Academy President Tom Wildsmith addressed students in Columbia University’s actuarial science master’s program on Tuesday for its Proseminar Series, which is designed to “bridge the gap between academia and today’s actuarial science industry.” Wildsmith’s presentation on “Professionalism and the Aspiring Actuary” provided the audience of 100 with a compelling account of the broad societal impact of the U.S. actuarial profession’s work and how the Academy historically has articulated, and continues to articulate, the consequent professional responsibilities of actuaries with regard to the public, employers, clients, and others.

In the January “Professionalism Counts” column, learn how to find answers for your questions regarding actuarial qualifications, including the Committee on Qualifications’ frequently asked questions hub.

The Academy has launched the U.S. Qualification Standards Attestation Form, which was developed to help actuaries voluntarily demonstrate how they meet the U.S. Qualification Standards (USQS) specific requirements for signing NAIC annual life, health, and property & casualty statements of actuarial opinion (SAOs). If you do not issue NAIC annual statements, you can still use the Attestation Form to attest to the general qualifications of the USQS. Read more about the Attestation Form here. To go directly to the form, click here.

The Applicability Guidelines for Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOPs) have been updated to include ASOP No. 50, Determining Minimum Value and Actuarial Value under the Affordable Care Act. Also, in response to continuing inquiries, the Committee on Qualifications recently added more information to one of the questions in the FAQs on the U.S. Qualification Standards. The revision to question No. 31—“Is ‘on the job’ learning considered continuing education?”—may be found online. 

The Academy continued its dialog with insurance regulators on a wide variety of issues, including long-term care insurance, automobile insurance, risk-based capital, and principle-based reserving at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners 2015 Fall National Meeting held November 19-22 at National Harbor, outside of Washington, DC. Read the Academy Alert here. 

Academy professionalism representatives provided updates at each of the actuarial task force meetings this week at the NAIC to brief regulators on Actuarial Standards Board (ASB), Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD), and qualification issues. They also provided an opportunity for candid conversations with regulators at a breakfast meeting on Thursday. Immediate Past President Mary D. Miller, ASB Chairperson Tricia Matson, ABCD member John Purple, and Committee on Qualifications member Tom Campbell presented. Miller highlighted the progress on the Academy’s development of an attestation form, which regulators have supported and provided feedback on, that will allow actuaries submitting statements of actuarial opinion to document their qualifications under the U.S. Qualification Standards. The Academy expects a working version of the form to be available by the end of the year. 

The Academy and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) have released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document that reflects our common understanding of how the long standing Cross Border Discipline Agreement (Agreement) works in both the U.S. and Canada. While the Agreement has rarely been used, we want to anticipate and address common questions from the joint perspective of our two national associations. You can find the Cross-Border Agreement here and the FAQs and their answers here.

The Academy’s sold-out Life and Health Qualifications Seminar took place in Arlington, Va., this week, just prior to the Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum. The seminar, now in its 15^th year, is the most efficient way for actuaries to obtain the required basic education and continuing education to be qualified to sign NAIC annual statements of actuarial opinion.

Professionalism outreach was in high gear this week, as speakers arranged through the Academy’s Speakers Bureau addressed three actuarial club meetings. President Mary D. Miller provided a professionalism update on Wednesday to 300 actuaries at a meeting of the Actuaries’ Club of Hartford and Springfield, while COP member Geoffrey Sandler spoke on professionalism topics to an audience of 225 at the Actuarial Society of Greater New York’s Annual Meeting about 120 miles away in New York City. ABCD member Kathy Riley provided an overview of the ABCD and discussed ethics case studies with attendees of the Middle Atlantic Actuarial Club’s meeting near Baltimore on Thursday.

Academy representatives attended actuarial meetings on two continents in late September, visiting China and Romania. At the invitation of the Chinese Actuarial Association (CAA), and the Actuarial Association of Europe (AAE), representatives offered insights into how the U.S. actuarial profession is structured and carries out its professionalism and public policy work. See a full write-up in the September Actuarial Update.

