Council held its fourth meeting of the 2019/2020 sessional year on 4 June 2020. This was its first fully virtual meeting, and the first meeting since the UK lockdown was announced in mid-March.
Alongside the updates Council had received in between meetings, CEO Stephen Mann and Management Board chair Grahame Stott updated Council members on the IFoA’s response to COVID-19, the development of related programme workstreams, and the potential impact that the pandemic would have on the IFoA’s Corporate Plan. Grahame also updated Council members on ongoing discussions with the Actuarial Association of Europe.
Louise Pryor updated Council on the work of the IFoA COVID-19 Action Taskforce. It was great to hear that a large number of volunteers had put themselves forward for this work, and that the IFoA has responded to a number of government consultations.
As part of the ongoing development of the IFoA’s 2020-24 strategy, Council approved the next steps in moving forward Chartered Designations.
Another key element is the IFoA’s global strategy. Beate Degan, Markets Development Board chair, presented to Council an update on the international strategy, based on the high-level priorities Council agreed at its March 2020 meeting. Council approved the key aims and actions as part of this effort and noted the methodology presented by Beate.
In order to increase the desirability of IFoA Affiliateship to those in the data science field, Council approved a number of changes to the criteria for Affiliate membership and a change to the fees charged. This is intended to appeal to data scientists working in related fields, as well as to highlight to members the value of areas in which actuaries and data scientists may collaborate and learn from one another.
Council confirmed the subscription and practising certificate fee levels for the year 1 October 2020-30 September 2021. Council also authorised the exploration of a number of initiatives aimed to help members experiencing hardship in light of COVID-19. More information about these will be communicated in due course.
In addition, Council approved the Annual Report from the Disciplinary Committee, outlining its key priorities and progress over the past year.
Finally, we said thank you to the members of Council that were to step down at the Annual General Meeting: Nico Aspinall, Lee Faulkner, Malcolm Slee, Paul Sweeting, Perry Thomas, Kartina Tahir Thomson, Michael Tripp, Mahidhara Davangere, Jules Constantinou, Bruce Porteous and Dermot Grenham. Their contributions and hard work during the past three years are greatly appreciated. John Taylor expressed his thanks for his time as president and his commitment to working with Tan Suee Chieh during his term to build on what has been delivered this year.
Council’s next meeting will take place on 10 September 2020. The minutes of our meetings are available at bit.ly/2u1gmx9 and you can contact us at [email protected]
