As the new sessional year gets under way, it’s a pleasure to welcome Matt Saker as president, and to work with him and our leadership to continue with the strategy agreed by Council.
In his presidential address, Matt challenged us not to be complacent about the good position we are in, and to avoid assuming that the future will be like the past.
It is important to fix the roof while the sun is shining, and much of our focus has been about modernising our services in line with a digital-first approach. Our new website will be updated throughout the year and, following two successful pilots, we will offer a new outlet for member engagement with the launch of digital communities.
To support our members in their lifelong learning, we continue to expand pathways to qualification and are delivering upon new plans for contemporary online assessment. We show strength in the IFoA brand through our thought leadership and stakeholder engagement – recent benchmarking by Ipsos MORI shows we punch above our weight. We continue to grow our presence in markets around the globe, and ensure proportionate regulation through efforts such as our newly launched Practising Certificates Scheme and a Disciplinary Scheme review.
Our commitment to our members remains at the heart of all that we do. This includes the strides we are making as an organisation, but also in promoting positive experiences even in times of uncertainty, as Matt alludes to.
Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy positions us to champion and embody the benefits of a globally diverse and inclusive profession. Recently, we published the key demographics of our leadership bodies (bit.ly/IFoA_BoardDiversity), so that we have meaningful baseline data upon which to build. Making sure that the actuarial profession is a welcoming one for diverse thinking, people and backgrounds is increasingly important in attracting people to become actuaries. This is unlikely to change.
I am ready for another fantastic sessional year ahead and hope you will continue to let us know how you feel the IFoA can continue ‘to be the voice of actuaries, and to support, develop and be the voice of our members.’
Stephen Mann is the chief executive of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
