An Introduction to the IAA

Cecil Bykerk, President October 2011, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Origins, mission and recognition

• Founded in 1895• Restructured in 1998 to serve as worldwide

association of professional actuarial associations.• To encourage development of global profession

• technically competent and professionally reliable • to ensure that the public interest is served

• Not-for-profit, non-political, Non-Governmental Organization• on the Roster of the Economic and Social Council of the UN • on the Special List of the ILO

Membership and representation

• Full Member Associations: 63• Associate Member Associations: 26• Assisting development of profession in 30

additional countries• Fully qualified actuaries: 60,000+ in more than

100 countries

Membership and representation

• Institutional Members: – International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)– International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)– International Social Security Association (ISSA)– International Organization of Pension Supervisors (IOPS)– Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD)• Observer Member:– Asian Development Bank (ADB)

IAA Membership Requirements

• For Full Member Association– Code of Conduct – Formal discipline process– IAA Education Guidelines and Syllabus– Formal process to adopt standards of practice, if and

when national standards are created • For Associate Member Association – Actuarial association not meeting all conditions above

Relationship between IAA, Sections and Congresses

• IAA: association driven, focusing on professionalism, standards, representation

• Sections: scientific, research and practical arm• Congresses: a high point for both• Section Colloquia: yearly or biennially• Congresses: every 4 years• Next Congresses: March-April 2014 (Washington,

DC – USA) ; 2018 (Berlin, Germany)

Communication and Tools for Members

• Communication is electronic: List servers• Quarterly Newsletters; Special Newsletter after

each meeting• News releases to external audiences to inform of

important IAA initiatives• Committee delegates and interested persons can

join various list servers to participate / monitor work of committees

Communication and Tools for Members (cont’d)

• IAA Members’ Website contains:– specialized online translation tool in 8 pairs of

languages– specialized search tool– Actuarial E-Library, specialized topic libraries– International Events Calendar

• Guidelines to facilitate participation of non-native English speakers and new delegates in work of IAA

Potentially Difficult Issues

Potentially difficult issues for a small Association

• Governance• Education• Discipline cases• Standards of Practice• Promotion / marketing / engagement of relevant

entities• Member engagement• Resources

Governance: leadership, strategic direction, decision-making

• Issues

Leader burnout

Few members willing and able to take on leadership

roles

Decisions seen as having commercial implications

Decisions taken very personally

Education – Basic and Continuing

• IssuesBasic education materials

oCurrento Locally relevant

Exam creation, administration, gradingProfessionalism course administrationContinuing education materials

oAdequate scope

Education – Basic and Continuing

• Issues– Basic education materials• Current• Locally relevant

– Exam creation, administration, grading– Professionalism course administration– Continuing education materials• Adequate scope

Discipline cases

• Issues

Finding a discipline panelo ExperienceoRelevant expertiseoClearly impartial (personal, commercial)

Cases are rare – new learning curve each time

Privacy of accused actuary

Standards of Practice

• Issues

Local actuarial market may not have sufficient experience in key areas to define the standard of practice

Local practitioners may not have adequate experience and perspective to draft the standards

Need a formal process for drafting and adopting SOPs

Promotion, marketing, and engagement of other entities

• Issues

CredibilityoNo long track recordo Self-promotion

May require senior actuaries

Member engagement

• Issues

Early career actuaries not ready to volunteer their time

for the association

Lack of employer support

Association resources

• Issues

Not enough people to do all the work

Heavy burden on a few people

Dues income not sufficient to cover necessary

expenses

Inventing each program for the first time

Potential Resources

Leverage the IAA

• Samples and models of documents such as standards

• Local seminars– IAA Fund Professionalism seminar– IAA Fund Role of the Actuary seminar

• IAA Section webinars• Advice & Assistance Committee – ask for help

Leverage mature associations

• Basic education– Educational materials– Examinations– Credential– Perhaps focus local effort on educating and testing

regarding local laws, regulations, products, business practices

• Standards (make local adjustments)• Seminars, including webinars

Leverage the universities

• Experts in education

– Develop an appropriate credential path– Also a good mechanism for attracting additional students to the

profession– May be able to bring in lecturers from around the world– Association may still need to cover some topics

• Perhaps combine with internships at local insurance companies and consulting firms

Regulatory support

• Very helpful to have the regulator supporting the role of the actuary

– Informally– Formally (laws and regulations)

• We have found it very useful to have local regulators attend Role of the Actuary seminars

Regulatory support

• Very helpful to have the regulator supporting the role of the actuary

– Informally– Formally (laws and regulations)

• We have found it very useful to have local regulators attend Role of the Actuary seminars

Seek an association mentor

• Find a mature association willing to partner Exam materials and administrationCredentialsProfessionalism educationContinuing education (seminars)Ongoing advice

Seek some individual actuary mentors from mature associations

• Mentor to your associationProvide ongoing advice and counselHelp connect to other resources worldwideServe as a discipline panel when needed

• Mentor to your membersPossibly connect your individual members with

mentors around the world

Regional partnerships

• Pool your resources with other associations in the region

Final thoughts

• Even with a wide variety of resources, must have a core group of passionate leaders

• Pursue ambitious but realistic goals• Begin involving the next generation of leaders

International Actuarial AssociationSecretariat: Ottawa

–www.actuaries.org