Derek Cribb takes a look at what the IFoA has achieved in 2013 and what the future holds
As the year draws to a close, I wanted to use this opportunity to take stock of what we have achieved in 2013 and to look ahead at what is on the horizon for 2014.
It has been another busy year for the IFoA. Our flagship residential conferences have been well attended and raised interesting discussion points across all practice areas. In particular, the number of delegates at GIRO increased from 630 in 2012 to 716 in 2013. The number of exam entries has also increased, with 26,864 exams sat across the April and September sessions. For the first time, both the number of exam entries and the number of IFoA members around the world has breached the 25,000 mark.
Our research continues to attract interest, particularly the Third Party Working Party's contribution to the third-party motor insurance debate, encouraging further engagement with Whitehall and Westminster. On international engagement, we appointed Wen Li as our first lead representative in China and the south-east Asia region to support the rapidly growing number of members in the area. We rolled out the IFoA's new brand, which I hope you'll agree really helps to convey our organisation's identity, and also commenced the new professionalism training regime, which is free for IFoA members.
Members have long asked us to improve our website and, in the first half of 2014, the new website goes live. Members will also see further work on the new quality assurance scheme, which will encourage best practice within their various working environments.
We will also be launching the new Certified Actuarial Analyst membership category, to give those working at a technical actuarial level a valuable qualification.
On the public affairs side, we will continue to inform debate on issues such as Scotland's referendum on independence, adding value in those areas where we can make useful factual contributions, such as on the potential impact on the financial services. Above all, we will continue to provide outstanding support to all of our members.
I wish you all the best for the festive season, and a happy and prosperous 2014.