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The drive to push the FSA into achieving its objectives for reforms to professional standards and qualifications has been led by Sesame.

Ivan Martin, executive chairman, has led Sesame in a high level meeting with the FSA's retail distribution review team.

Having published its recommendations on the transition to higher professional standards in a white paper written by Paul Dawson, head of Sesame Learning, he believes there is still a need for debate on the reform of the RDR.

Mr Dawson said: "The UK's financial advice profession stands on the cusp of profound and wide-ranging change. A year ago, advice professionals were sceptical about the motive that was driving the RDR, but in light of the FSA's latest interim report, there is now growing acceptance of the need to change and the benefits of doing so.

"However, apart from the risk that consumers will simply not understand the significance of the changes to common professional standards, the law of unintended consequences poses an even bigger dilemma. The prospect of thousands of UK consumers being left without financial advice because advisers opt to exit the industry in the absence of sensitive and effective management of transition."

He explained that the issue is about the principle of reform, not the popularity, and continued: "Failure to engage in a mature debate about professional standards is an abdication of responsibility. By reaching a consensus on common professional standards, our profession will be ideally placed to establish – for the first time – a common and structured career path through which new entrants may achieve a recognised professional qualification."

Recent findings from NMG Research found that 29 per cent of IFAs are already working to diploma level or above. Sesame's white paper intends to find out how the remaining 71 per cent of the UK IFA population will achieve the agreed standard.

He added: "We owe it to the industry and consumers to get this right. So we hope that by meeting with the FSA and publishing our white paper, we will help to raise the profile of this crucial debate."