As members of a self-regulating profession, actuaries follow the actuarial standards of practice, the U.S. Qualification Standards, the Code of Professional Conduct—and the Code’s Precept 13, which states that if you think another actuary may have violated the Code, you are required to act. This Precept is essential to our profession. (Actuarial Update, July 2019)

The Academy’s second professionalism webinar of 2019, “Big Data: Professional Standards Provided by Actuaries and New Research on Regulatory Views,” provided information on current and emerging Big Data developments, regulatory issues, and the advantages actuarial professionalism requirements can bring to actuaries. (Actuarial Update, July 2019)

Actuaries practicing in the United States must complete 30 hours of relevant continuing education (CE) each year to satisfy the requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standards (USQS). As we hit the middle of the year, we encourage you to take stock of the CE you’ve earned so far and make sure that it has been properly recorded. (Actuarial Update, June 2019)

Are you experienced? The May “Professionalism Counts” reviews experience requirements for actuaries, including basic and continuing education. (Actuarial Update, May 2019)

Read a roundup of the professionalism resources—from publications and webinars to the Actuarial Standards Board and Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline—that are available to Academy members at your fingertips. (Actuarial Update, April 2019)

More than 2,000 people attended the Academy’s first professionalism webinar of 2019, “Promoting Ethical Decision-making: Rules, the Human Brain, and Cognitive Biases,” on April 18, at which presenters covered a range of ethical issues and took questions from attendees. (Actuarial Update, April 2019)

Promoting actuarial professionalism is essential to the Academy’s mission. Our speakers bureau has had significant success in providing professionalism education across the United States—to actuarial clubs, large employers, and university venues to deepen the understanding of what “professionalism” means in our self-regulating profession. (Actuarial Update, March 2019)

The Actuarial Standards Board has released a fourth exposure draft of a proposed new actuarial standard of practice (ASOP) titled Modeling. The proposed ASOP will provide guidance to actuaries in any practice area when performing actuarial services with respect to designing, developing, selecting, modifying, or using all types of models. (Actuarial Update, February 2019)

Academy volunteers and interested parties must provide annual acknowledgement of their commitment to objectivity and the Academy’s Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy and continuing education requirements, writes Art Panighetti, vice president of the Council on Professionalism. (Actuarial Update, January 2019)

In a Q&A, outgoing Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) Chairperson Rick Block discusses the changes he has seen in six years on the board, including the past two as chairperson, and how the ABCD’s investigative and request for guidance processes work. (Actuarial Update, December 2018)

The November “Professionalism Counts” column looks at the continuing education (CE) requirements under the Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion in the United States (the USQS) that apply to all actuaries in the U.S. that issue SAOs, and most do. (Actuarial Update, November 2018)

Celebrating 30 years of the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB), the “Professionalism Counts” column, written by ASB Chairperson Beth Fitzgerald, incoming 2019 Chairperson Kathleen Riley, and Vice Chairperson Maryellen Coggins, recaps some of the ASB’s many accomplishments and invites actuaries to become involved by volunteering for ASB-related professionalism activities and promoting use of the actuarial standards of practice. (Actuarial Update, October 2018)

More than 2,700 people attended the Oct. 17 professionalism webinar, “The Anatomy of the ASOPs,” in which presenters examined issues related to the actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs) promulgated by the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB). Presenters ASB Chairperson Beth Fitzgerald, Vice Chairperson Kathy Riley, and member Cande Olsen explained the key concepts that help keep actuarial practice appropriate and compliant with the Code of Professional Conduct. The presenters covered how ASOPs are developed, key terms that apply to all ASOPs, and actuarial communications. Look for more coverage in the forthcoming October Actuarial Update. Slides and audio are available free to Academy members.

Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) Vice Chairperson Kathleen Riley writes in the September “Professionalism Counts” column on actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs) and the exposure process that the ASB utilizes a robust and transparent exposure process, which is necessary to develop ASOPs that serve both the actuarial profession and the public. (Actuarial Update, September 2018)

In his article for Contingencies, “Taking Aim,” D. Joeff Williams, chairperson of the Council on Professionalism, Academy’s vice president for professionalism, and president-elect designee of the Academy, discusses actuarial professionalism and the challenge of engagement. (Contingencies, September/October 2018)

The Academy’s Council on Professionalism maintains an online tool to help practicing actuaries stay abreast of actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs). The Applicability Guidelines can help actuaries initiate an analysis of which ASOPs may be applicable to particular assignments and to keep current with new and revised ASOPs. (Actuarial Update, August 2018)

The July “Professionalism Counts” column, written by current members of the Committee on Qualifications, looks at the U.S. Qualification Standards 10 years after the current version came into effect in 2008. (Actuarial Update, July 2018)

In “Professionalism: Our Ongoing Conversation With the Public,” Academy President Steve Alpert writes about professionalism’s broader context regarding how actuaries’ daily work benefits the public, drawing on more than two centuries of the profession’s dialog with the public. (Contingencies, July/August 2018)

More than 2,000 people attended the Academy’s June 18 professionalism webinar, “The Code of Professional Conduct—Learning From the Mistakes of Others,” which walked attendees through mistakes that have landed actuaries on the wrong side of the Code, and offered insight on the Code’s key precepts. (Actuarial Update, June 2018)