SOA Member Announcement–June 2010 Board of Directors Meeting

Society of Actuaries Board Receives Update on Global CERA; Will Explore Potential for Streamlining Joint Discipline System; Supports Examination of International Membership Strategy; Endorses Risk Committee's Progress; Discusses 2010 Elections and Ballot

At its June 26–27 meeting, the Society of Actuaries Board of Directors discussed and made decisions on a variety of strategic and operational issues.

The Board received a progress update on the activities surrounding the Global CERA credential in accord with the Global CERA Treaty. The UK Actuarial Profession was recently approved as the second CERA award signatory (after the SOA). Six other organizations are in queue for review of their applications to become award signatories. "The Treaty Board set its administrative foundation with the creation of the CERA Global Association in May," stated SOA President Mike McLaughlin. "I'm pleased to see that interest across the world remains high especially with the recent recognition by Best's Review of the CERA credential as the gold standard in enterprise risk management training," said McLaughlin.

Continuing on the topic of enterprise risk management (ERM), the Board provided input on the work of the SOA's Risk Committee and its process to build an ERM framework for the SOA. The Board encouraged the committee to move forward with its work.

The Board discussed and adopted a Policy on Disciplinary Hearings. This policy, which will be posted on the SOA Web site in the near future, provides procedures under which the SOA disciplines members for violations of the Code of Professional Conduct or of the SOA's Bylaws and policies.

In addition, the Board discussed a project undertaken by the presidents of the U.S.-based actuarial organizations about the potential to streamline the U.S. joint disciplinary system. The Board recognized there are challenges with the current system and expressed interest in exploring a revised process. The SOA is recommending that an interorganizational task force be formed to provide additional details on the proposal. SOA members will have the opportunity to learn about the proposal and provide input throughout the exploration process.

The Board provided guidance to the International Membership Strategy Task Force on its work to develop recommendations regarding the most appropriate strategy for growth and international membership services. "Currently, 12 percent of the SOA's membership and 25 percent of its most-active candidates reside and work outside of the United States and Canada. Our international growth has been steady with the largest international constituent group outside of North America located in mainland China and Hong Kong. The task force will help inform future strategies to address member needs outside of the SOA's historic home base of the U.S. and Canada," remarked McLaughlin.

In relation to the SOA's strategic initiatives, the volunteer team charged with oversight for knowledge development presented recommendations for changes and improvements to the organization's publications and website strategy. The Board acknowledged this report and directed the team to pursue its recommendations. The team also received guidance to address longer term improvements to the development and dissemination of actuarial knowledge.

The profession's image, another strategic initiative, was also a discussion point during the meeting. The Board received an update on the SOA's work to advance the Marketing and Market Development Plan (MMDP). "We continue to see progress in our effort to raise the profession's visibility in both general public and business media outlets," said McLaughlin. He continued, "While we have had success in demonstrating our professional expertise in outlets read by business professionals such as the Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, it is vital that we continue our new focus to raise the general public's awareness of our expertise on hot topics like healthcare."

The Board also discussed the upcoming 2010 elections for the SOA Board. With the Board's approval, the SOA's Nominating Committee will release the list of names on the ballot for President-Elect, Vice President and Elected Board Member roles in the coming days. "I strongly encourage all eligible SOA members to participate in the upcoming election," said McLaughlin. The 2010 SOA election for the Board and professional interest sections will open on August 9 and close on September 3. SOA members will receive numerous communications about the elections throughout this time period.

If you have any questions or comments about the recent Board meeting, please write to membercomms@soa.org.