Disclosure Statement News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2007
Contact:
Dan Danbom
Society of Certified Senior Advisors
1-800-653-1785
Society of Certified Senior Advisors Adopts Disclosure Statement
To Educate Consumers, Differentiate CSAs
Denver -- Society of Certified Senior Advisors® (SCSA) has adopted what it believes is a first-of-its-kind disclosure statement that will benefit consumers and designees alike and greatly reduce the chances that the Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)® designation will be misunderstood.
"Because there are hundreds of professional designations, the initials behind someone’s name sometimes aren’t clear to consumers. The ethical thing to do is to be very clear on what a designation means and what it doesn’t mean. We’re proud to lead the way in having our members provide that information to clients and would encourage other designating organizations to do the same," said SCSA President Ed Pittock.
"The preponderance of designations and credentials is so great that even regulators who work in fields that have many designations can misunderstand a designation.
"But we go by the principle that working with seniors holds you to a higher standard and an absolute obligation to communicate clearly. That’s why we have put the disclosure statement on our web site and on printed materials, and why we will require all CSAs who represent themselves as CSAs to use the disclosure," Pittock said.
The disclosure statement reads, "Certified Senior Advisors (CSA) have supplemented their individual professional licenses, credentials and education with knowledge about aging and working with seniors. Know what those licenses, credentials and education signify. The CSA designation alone does not imply expertise in financial, health or social matters. Details: www.csa.us"
Pittock said that use of the disclosure should be particularly helpful to CSAs in financial services. "We believe regulators and compliance officers will welcome the disclosure. In our conversations with them, we know they’re concerned about what the public knows about the licenses, credentials and education of the people they entrust with financial decisions."