SOA Member Announcement–March 2009 Board of Directors Meeting

• For Immediate Release
•  
• Lisamarie K. Lukas
• Director of Communications
• 847.706.3566
• llukas@soa.org

Society of Actuaries Continues Discussions on Global ERM Credential and Canadian Institute of Actuaries' Future Education Method Proposal; Next Steps for Social Insurance and Public Finance Section Endorsed

At its March 2009 meeting, the Society of Actuaries' (SOA) Board of Directors discussed and made determinations on a variety of strategic issues and initiatives.

The Board agreed to continue exploration of a global ERM credential with the objective that the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) credential should be the global standard bearer with acceptable quality standards maintained. "The interest in the ERM credential continues to build momentum. A consortium of international organizations is exploring the development of a global credential that would reflect common learning objectives, codes of conduct and mutual recognition," said SOA President Cecil Bykerk.

"We will continue discussions with potential partner organizations where mutual recognition is already firmly in place and where we have other close collaborative relationships. As long-standing partners with similar interests, the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and the United Kingdom Actuarial Profession (UKAP) are natural collaborators in this endeavor to ensure robust accreditation and validation standards," stated Bykerk.

On other actuarial organization related issues, the Board unanimously endorsed the SOA's continued participation in the joint Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) /Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA)/SOA work groups established to address the CIA's Future Education Method (FEM) proposal. Bykerk stated, "The next steps for these working groups will include examining the accreditation of university programs and developing joint communications to ensure members of all affected organizations are aware of the proposal."

During discussions on Section governance matters, the Board specified that Section Organizing Committees have one year from the Board approval date to secure at least 200 SOA members for a new Section and endorsed the request of the Social Insurance and Public Finance Section Organizing Committee to solicit members for this proposed new Section. Also, the Board will allow Section Councils to appoint up to three non–SOA "affiliate" members to their councils, subject to existing limits on the total number of council members.

As part of the SOA's Role of Academia strategic initiative, the Board provided input on the final criteria and process for schools to become SOA Centers of Actuarial Excellence (CAE). The Board reaffirmed that universities seeking CAE status should pay a portion of site visit costs.

Board members also approved the SOA nominating committee's recommendation to make three reserved seats available for the upcoming 2009 election. Two seats have been reserved for retirement systems practitioners, if there are at least four candidates. Otherwise, just one reserved seat will be available for a retirement system practitioner. One seat is reserved for an international candidate provided there are at least two candidates.

Finally, after discussions on the SOA's 2008–2012 strategic plan and its corresponding balanced scorecard measures, the Board accepted the proposed 2012 balanced scorecard targets.