On 25 November 2020, Council held its second meeting of the 2020/2021 sessional year by videoconference.
The day before, Council members held a virtual away-day to discuss the progress made in three key areas that underpin the IFoA’s ongoing cultural transformation and strengthened focus on its members, as well as our future direction and priorities:
- The purpose and values of the IFoA
- The purpose and values of the profession
- A climate risk policy statement for the IFoA.
From these discussions, we agreed a formalised ‘Purpose and values of the IFoA’ at our meeting on 25 November. This will provide a clear statement of the culture that the IFoA as an organisation, including its volunteers, will embrace going forward, and in time will drive important changes in the way we interact with members and other key stakeholders. Work to refine the purpose and values of the profession will continue during the coming months, led by the president of the IFoA and taking into account the passionate views shared by Council members on this subject. Council also agreed to issue a policy statement on climate risk, which will make some key commitments and state the IFoA’s position on sustainability issues. This will be launched in 2021.
Several other important matters were considered at this meeting. In line with the ongoing review of the IFoA’s governance arrangements, Council gave its approval to two significant measures that aim to increase the efficiency of our processes. The first of those measures is to dissolve four of our Corporate Boards (the Lifelong Learning Board, Markets Development Board, Policy and Public Affairs Board, and Research and Thought Leadership Board) and establish in their place two Management Board sub-committees. These sub-committees better reflect the imperatives of our strategic agenda and will be better placed to implement it.
The second measure is the creation of a new Regulatory Board, consolidating the Regulation and Disciplinary Boards (as well as the public interest regulatory aspects of the Lifelong Learning Board’s remit) to create a more streamlined link between the IFoA and the Financial Reporting Council on regulatory matters. Council will receive progress reports on the implementation of these measures at its next meeting, alongside updates on other key workstreams being taken forward by the IFoA’s Executive and our senior volunteers in implementing our strategy.
We also agreed our core Member Proposition, which will function as a high-level description of what the IFoA provides for members. This will be showcased in 2021, and more detailed propositions for each type of IFoA member will be developed and discussed at our next meeting in March. Being able to clearly articulate the value that IFoA membership represents is part and parcel of our commitment to become a more member-focused organisation.
Our next regular meeting will be on 11 March 2020, with an extraordinary meeting being held on 10 March to elect the IFoA’s president-elect for 2021/22.
The minutes of our meetings are available at bit.ly/2u1gmx9 and you can contact us at [email protected]
