The Life Financial Reporting Committee has re-exposed the practice note, Optional Retrospective Application of ASU 2010-26 Acquisition Costs, for an additional two weeks. The deadline for comments is Oct. 28, 2011. (October 14, 2011)
The Academy hosted a jointly sponsored Capitol Hill briefing, Important New Research Findings Indicate a “Rising Tide” of Contributions Facing Defined Benefit Pensions, with the Society of Actuaries on Oct. 11 to present new research findings from the actuarial profession that illustrate a “rising tide” of pension funding challenges facing the private defined benefit system. Presenters discussed important implications for plan sponsors, beneficiaries, and policymakers.
Click here to download the presentation. Click here to view the report on the SOA website. Video of briefing: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 (October 12, 2011)
Academy President Mary Frances Miller announced that Mary Bahna-Nolan, Ken Kent, and Catherine Murphy-Barron have been elected by the members to fill open regular director positions on the Academy’s board of directors. Complete election results, including the results of two amendments to bylaws, are available in her letter to the members. See related news release. (October 06, 2011)
Read about the Academy's recent activities in September 2011 Actuarial Update. (October 05, 2011)
Read about President Obama’s decision to ask the Supreme Court to rule on the individual mandate requirement in the Affordable Care Act and the Medicare Steering Committee’s letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction in this issue of HealthCheck. (September 30, 2011)
The Financial Reporting Committee commented on a paper by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) on the issues surrounding the auditor’s report based on recent investor feedback. The committee’s comments included a recommendation to increase disclosure and provide more detail to the auditor's reporting model. (September 30, 2011)
The Academy is hosting a jointly sponsored Capitol Hill briefing with the Society of Actuaries on Oct. 11 to present new research findings from the actuarial profession that illustrates a “rising tide” of funding challenges facing the private defined benefit system. Presenters will discuss important implications for plan sponsors, beneficiaries, and policymakers. Learn more. (September 30, 2011)
The Academy's Social Security Committee urged President Obama and congressional leaders to improve the long-term solvency and sustainability of Social Security whether in a broader deficit-reduction package or through an alternative legislative track. (September 23, 2011)
The Academy's first-ever online election for open regular director positions on the board of directors ended Sept. 2. Also on the ballot were votes on two bylaws amendments—one implementing the profession-wide changes to the discipline process and another that shortens the term of the presidential office by one year by removing the position of penultimate past president from the Academy board of directors. Results will be announced on or before the Academy Annual Meeting Oct. 24. (September 15, 2011)
The Academy's Medicare Steering Committee urged the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to develop proposals to slow health care spending growth to improve the long-term solvency and sustainability of the Medicare program.
Letter
News release (September 14, 2011)
Want to learn more about principle-based approach (PBA)? The Academy has been instrumental in the ambitious effort to modernize the framework for determining life insurers' statutory required capital and reserves in the United States. The proposed method, which is intended to be principle-based, uses risk analysis and risk management techniques to capture underlying life insurance and annuity risks more accurately than the current rule-based, one-size-fits-all approach. Learn more! (August 31, 2011)
The Academy relies upon the active participation of more than a thousand volunteers from every practice area who lend their skill, knowledge, and experience to the Academy's work on professionalism and public policy issues. Members are invited to complete the Academy's annual Volunteer Survey, which is now available on the members-only section of the Academy website. The survey will close on Friday, July 15. (August 31, 2011)
The Academy's Council on Professionalism has published a discussion paper entitled Conflicts of Interest When Doing Volunteer Work. This paper is intended to assist current and future Academy volunteers in identifying and resolving potential conflict of interest issues that may arise when providing volunteer services to the Academy. This paper is also incorporated into the revised Academy conflict of interest policy. (January 28, 2011)
Presenters discuss the actuarial profession’s responsibility to the public, as well as Precept 1 of the Code of Professional Conduct, the state of the profession, and the key aspects of maintaining the profession's relevance. (June 29, 2011)
Slide presentations from the May 18 seminar, Preparing for Change under PBA: Life Company Reserves and Capital are available for download. You will find presentations on "hot topics" and information specific to the implementation challenges related to the Principle-Based Approach (PBA) for statutory reserves and capital. It was jointly sponsored by the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries. (August 31, 2011)
