Book excerpt: ESSENTIALS OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING Essentials of Personal Financial Planning was written to challenge the status quo by promoting personal financial planning (PFP) as a profession, not as a sales tool to gather assets under management or facilitate sales of insurance products. The book takes a comprehensive and integrated approach to PFP for accounting students, allowing them to view the profession through the lens of a CPA – with integrity and objectivity. This book systematically introduces the essentials of all the major PFP topics (estate, retirement, investments, insurance, and tax), as well as: The PFP process, concepts and regulatory environment. Professional responsibilities of a CPA personal financial planner and the requirements of the Statement on Standards in PFP Services. Time value of money concepts. The book then builds on these foundational concepts, showing their interconnectivity and professional opportunities, to provide a deeper understanding of PFP and its application. After reading this book, students will be able to apply the knowledge and skills gained from this course to have an immediate and long-term positive impact for themselves and for the clients they serve.