Financial Planning Association (FPA) board member Rob Pedersen has resigned from the organisation, claiming the board is out of touch with industry needs.

In a statement last week announcing his resignation from the FPA, Mr Pedersen said the association’s stance on critical issues such as remuneration, education and a proposed merger with the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) “leads me to believe that the FPA board does not take enough account of how the financial planning industry works”.

He also criticised the adequacy of the Certified Financial Planning designation and accused the FPA of being fixated on adviser pay at the expense of quality service.

Mr Pedersen is founder of Matrix Planning Solutions, a Sydney-based dealer group.

A supporter of a merger with the AFA, he says the FPA is not interested in a merger and claims there is a lack of consultation among board members over key decisions.

“The FPA Board does not properly advocate for the 9000 planners who make up the bulk of its membership, and seems reluctant to defend or properly educate the public and the Government on the great work financial planners do,” he said.

But FPA Chairman Julie Berry told insuranceNEWS.com.au she rejects Mr Pedersen’s comments on board consultation.

“Every board member is actively involved in the FPA and it is quite disappointing as a board when you are working very, very hard to hear comments like this being made,” she said.

Ms Berry says the FPA is at the “forefront” of educational standards and believes the organisation operates within a sound governance framework.

Merger discussions between the FPA and the AFA are continuing and are “open to development by either side”.