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What Is A Certified Senior Advisor? (CSA)

A person bearing the CSA professional designation is a professional who has taken steps to achieve a higher level of knowledge in helping Senior clients in many areas of their lives.

A CSA is trained to recognize and address many of the health, social
and financial concerns most important to seniors.

A Certified Senior Advisor is a professional who has completed a rigorous course of instruction in the concerns facing seniors. This course is taught by a nationally recognized panel of experts in social work, law, medicine, gerontology, geriatrics and financial planning. Upon completion of the course, candidates for the designation must pass a comprehensive exam to demonstrate their knowledge of the issues and their commitment to meeting the needs of their senior clients. Upon successfully passing the CSA examination, a CSA automatically becomes a member of the Society of Certified Senior Advisors.

What is the Society of Certified Senior Advisors?

The Society was founded in 1997 with the input of doctors, attorneys, gerontologists, accountants, financial planners and other experts who realized a need for standardized education for professionals who work with seniors. Based on a report from AARP, 1.5 million professionals work full time with seniors, but only 8000 have gerontology degrees. Not only must Society members meet a certain level of education in issues pertinent to seniors, they must adhere to a strong code of professional responsibility.

Certified Senior Advisor Education:

To earn the CSA designation, each Certified Senior Advisor must demonstrate a basic understanding of the following topics:

Principles of aging	Medicaid planning
Social aspects of aging	Ethical marketing to seniors
Trends in aging	Business ethics with seniors
Social Security & taxes	Senior housing & assisted living
Financial & estate planning	Long-term care
Caregiving	Grief & loss
Health, nutrition & fitness	Advance directives
Alzheimer's & dementia	Senior spirituality
Chronic illnesses in seniors	Resources & networking
Tax planning	Funeral planning

After receiving their CSA designation, CSAs are provided monthly education on the medical, social and financial issues that are important to older adults.

The Society Of Certified Senior Advisors Code Of Professional Responsibility:

The Society of Certified Senior Advisors Code Of Professional
Responsibility embodies five fundamental standards of ethical
conduct.

They are:

1. Competence
2. Honesty
3. Trustworthiness
4. Fairness
5. Professionalism  

Living By A Code Of Ethics

A recent study found that successful professionals felt the most important traits were ethical conduct and honesty. The best way to enhance ethical standards is to live by a Code of Ethics. Practicing high ethics, or responsibility, is the task of every professional who serves Seniors. We have a duty to do what we can to promote ethicality; we owe it to the communities we serve and we owe it to ourselves.

Why You Should Work With a Certified Senior Advisor

When you choose a professional who has earned the CSA designation, you can be assured that you're working with someone who has committed to the issues that are important to you. You are to be treated with respect, honesty and understanding. In addition, your advisor will have up-to-date information about topics that have a direct impact on your quality of life. Most importantly, you will know that this is a person who has agreed to the highest standards of professionalism and ethics. Insist on working with the nation's qualified professionals work with a Certified Senior Advisor.

Certified Senior Advisors (CSAs) have supplemented their individual
professional licenses, credentials and education with knowledge
about aging and working with seniors. Know what those licenses,
credentials and education signify. The CSA designation alone does
not imply expertise in financial, health or social matters.