Chapters Financial of Guildford, Surrey, has achieved British Standards 8577. The firm is led by CFP^CM professional Keith Churchouse who has written books on financial advice.

BS8577 is described as a framework for the provision of financial advice and planning services by Standards International, a quality auditing and verifying authority.

Mr Churchouse said: "It gives me great pleasure to report that Chapters Financial Limited, based in Guildford and soon opening a new branch in Woking, has successfully been awarded BS 8577 – Framework for the provision of financial advice and planning services by Standards International www.standardsinternational.co.uk.

BS 8577 is a new British Standard that assesses and awards Financial Planning firms who can demonstrate that they have the operational framework to deliver a consistent first class service to their clients.

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Mr Churchouse added: "The service that we provide to our clients is of the upmost importance and in order to benchmark our service and internal processes against the British Standard of best practice the business entered into a rigorous process of assessment."

On 06 September 2013, Chapters Financial Limited was awarded the BS 8577 certification and is only the 12th financial planning firm in the UK that has achieved this prestigious award.

Mr Churchouse explained: "We have worked hard over 2013 to increase our business edge in the service and quality of our client and enquirers proposition, whether they are individuals or businesses (SME's).

"I am thrilled that we have achieved this certification, which was hard work, but I believe this raises our standards even higher. With significant change in the distribution of Financial Planning over 2013, our clients' and enquirers' needs are at the heart of our business. This is why we are committed to a process of ongoing assessment which ensures that our processes and services are continually assessed by an independent certification body on an annual basis."