Matt Saker outlines why he believes IFoA members should vote ‘Yes’ to Chartered Actuary
As many of you are probably aware, the vote on whether to adopt the Chartered Actuary designation is now underway. Voting is open until midday on Tuesday 13 December. If you have not yet cast your vote, I urge you to do so – it matters to us that as many members as possible have their say on this important issue.
If you are still undecided over how to vote, I want to use this opportunity to outline why I believe that voting ‘Yes’ to Chartered Actuary is in the best long-term interest of the profession.
It will protect the integrity of our qualifications and standards – Adopting Chartered status offers protection to our title and standards. Currently, anyone can call themselves an actuary, regardless of whether they have any formal training or qualifications. The terms Chartered Actuary (Fellow) and Chartered Actuary (Associate) will clearly mark out those professionals who have undergone a rigorous qualification process, are practising and maintaining their professional development, and who are regulated and following the IFoA’s professional standards.
We know how hard our members work to achieve their Associate and Fellow qualifications, and those years of hard work and study are an immense achievement that deserve recognition, pride and protection. However, the public and employers, in whose interests we work, also deserve protection and the security of knowing that the person they are engaging with has reached the required standard expected of their profession.
It will elevate the status of our members – Chartered status is a quality mark that is recognised around the world as a mark of high professional standards. It is a distinction available to more than 50 professions, including insurers, engineers, architects and surveyors, and is an external recognition of expertise.
We believe actuaries deserve at least the same recognition as other professions and that our status should reflect our achievements. Chartered status also demonstrates the importance of the essential service we perform to employers, clients, the public and the wider professional services industry. The profession already holds a Royal Charter, which directs our values to work in the public interest. It therefore makes sense to take the next step and adopt the Chartered Actuary designation. As Tan Suee Chieh noted in his blog ‘Chartered status enhances the IFoA’s brand and protects the profession’ (bit.ly/Chartered_enhance), nothing is lost by adopting Chartered status but everything is gained. It is also important to note that, having listened to feedback from our members, the proposed Chartered designation retains the essential distinction between Fellows and Associates in both long-form title and post-nominals – a distinction that we know is important to our members, as well as to employers and regulators.
“Adopting Chartered status offers protection to our title and standards”
It will position the profession for a successful future – Many of you may recall the article ‘Ringing the changes’ (bit.ly/Ringing_changes) that appeared in the December issue of The Actuary last year. This explored how the world of work is changing and the skills and competencies that will be required in this new environment. As Charles Cowling pointed out in a previous article about Chartered Actuary (bit.ly/Mark_quality), any organisation worth its weight needs to be planning five, 10, even 20 years ahead in order to stay relevant and significant. As your membership organisation, it is incumbent upon the IFoA to advocate for what we believe is in the best long-term interests of the profession. We believe Chartered Actuary status will differentiate and protect our members from adjacent disciplines, increase the value of our brand in new domains and with new employers, and ensure we can continue to attract the brightest talent into the profession for years to come. However, adopting Chartered status does not mean that it becomes easier to qualify as an actuary, so the integrity of our rigorous qualification process is maintained.
We strongly believe that this is the right move for the profession, but it can only happen with your support. It only takes a minute to vote – vote for Chartered Actuary.
Matt Saker is president of the IFoA
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