Charles Cowling and Danny Quant explain why Chartered status will enhance the standing of the profession, wherever members are based
In November we will be asking members to vote on whether we should add Chartered status to our qualification.
Many of you will recall that this was a live issue back in 2018 and may be wondering why it is back again. It’s a fair question, and the short answer is because we still believe it is in the profession’s best long-term interests. As Council, our obligation is not just to ensure the profession’s long-term sustainability, but also to make sure it thrives and flourishes. No profession can stand still; if it does, it risks losing relevancy. Any organisation that has purpose and integrity needs to be looking two, five, 10, even 20 years ahead, anticipating needs and responding with speed.
Most of us are not in any doubt as to the massive technological changes taking place and the way in which the nature of work will change in the coming years and decades. From our research with companies and organisations, both in the UK and around the world, we know that adding Chartered status to our qualifications will make them even more attractive in the interconnected global market that we all now inhabit. It will also help us to encourage the recruitment of actuaries into wider fields, where the Associate qualification might become the target qualification of choice.
Our members are at the heart of every decision we make. We learnt from earlier explorations of the Chartered designation that the distinction between Associate and Fellow is of importance to members – not only as a mark of status, but also because authorities in many regions require fellowship of a professional body for regulated, specialist or senior roles. So we are proposing a solution that retains these membership categories or even allows members to hold onto FIA or AIA post-nominals, if that is their preference. This will be done by simply adding Chartered to our title so that we become Chartered Actuary (Fellow) or Chartered Actuary (Associate).
The important thing to stress is that adding Chartered takes nothing away from your current title – it doesn’t undermine or diminish it in any way, shape or form – instead, it provides another recognisable quality mark to your professional title.
We hope you will help us to help you by voting in favour of Chartered status when this is put to a vote in a few weeks’ time.
Charles Cowling is chief actuary at Mercer
Chartered status within a profession is something of a British peculiarity. Though other countries, including Australia, India, Singapore and the US, have adopted some version of the concept, British Chartered status was the forerunner – tracing its origin to Scottish accountants in the mid-19th century. During my career working in various countries, I have seen that this British crown-backed accreditation continues to be seen as the gold standard. Engineers, accountants and others have long made use of the designation. Actuaries, although known as experts in our fields, currently come with no such brand mark.
Perversely, anybody outside of the IFoA can call themselves an actuary. Chartered status would provide a legally protected prefix for our unprotected ‘actuary’ label and give protection to our intellectual capital – something that we do not currently have.
In the industries in which we traditionally work, there is, of course, recognition of the Associate and Fellow designations. Indeed, many financial regulators make fellowship of an actuarial body, including the IFoA, a requirement for fulfilling certain senior roles. Crucially, the proposal on which members will be asked to vote later this year retains both Associate and Fellow labels. The proposals would therefore not diminish the way our members are accredited for regulated roles.
Under the proposals:
- Fellow IFoA members will be designated Chartered Actuary (Fellow), using the post-nominals FIA C.Act or FFA C.Act.
- Associate IFoA members will be designated Chartered Actuary (Associate), using the post-nominals AIA C.Act or AFA C.Act.
If we vote to move forward with Chartered actuary status, no one loses out. Those who prefer to will be able to continue using the post-nominals FIA/FFA and AIA/AFA.
What we stand to gain from Chartered status is wider recognition. The majority of the IFoA’s members outside of the UK are currently students, who are working towards a future in a profession with an ever-broadening scope. Chartered status, in its repositioning of the profession, offers them something of real value – and, of course, retaining them as members as their careers progress is more power to our collective elbow!
I will be voting for Chartered actuary, and urge you to do the same.
Danny Quant is managing director at Quants Consulting
