ifs diploma 'weeks' from accreditation

The Financial Services Skills Council has announced its support for the accreditation of the ifs School of Finance diploma for financial advisers (DipFA), which hopes to receive accreditation within 'weeks'.

Anne Kiem, dean of further education at the ifs School of Finance said the diploma could be accredited within 'four of five weeks' by Ofqual.

Kiem said the diploma had been designed specifically to meet the demands of the retail distribution review as a level-four qualification and was 'very different' from the Chartered Insurance Institute' (CII) qualification for financial advisers.

The spat between the two rival professional bodies has been well-documented and this latest development could raise the stakes further.

Both organisations run diploma courses aimed at advisers looking to attain level four qualification.

However Kiem said the ifs qualification was distinct from the CII diploma.

'The ifs qualification is very different from the CII qualification because of its focus on knowledge, analysis and communication skills rather than the simple accumulation of more and more technical knowledge,' said Kiem.