Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) Vice Chairperson Frank Todisco writes about Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 32, Social Insurance, which is currently undergoing revision. The ASB created a task force last year to examine ASOP No. 32—which does not fall into any one particular practice area—that met in January and plans to issue a summary of changes and a full exposure draft later this year.
How are actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs) revised and kept current? Beth Fitzgerald, vice chairperson of the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB), explains the 2016 revisions to ASOP Nos. 21, 23, and 24, illustrating how the ASB continues to uphold this charge—seeking and receiving a wide range of ideas and viewpoints within the actuarial profession.
Keith Passwater, chairperson of the Academy’s Committee on Qualifications, outlined three new FAQs about the Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion in the United States on long-term care qualifications, actuaries changing practice areas, and experience under the specific qualification standard. The FAQs are a handy resource that actuaries can consult when they have questions about qualifications.
Academy volunteers—and individuals who are an interested party on a committee, whether an Academy member or not—must annually acknowledge the Academy’s Conflict of Interest (COI) policy, Vice President of Professionalism Joeff Williams writes in his January Actuarial Update column.
“A News Year’s Worth of Professionalism Resources” highlights the Academy’s publications and professionalism webinars, continuing education opportunities, the Code of Professional Conduct, the Actuarial Standards Board’s actuarial standards of practice, the U.S. Qualification Standards, and other resources to help actuaries remain qualified to issue statements of actuarial opinion.
Ingrained cultural traditions—such as those found in many regions of the nation—can offer insights into developing a professional culture that can be integrated into actuaries’ daily practice, writes Joeff Williams, the Academy’s new vice president of professionalism.
Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) Chairperson Janet Fagan outlines the resources and guidance available to actuaries in “ABCD Guidance: A Critical Element of Actuarial Self-Regulation,” covering professional ethics, the need for public confidence, and improving practice.
The September “Professionalism Counts” column serves as a reminder that to be qualified to issue statements of actuarial opinion in 2017, actuaries must have earned 30 hours of continuing education during 2016, and delineates how those hours may accumulate.
In the second of a four-part series, President Tom Wildsmith explores how the U.S. Qualification Standards have helped create and support the infrastructure of U.S. actuarial professionalism. (Contingencies, September/October 2016)
In the August “Professionalism Counts” column, Maryellen Coggins, chairperson of the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB), outlines how an individual’s professional judgment coordinates with the actuarial standards of practice promulgated by the ASB.
In the July “Professionalism Counts” column, Maryellen Coggins, chairperson of the Actuarial Standards Board, explores the establishment of Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 1, which documents the principle-based approach to all the ASOPs.
The Committee on Professional Responsibility (COPR) of the Academy’s Council on Professionalism has released a new discussion paper, Considerations of Professional Standards in International Practice. As actuarial work crosses national borders, actuaries are becoming exposed to a variety of laws and professional standards from different jurisdictions. Consequently, questions frequently arise about the professional requirements that apply in international situations. This discussion paper identifies and explores some of these issues.
The Council on Professionalism updated two sections of the 2004 discussion paper, Structural Framework of U.S. Actuarial Professionalism—Concepts on Professionalism. The two sections, “U.S. Actuarial Standards of Qualification” and “U.S. Actuarial Standards of Practice” were updated to reflect developments that have occurred in those areas since the original date of publication.