Working to Improve Financial Literacy and Why It Matters
By Fanny Romeyn, CPA, CA
L
Fanny Romeyn is the controller
at Decoda Literacy Solutions.
iteracy pervades almost all aspects of modern life, including
personal finances. Financial literacy is defined as the ability to
understand how money works in the world—including how it
is managed. The term also refers to the set of skills and knowledge an
individual needs in order to make informed and effective decisions
regarding all of their financial resources, whether large or small.
The ability to make informed financial decisions is essential for all
Canadians, regardless of income level or wealth status. These decisions
have an impact on the financial security, well-being, and prosperity of
individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole.
Policy-makers and financial service providers often assume that all
individuals are equipped with the skills needed to make important
financial decisions on their own, but research does not support these
assumptions. In 2011, a whopping 72% of Canadians said they are not
confident that their math and money-management skills will help
them plan for a secure financial future.1
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Liz McLeish, CA
Sidhartha Rao, JD | LLM
Warren Dueck, CPA | FCA
Lori Lui, CGA
Steven Flynn, CPA | CA
Daren Raoux, CPA | CA
How limited literacy and numeracy
skills affect financial literacy
Accessing and understanding financial information, tools, and advice can be challenging
even for individuals who are skilled at reading
and at working with numbers. For those with
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