January is when I take stock of where we have been, and think about where we are going. On reflection, I am very proud of the progress we made in 2017, against a backdrop of global uncertainty and unprecedented continuing political change. Being a relatively small profession, our agility enables us to not only weather the storm but also to harness uncertainties as an opportunity for innovation and positive change.Last year was the first full year with our refreshed strategy, which seeks to ensure the sust
Our strategy recognises that actuaries are a small but global community who are at their strongest when working together. Globally, there are around 70,000 qualified actuaries, but more than five million qualified accountants and a similar number of lawyers.
The recent extreme weather in the US has caused devastation on a massive scale. Because of hurricanes like Harvey and Irma, people in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean have seen their lives and livelihoods washed away in an instant.
The recent extreme weather in the US has caused devastation on a massive scale. Because of hurricanes like Harvey and Irma, people in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean have seen their lives and livelihoods washed away in an instant.
A little over two months has now passed since the Financial Reporting Councils revised framework of Technical Actuarial Standards (TASs) came into force. For many of our members carrying out work within the scope of the standards, the transition has passed without much ado. In general, the simplification of the framework and the consolidation of the old, generic TASs into a single, high-level generic TAS (the TAS 100) have been welcomed
Recently, and what seems to have been more frequently than in any other decade, we have taken ourselves to the ballot box at a national and local level, exercising our right to make our voices heard. Certainly in the last few years, we have seen the unexpected (or expected in some cases) occur based on the will of the people. In some of the more notable and historically altering elections, the outcome may have been decided by a disillusioned electorate tired of what they are presented with.
In political terms, we certainly are living in interesting and unpredictable times. As a profession we have spent the past five years building our public affairs reputation through helping policymakers understand uncertainty.
It is a pivotal and exciting time at the IFoA. We have formed a joint venture with the Society of Actuaries to promote the Certified Actuarial Analyst, a gateway generalist qualification, on a global scale.
