be notified via your student email that you will need to buy specific software or eTexts. For TAFE Business students, all of your learning materials will be available online and are covered by your course fees. You won’t need to purchase any further materials.

Which units should I start with?

When you enrol to study a degree with us, you will nominate how many units you would like to select per teaching period, based on a recommendation from one of our Course Consultants. From here, our enrolments team will allocate you automatically to the units they feel will be best suited to your needs, so you don’t need to worry about choosing units. If you want to choose something different than what you are allocated to, that is no problem, just get in touch with our Student Liaison Team and they will take care of it for you.

Do I need to be logged on to study at specific times?

You won’t normally have to be online at a specific time. Your course material is available for you from the beginning of each teaching period and you can work through it in the hours that suit you.

There are some live webinar sessions that run approximately once a month. These are a special opportunity for students to sign in at the same time as their tutors, normally before an assessment deadline. It gives you the chance to ask any questions relating to the assignment in real time and hear other student’s questions and thoughts. We understand that students won’t always be able to make these sessions, so they can be replayed the next day.

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