News | CFTEA | Center for Financial Training & Education Alliance

When is it OK to Accept Last-Minute Contributions?

March 18, 2021

By Jennifer Bassett, CIP, CISP, QKA, CHSP – Source: Ascensus We all have them—clients who wait until the very last minute to file their tax returns. Those same clients are the ones who will be in your office at 4 p.m. on April 15 to make a 2020 contribution (i.e., a prior-year contribution). Although they may be making a contribution at the last minute, at least you know that they’re making it by their tax filing deadline. But what about

Smart Ways to Invest Your Tax Refund – Support Your Retirement

March 17, 2021

While you may not enjoy doing your taxes, receiving a healthy refund makes it all worthwhile. Your immediate impulse might be to use that sudden windfall on something you’ll enjoy. But investing that money with the future in mind may ultimately be the better choice, and you’ll have several different options for making your money stretch further. Support your retirement Retiring and enjoying your golden years to the fullest is the American dream, and there’s never a wrong time to

Smart Ways to Invest Your Tax Refund – Build Up Your Savings

March 10, 2021

While you may not enjoy doing your taxes, receiving a healthy refund makes it all worthwhile. Your immediate impulse might be to use that sudden windfall on something you’ll enjoy. But investing that money with the future in mind may ultimately be the better choice, and you’ll have several different options for making your money stretch further. Build up your savings If you’re in a fortunate situation where you don’t need your tax refund for anything in particular, you can

Happy Retirement, CFTEA Fax Machine!

March 9, 2021

After years of receiving faxes, the CFTEA office has now transitioned to fully use our learning management system to manage quizzes and assessments. Our fax machine was receiving 90% SPAM and it was time to retire the technology. In the rare situation when you are looking to provide documentation via fax, please contact our CFTEA office and we’ll be happy to assist. “Fax machines are fine for transmitting information, but there is nothing that makes that information immediately usable or

Smart Ways to Invest Your Tax Refund: Pay Off Your Debt

March 8, 2021

While you may not enjoy doing your taxes, receiving a healthy refund makes it all worthwhile. Your immediate impulse might be to use that sudden windfall on something you’ll enjoy. But investing that money with the future in mind may ultimately be the better choice, and you’ll have several different options for making your money stretch further.

Spotlight On Success: Taber Ashley

February 22, 2021

Spotlight On Success: Taber E Ashley Union Bank Taber received a Bachelor of Science in Business Studies in Management with a concentration in Human Resources and a minor in Economics. She is currently enrolled in “Today’s Workplace” offered by CFTEA and is always up for more opportunities when it comes to learning. Here is what she said about her CFTEA experience: “When I started at [Union Bank], a few of my co-workers were enrolled in classes with CFTEA, so I

We’ve Got Your Back!

February 22, 2021

Life can get busy. It happens to all of us. And we all could use a little help. To better support our students and the investment in their education, CFTEA is proud to announce that quarterly reminders will be provided to students that have not completed self paced courses. Of course, students can easily reach out to our office at any time with questions and something unique in the industry – personal one on one support and coaching. So, if

October 2021 Guided Learning Sale

February 19, 2021

Take advantage of spring savings during our Guided Learning Sale (October 1 – 31, 2021)! Select from the following titles to access detailed course descriptions and pricing. Invoices reflect discounted pricing. 10% discount applies to course.* Analyzing Financial Statements Banking Today Business Math Commercial Lending Consumer Credit Products Consumer Lending Deposit Accounts and Services Financial Accounting Fundamentals of Consumer Lending Fundamentals of Mortgage Lending Fundamentals of Small Business Banking General Accounting Handling Workplace Conflict Human Relations Human Resource Management Leadership

Supporting Retirement Goals During Tax Season

February 5, 2021

The start of the year brings conversations about retirement savings. CFTEA offers a number of courses to support confident conversations with those seeking options. To assist in guiding customers, employees at financial institutions are better prepared to navigate the options and provide direction (not advice) when they have the appropriate training on IRAs and Qualified Plans.

Spotlight On CFTEA’s Council: Beth Martin

February 5, 2021

Spotlight On CFTEA’s Council Beth Martin Community National Bank “I’ve always been interested in continuing education and working with CFTEA is great opportunity to learn more and to share these opportunities with others within my organization. I would recommend someone becoming a council member because it is a great learning and networking opportunity. The most rewarding part of being a council member is being able to learn from other members. I also enjoy the leadership training.”