The Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) credential is for professional advisors who want to effectively engage more business owners. Through the process of Exit Planning (the Value Acceleration Methodology), owners can build more valuable companies, have stronger personal financial plans, and align their personal goals. Earning CEPA doesn't change your expertise, it enhances your ability to engage business owners and have value-added conversations around growth and exit.
CERTIFIED EXIT PLANNING ADVISOR
CREDENTIALING PROGRAM
What’s the timeline for CEPA? Download the “CEPA Checklist: 3 Easy Steps to Become Certified”
“If you want to work with business owners, the CEPA designation is essential”
“The CEPA designation is one of the most valuable and useful designations I have in working with business owners. It gave me a knowledge base, vocabulary and process to speak with any Business Owner with confidence. If you want to work with business owners, the CEPA designation is essential.”
Charles M. Jarrett
CFP®, CPWATM, CEPA, CIMA®, ChFC, CLU, CRPC® | Private Wealth Advisor at Merrill Lynch Private Bank & Investment Group Senior Vice President
“An instrumental tool I use when working with business owners”
“The CEPA program continues to be an instrumental tool I use when working with business owners. It has been an honor to educate as a faculty member and meet the new CEPA graduates. Our advisors continue to integrate the foundation of the Exit Planning Institute into our conversations with clients.”
Justin Goodbread
CEPA, CFP®, CVGA | President of WealthSource
“Intuitive, concise, and helpful.”
“As a former institutional investor and equity research analyst, I found the Value Acceleration Methodology intuitive, concise, and helpful. It is a great distillation of value enhancers for almost any business. What I took the most out of though, was the team nature of providing services and how to best help on the personal side.”
Erin Niehause
CEPA, CFP® | Vice President, Private Banking JPMorgan
“Useful and engaging”
“CEPA Masterclass is by far the most useful and engaging content I’ve studied of any designation.”
Michael Sheppard
CFP®, CPFA, CEPA | 2nd Managing Partner at IronwoodDrive Financial Group
“The best exit planning designation out there”
This is the best exit planning designation out there. You get a great education through the class and you get continued support from the staff and the network that you get to know through the program.
Brett Spencer
MS, CFP, CEPA | Financial Advisor - Impact Financial
“CEPA gave me a better vocabulary to use with business owners”
“I have been doing exit planning since 2006 but did not call it Exit Planning at the time. CEPA gave me a better vocabulary to use with Business Owners to have more in-depth conversations. It also gave me a framework and process to talk through with Owners. My conversations went from messy to more succinct by going through the CEPA program.”
Andrew "Drew" McLaughlin
Financial Advisor at UBS Private Wealth Management
Bundle With CEPA: Implementing the 120-Day CEPA Playbook
You have the Playbook, but do you know how to execute the plays? Having the knowledge and the skills is the first step to a successful practice. But most advisors fall short when it comes to implementation.
Implementing the 120-Day CEPA Playbook is an expansion of the playbook you receive in your post-CEPA training. Together with Scott Snider, President of the Exit Planning Institute, you will lay the foundation for implementing the training, tools, and knowledge into your practice. Throughout this course, Scott will help you establish the rhythm of your practice and provide helpful hints and key insights from his own experience. You will learn how to build out exit planning practices, service lines, and marketing programs.
This three-lesson, on-demand, interactive masterclass equips you with the framework, tools, and knowledge to successfully implement your CEPA training and maximize your return on investment.
CEPA Value Acceleration Methodology
The Value Acceleration Methodology was introduced by EPI CEO, Christopher Snider and is the process taught in the CEPA credentialing program. Chris, a CEPA himself, created the methodology to integrate a business owner’s business, personal, and financial goals into one strategy that is executed by a team of advisors. Advisors like the financial advisor, CPA, consultant, and others. This process allows advisors to be more valuable to the owner, stay engaged, and become indispensable.
The Perfect Exit case study describes a real-life example of this process in action. Showcasing how a business owner was able to grow and exit their company within three years at $250 million in value. Not only did this owner maximize value and minimize taxes, but it allowed them to have an inspiring personal vision, purpose, and a strong personal financial plan. Surrounded with a stellar team, internally and externally, that provided insight each step of the way to becoming The Perfect Exit.
Want to get ahead on your pre-reading? Download the Perfect Exit chapter and case study below.