The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. today said it will publish a first-of-its-kind competency handbook for financial planning in March 2013.

To be published by John Wiley & Sons, the handbook will feature approximately 90 chapters that have implications for practitioners, educators and students interested in becoming personal financial planners. The handbook will also be available as an e-book on all major e-readers.

"The financial planning profession has long needed a book that encompasses not just the tactical pieces of putting together a financial plan, but also the academic underpinnings of a growing discipline," said Kevin R. Keller, CFP Board chief executive officer.

The Financial Planning Competency Handbook will cover the theoretical content, actions, and contexts that are necessary in financial planning practice. It will provide a theoretical framework for many of the major content areas in financial planning, while also providing real-world guidance for practicing professionals.

The book will also contain competency levels relative to financial planning practice as well as avenues for furthering student achievement in financial planner preparation programs. There will also be more than 100 vignettes that outline specific contexts in financial planning practice as well as the necessary decisions and actions of the practitioner within those settings.