How Associations Can Unlock Non-Dues Revenue: The AFP Exam Prep Success Story

For many associations, the quest to grow non-dues revenue can feel like an endless pursuit. But for the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), exam prep became the unlikely hero that helped unlock new revenue, improve learner outcomes, and fuel sustained growth.

In a recent fireside chat, BenchPrep CEO, Ashish Rangnekar, sat down with Kendall Frederick, Executive Director of Azimuth Financial Prep, an outsourced service provider for AFP’s certification prep solutions—to unpack AFP’s transformation story. Their conversation explored how AFP reimagined its approach to exam preparation, overcame internal and external challenges, and built a more learner-centric program that’s become a core revenue pillar.

Here’s a closer look at what we learned.

About AFP: Driving Finance Professional Growth Through Certification

AFP is the global certifying body for corporate finance professionals, offering the CTP (Certified Treasury Professional) and FPAC (Certified Financial Planning and Analysis Professional) credentials. With more than 16,000 members and a global reach of 35,000 CTP holders across 54 countries, AFP’s mission is to drive the future of finance and treasury by developing the leaders of tomorrow through certification, training, and thought leadership.

While certification was always a key part of AFP’s offering, the organization hadn’t historically treated exam prep as a strategic lever. That soon changed.

The Challenge: Scaling Non-Dues Revenue with Effective Exam Prep

At the time Kendall joined AFP, the exam prep experience was fully outsourced under a revenue share agreement. The result? Limited control over content quality, minimal access to learner data, and a disconnected relationship with candidates during a critical phase of their professional journey. Kendall explained:

This realization underscored a fundamental need to regain ownership of this critical touchpoint with future members.

Like numerous associations, AFP faced the common hurdle of trying to significantly increase non-dues revenue. This challenge was often compounded by a lack of dedicated internal staff with the specialized knowledge required to develop and deliver high-quality educational programs like exam preparation. Furthermore, relying on external vendors sometimes led to a misalignment of priorities, where the vendor's focus might not perfectly align with the association's overarching goals for member engagement, learning outcomes, and long-term revenue generation.

AFP's Strategic Shift: Becoming a Leader in Certification Exam Preparation

Recognizing these limitations and opportunities, AFP made a decisive move to bring exam preparation in-house. This was a mindset and skillset shift—moving from a passive licensing model to actively shaping the learning experience and creating their own content.

Revamping AFP’s prep materials focused on key enhancements like:

• Expanding the question bank from 500 to over 1,300 questions.
• Building an analytics framework to assess question quality and learner performance.
• Regularly revising content based on feedback, industry trends, and test data.

Drawing inspiration from hockey legend, Wayne Gretzky, who famously quipped:

Kendall stated:

This forward-thinking approach recognized the pivotal role of exam prep as the initial point of contact for many future members. Kendall emphasized:

Learner-Centric Approach: Driving Certification Success and Engagement

A cornerstone of AFP’s success has been its commitment to learner engagement. The development of both the CTP and FPAC certifications begins with a thorough Job Task Analysis, actively involving volunteers and seasoned professionals to ensure the exams accurately reflect the demands of the field.

Kendall also maintains a direct line to students—personally answering questions and gathering feedback to inform future iterations. The goal? Make learners feel supported and connected to AFP from the moment they begin studying. He highlights:

AFP’s investment in modern, learner-centric technology played a key role as well:

• Mobile accessibility and offline functionality
• Gamified flashcards to reinforce knowledge
• Short-form videos with playback control and captions
• Real-time analytics to identify and address content gaps

The results speak for themselves: students who used the most up-to-date AFP prep platform demonstrated a remarkable 19% higher pass rate compared to those relying on older methods or third-party resources.

Tangible Results: How Exam Prep Became a Key Revenue Driver

Initial certification and exam prep have now become a foundation to the pillars that make up AFP’s organizational strategy. Those pillars are conferences, dues revenue, ongoing certification revenue (or recertification) and corporate training.

This shift in organizational strategy also opened the door to:

• Expanded continuing education offerings
• New content eligible for CPA credit
• A stronger member value proposition via AFP’s new LMS

This transformation has empowered AFP to cultivate direct relationships with learners from the beginning, fostering a sense of trust and connection that extends through recertification, participation in conferences, and engagement in corporate training initiatives. Kendall emphasized:

Lessons Learned: Advice for Associations to Enhance Training and Non-Dues Revenue

When asked what advice he’d give to associations looking to scale their training programs and non-dues revenue, Kendall didn’t hesitate:

Here are his key takeaways:

• Own your content: Don’t outsource what defines your learners’ success.
• Start with the learner: Make their experience seamless, engaging, and supported.
• Let data guide you: Use analytics and exam outcomes to drive content updates.
• Build internal capabilities: Content expertise is a strategic asset.
• Learn from peers: Collaborate with other associations to share insights and best practices.

The Power of Strategic Exam Prep for Association Growth

AFP’s journey is a powerful example of what’s possible when associations rethink exam prep not just as a product, but as a strategic asset. By focusing on learner experience, data-driven iteration, and aligned technology, they’ve turned a previously outsourced function into a major engine for growth.

If your association is looking to elevate its training programs, strengthen member engagement, and grow non-dues revenue, AFP’s story proves it’s more than possible—it’s repeatable.

Want to see how BenchPrep helped AFP make this transformation a reality? Watch the on-demand webinar now to discover actionable strategies.