U.S. Actuarial Code of Professional Conduct: Application of Precept 13

October 7, 2009

As an actuary who is a member of any of the five U.S.-based actuarial organizations, you are expected to comply with Precept 13 of the Code of Professional Conduct. However, since it sets forth a self-regulating principle that you and other actuaries are expected to apply when you have knowledge of apparent, unresolved, material violations of the Code by other actuaries, it sometimes becomes uncomfortable for actuaries to apply this Precept.

In this educational webinar presented by the Academy’s Council on Professionalism and co-sponsored by the SOA, CAS, CCA and ASPPA, attendees gained some understanding of what is needed to apply Precept 13 and its annotations – with confidence and professionalism. Those in attendance learned:

• How to interpret and understand the language of Precept 13.
• How Precept 13 requires you to respond when you suspect a violation.
• Helpful hints on how to handle a variety of potentially difficult situations.
• Why compliance with Precept 13 is so important to the integrity of a self-regulated profession, such as actuaries.

A residual benefit of being prepared to exercise the judgment necessary to apply Precept 13, if it ever becomes necessary to do so, is that it strengthens all actuaries’ awareness and understanding of the Code and applicable qualification and practice standards.

NOTE ON JBEA CE CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE: You will not be able to receive a certificate of attendance for listening to any recorded webinars. In order to receive a JBEA CE Certificate of Attendance you must attend the live event, follow the instructions provided during the live event, and you must request your certificate by completing the online form within 30 days of attending the live event.

Webcast Resources

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Speakers

The speakers included:

• Tom Bakos, MAAA, FSA, Chairperson of the Academy’s Committee on Professional Responsibility, VP on the Society of Actuaries Board of Directors, member of the Academy’s Council on Professionalism, and President of Tom Bakos Consulting, Inc.
• John Moore, MAAA,  FSA, FCA, EA, member of the Academy’s Committee on Professional Responsibility, member of the Academy’s Pension Practice Council, and Chief Actuary of JPMorgan Compensation and Benefit Strategies.
• Michael Toothman, MAAA, FCAS, member of the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline, member of the Academy’s Council on Professionalism, and consultant with Actuarial & Risk Consulting Services.
• Moderator: Sheila Kalkunte, the Academy assistant general counsel and staff liaison to the Council on Professionalism and its related committees.

CE credit

The American Academy of Actuaries believes in good faith that this professionalism webcast, ” U.S. Actuarial Code of Professional Conduct: Application of Precept 13,” constitutes an “organized activity” under the current U.S. Qualification Standards.

Certificates for EAs

The Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries (JBEA) has approved the Academy as a qualifying sponsor of continuing education (CE) programs for enrolled actuaries.

If you are an enrolled actuary, the Academy believes in good faith that you may earn 1.8 CPE core credits under the JBEA rules for attending this webcast. However, the JBEA ultimately determines what constitutes core and non-core continuing education and the number of CE credit hours allocated to same for enrolled actuaries.