Academy President Mary D. Miller delivered a professionalism presentation to the Columbus (Ohio) Actuarial Club on Monday. More than 70 actuaries attended the presentation, at which Miller gave an overview of actuarial professionalism, including the Code of Professional Conduct, the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline, and the Academy’s development of a qualification attestation form.

Committee on Qualifications Chairperson Keith Passwater and Academy President Mary D. Miller provided an overview of actuarial professionalism, including the Code of Conduct and the Academy’s development of a U.S. Qualification Standards attestation form, to the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Actuary Forum in Chicago on Sept. 22. Passwater and Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline liaison and staff attorney Brian Jackson presented a similar presentation in Indianapolis on Sept. 21 to the Actuaries Club of Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. William Hines, vice president of risk management and financial reporting issues, provided senior actuaries at John Hancock Financial with “A Look at Ethics and Professionalism” on Sept. 18 in Boston. The presentation included an interactive discussion of hypothetical case studies of ethical dilemmas actuaries might face.

Academy President Mary D. Miller provided an update on the Academy’s development of the online U.S. Qualification Standards Attestation Form to the NAIC’s Life Actuarial Task Force, Health Actuarial Task Force, and Casualty Actuarial and Statistical Task Force at the NAIC Summer National Meeting. Miller also demonstrated a prototype of the online form at the professionalism breakfast for regulators that the Academy hosted on Aug. 15, highlighting the progress on the form, which will help actuaries document how they meet the U.S. Qualification Standards requirements for signing NAIC annual life, health, and property and casualty statements of actuarial opinion.

In this webinar, expert presenters engage in a mock debate to explore different perspectives on issues raised in the comments on the modeling standard exposure drafts. 

This professionalism webinar provides the first analysis of the results of the Academy’s survey on “Key Ethical Concerns Facing the Actuarial Profession: Perceptions of Members of the American Academy of Actuaries.” Attendees asked thought-provoking questions and shared insights on the top perceived ethical issues and means of mitigating such issues as they interacted with seasoned panelists—Vice President of Professionalism Kenneth Kent, former VP of Professionalism Karen Terry, and Academy Assistant General Counsel Sheila Kalkunte.

The Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) will hold a public hearing on the need for new or revised actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs) applicable to actuarial work regarding public pension plans on July 9 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington. The ASB is accepting both written comments and requests to be considered to present oral testimony at the hearing. Read more here. 

The Academy has launched a new professionalism online tool—the first module in our Actuarial eLearning Center.

The Actuarial eLearning Center provides Academy members with an innovative way to earn continuing education (CE) professionalism credits as described in the U.S. Qualification Standards, and, for the first time in our professionalism education offerings, an opportunity to test your knowledge and obtain a certificate documenting CE credit earned.

The first module, “Understand the Code of Professional Conduct,” provides an introductory course on professionalism along with an optional final exam. Read more about the course here. 

The Academy has released a report outlining potential ethical concerns facing U.S. actuaries today. The report, which is based on survey responses from more than 3,300 Academy members, shows that the highest perceived concern by a clear margin was “responding to pressure from principals and/or management to select inappropriate assumptions used in pricing or reserving.” Read the full report here. 

The Applicability Guidelines for Actuarial Standards of Practice were updated to include the new ASOP No. 49, Medicaid Managed Care Capitation Rate Development and Certification. The ASOP was developed to establish guidance for actuaries preparing, reviewing, or giving advice on capitation rates for Medicaid programs, including those certified in accordance with 42 CFR 438.6(c), and takes effect for opinions and certifications issued on or after Aug. 1, 2015. 

On March 30, Academy Assistant General Counsel Sheila Kalkunte spoke to an audience of approximately 150 at the MassMutual Actuarial Gathering in Chicopee, Mass., on professionalism issues including the topic of qualifying for a new/emerging area of practice. To request a speaker on actuarial professionalism for your event, click here.