When Clients Don’t Implement Sound Financial Advice | Ethics IAR CE
Watch a 50-minute webinar replay or read a transcript optimized for CE for 1 CPE credit hour.
CE Submission & Approval Status
CE/CPE Status
| Organization | Status | ID |
|---|---|---|
| NASAA | Approved | C82363 |
| IWI | Approved |
26A4AI30675 |
| NASBA | Approved | 123362 |
| CFP Board | Pending Review |
Ethics IAR CE and CPA CPE With Frank Murtha
Page last updated Sept. 2, 2026
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Technically sound financial advice does not always produce client action. Why? What can a fiduciary do about it? This class gives advisors a practical framework for determining why a client is not implementing a recommendation and what to address first. Participants learn to distinguish common barriers:
In addition, you learn to recognize when more than one barrier is operating. A neutral, question-based method for identifying the controlling barrier is introduced and explained. The controlling barrier must be addressed before the client can move forward. The presentation emphasizes observation, inquiry, and appropriate initial responses. It does not train advisors to diagnose clients or provide mental-health treatment; instead, it strengthens the advisor’s ability to clarify, explore, sequence, and facilitate sound client decision-making within the advisor’s professional role. At this class, advisors learn to: LO 1. Explain why technically appropriate financial advice may fail to produce client action. LO 2. Identify five common barriers to action: misunderstanding, cognitive bias, emotion, relationship conflict, and low readiness. LO 3. Distinguish a misunderstanding of financial advice from an emotional or motivational objection. LO 4. Recognize common cognitive biases, including loss aversion, anchoring, and overconfidence, that may impede financial decisions. LO 5. Describe how fear, shame, grief, anger, and anxiety can affect a client’s ability to process information and act. LO 6. Recognize when disagreement between spouses, partners, or family members is preventing implementation. LO 7. Assess a client’s motivation and confidence to determine whether low readiness is the primary barrier. LO 8. Use neutral, open-ended questions to investigate resistance without labeling, confronting, or diagnosing the client. LO 9. Determine the controlling barrier that should be addressed first when several barriers are present. LO 10. Select an appropriate initial response to the controlling barrier. |
Continuing Education Credit
IARs, CPAs, and CPA/PFS professionals must complete the required review exercises and score 70% or higher by answering at least 7 of 10 multiple-choice questions correctly. Credit for CIMA®, CPWA®, RMA®, and CFP® professionals remains pending approval and should not be claimed until approved.
Learning Experience
This one-credit-hour self-study course features Frank Murtha’s recorded presentation and supporting materials. Complete the content by watching the webinar replay, listening to the audio, or reading the document optimized for CE (DOCE®) transcript online or in print.
Complete the following to earn credit:
Read and/or watch the speaker and presentation.
Complete three review exercises.
Score 70% or higher (in less than four attempts) on an open-book 10-question multiple-choice quiz.
Submit a satisfaction survey.
Claim your certificate.
Who Should Attend
IARs, CPAs, CPA/PFS professionals, and CIMA®, CPWA®, RMA®, and CFP® professionals who want to identify and address the barriers preventing clients from implementing sound financial advice.
Course Details
- Cost: $34.99 or free to Advisors4Advisors members ($59.99/Qtr.)
- Prerequisites: None
- Advanced Preparation: None
- Course Level: Update
- Course Delivery Method: QAS Self Study
- CPE Field of Study: Behavioral Ethics
- IAR CE Category: Ethics & Professional Responsibility
Provider Approvals
Advisors4Advisors is approved as a CE provider by:
- CFP Board, which regulates CE for Certified Financial Planners.
- North American Securities Administrators Association. NASAA does not endorse any particular provider of CE courses. The content of the course and any views expressed are those of the instructor and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASAA or any of its member jurisdictions. This self-study course is approved for 1.0 IAR CE credit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility (Course ID C82363).
- National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a Quality Assurance Service (QAS) Self-Study Provider, enabling CPA CPE credit for live and on-demand webinars. State boards of accountancy retain final authority on course acceptance. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors at www.nasbaregistry.org.
- Investments & Wealth Institute, enabling credit for CIMA®, CPWA®, and RMA® professionals.
For information on administrative policies, such as refunds, cancellations, and complaints, email [email protected].
Looking for the best IAR CE bundles?
12 IAR CE credits self-study reading
Instructor(s)
Frank Murtha
[email protected]
Frank Murtha, who holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, has taught at The City University of New York, Penn State, and New York University. In 2001, Dr. Murtha co-founded MarketPsych Inc., a statistically valid assessment for identifying investor personality traits, and he consults to institutional investors on macro- and micro-behavioral economics. In early 2021, he co-founded Financial Counseling Institute.