Financial Planner Sylvia Bentham CFP^CM believes expenditure questionnaires are key to delivering a good financial plan.

The founder of Accredited Financial Planning Firm^TM 1^st Chartered Financial Planning in Cheshire feels all advisers should use them to their fullest advantage not just to fulfill regulatory requirements

She said she asks all her clients to fill in a detailed questionnaire and said the procedure was beneficial for both her and her clients.

She said: “The plan is only as good as the expenditure given, obviously some parts of the questionnaire are not relevant for everyone but there are major benefits to completing it.”

“From looking at where most of the clients’ expenditure goes, you can tell what their priorities and passions are.”

Clients could sometimes be sceptical about completing the questionnaire but it is up to advisers to persuade them, she said.

While expenditure questionnaires are a necessary part of a financial plan, the accuracy of them are often questionable.

Mrs Bentham said she met one unnamed adviser who quoted £15,000 expenditure for all of their clients regardless of their circumstances.

Details on the questionnaire can then be used to amend the plan if a client finds they are spending more or less than usual.

Plans should be updated on a regular basis to assess if any changes in expenditure require adjustments to the financial plan.