ABOUT THE CERTIFIED EXCHANGE SPECIALIST^® DESIGNATION

In 1998, Margo Mucha McDonnell was chair of the FEA Continuing Education Committee and polled the volunteer committee members to determine the committee's goal for the upcoming year. Jim Casterline, a long time FEA Director and incoming President, recommended the FEA develop a certification program. Over the next few years, many committees assisted in polling the FEA general membership to determine whether members wanted to develop such a program. In 1999, Brad Penner became co-chair and helped create our Mission Statement. At the FEA Annual Conference and General Meeting in October 2000, the FEA membership overwhelming voted to proceed with a voluntary certification program. In 2001, the term Certified Exchange Specialist® (CES®) was chosen as the designation members wanted to use to convey their competence to taxpayers and their professional advisors.

In 2002, a professional certification program consultant was retained to assist the FEA with the development and implementation of its CES® Program. A Certification Council was created in the autumn of 2002 to work directly with our professional consultants. The Charter CES® Certification Council was as follows:

Margo Mucha McDonnell, Co-Chair
Bradley S. Penner, Co-Chair
Frances Buerman
Rosa Esqueda
Dennis P. Helmick
David Kuns
Sanna Phinney
Hugh E. Pollard
Hilda Ramirez
Kim Schooley
Timothy E. Snodgrass
Teresa Story-Turner

The inaugural CES® examination was administered on May 15, 2003 in Washington, D.C. and the second examination was administered on May 31, 2003 in San Francisco, California.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Mission Statement of the Certified Exchange Specialist® Program:

• To establish a national designation program to formally recognize those individuals who have demonstrated, through testing and Continuing Education, their knowledge of IRC Section 1031 rules and regulations pertaining to like-kind exchanges.
• To provide a designation that will give the public confidence that they are dealing with an individual who has demonstrated knowledge in the intricacies of a like-kind exchange.
• To encourage exchange professionals to increase their knowledge of IRC Section 1031 rules and regulations, and to maintain currency in the subject through Continuing Education.
• To encourage the growth of the FEA by providing a nationally recognized certification program for exchange professionals.