Disclosure of Members' Compliance Status
DC1. How do I find the membership directory?
At the SOA home page (www.soa.org) the membership directory is a widget on the left hand side of the page titled "Actuarial Directory." You may type in the last name of the actuary you wish to find, change the settings in the widget to search by first name, company or city, or click on Advanced Search for more options. You may also reach the membership directory from the home page of one of the other co-sponsoring actuarial organizations.
DC2. Why do some actuaries' listings not show the SOA CPD Requirement category?
The membership directory is operated jointly with four other U.S. based actuarial organizations and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. If no SOA CPD Requirement category is shown, that actuary is not a member of the SOA (but is a member of another actuarial organization) and not subject to the SOA CPD Requirement.
DC3. The Canadian Institute of Actuaries shows CPD compliance for their membership on their site? What's the difference?
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) Qualification Standard–Continuing Professional Development also has requirements that members report compliance with the standard. Actuaries who are members of the CIA and SOA must attest compliance (as appropriate) with both requirements. Please note that compliance (or lack thereof) with the CIA standard does not imply compliance (or lack thereof) with the SOA standard, and vice versa.
DC4. The U.S. actuarial profession has a qualification standard, but I can't find a website to tell me if actuaries in the U.S. have met the continuing education requirements of that standards. Is there such a website? Can I use the SOA CPD Compliance as a proxy for compliance with the continuing education requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standard?
The continuing education requirement of the Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion in the United States (U.S. Qualification Standard) does not have a reporting or disclosure requirement. As such there is no way to publicly verify compliance with that standard. Actuaries in the U.S. are professionally bound by the code of conduct and the U.S. Qualification Standard to meet the (basic and) continuing education requirements before issuing a Statement of Actuarial Opinion.
Attestation of compliance with the SOA CPD Requirement is not an indication that an actuary who is practicing in the U.S. has, or has not, met the continuing education requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standards. While we expect most of the SOA's U.S. based membership to use the continuing education requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standard as their method of complying with the SOA CPD Requirement, they are not required to do so.
DC5. What does it mean if the listing in the membership directory shows "Compliant" in the CPD Requirement category?
The member attested "compliance" with the SOA CPD Requirement. The member can be compliant with the SOA CPD Requirement by
- Being deemed compliant because they were not subject to the requirement during that period (the member earned their first SOA designation during the period)
- Attesting compliance with Section B of the SOA CPD Requirement
- Attesting compliance with the continuing education standards of the Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion in the United States (U.S. Qualification Standard)
- Attesting compliance with The Canadian Institute of Actuaries Qualification Standard–Continuing Professional Development (CIA Qualification Standard).
- Attesting compliance with Category 1 or 2 of the CPD Scheme of Faculty of Actuaries & Institute of Actuaries (U.K. CPD Scheme).
- Attesting compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Standard of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (IAAust CPD Standard).
Each of these methods is equally valid method of compliance with the SOA CPD Requirement. Members may elect any compliance method they are reasonably subject to.
DC6. What does it mean if the listing in the membership directory shows "Non-Compliant" in the CPD Requirement category?
The member has attested that they did not comply with the SOA CPD Requirement, or the member did not attest compliance. Members who are non-compliant with the SOA CPD Requirement still retain their SOA designation and may be qualified to practice. Non-compliant SOA members are required to disclose their lack of compliance status to those individuals relying on their actuarial expertise.
DC7. What does it mean if the listing in the membership directory shows "Retired" in the CPD Requirement category?
The member is subject to reduced SOA dues on account of retirement. While as an SOA member they are still subject to the SOA CPD Requirement, we do not disclose non-compliance for these members because they are presumed to be no longer providing actuarial services to the public.
DC8. What does it mean if the listing in the membership directory shows "Pending" in the CPD Requirement category?
The member has not yet attested CPD compliance by the end of the compliance period. For the first attestation period, members have a two-month grace period, through April 30 2011, to attest compliance with the SOA CPD Requirement. Please note that members who don't attest compliance by April 30 2011 will have their status changed to "Non-compliant".
DC9. What does it mean if the listing in the membership directory shows "In reporting" in the CPD Requirement category?
"In reporting" status is only shown during the four-month attestation period for the cycle ending in that attestation period. Members are shown as "In reporting" until they attest compliance for that period. For example, between November 1 2011 and February 28 2012 we will show members as "In reporting (2010-2011)" until they attest compliance with the 2010-2011 SOA CPD Requirement cycle. At that time, the "In reporting" status will be replaced with the reported status ("Compliant" or "Non-compliant").
DC10. What happens if a member does not attest compliance with the SOA CPD Requirement?
Members who are eligible for reduced dues on account of retirement are not required to attest compliance, so their record would show a status of "Retired." Members who received their first SOA designation during the CPD cycle are deemed "Compliant." All other members who fail to attest compliance will be deemed non-compliant at the end of the attestation period (and any grace period).
DC11. Does compliance with the SOA CPD Requirement mean the SOA member is qualified to practice?
Qualification to practice varies based on the country in which the SOA member is working and/or resident in and requirements of other local organizations. Members working or resident in the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia can elect to use the continuing education requirements embedded in the qualification standards for those countries as a way to meet the SOA CPD Requirement. But, those members are not required to meet the SOA CPD Requirement in that manner. Furthermore, meeting the continuing education standards embedded in the respective qualification standards does not mean that the member has met other parts of the respective qualification standard. Members of the public hiring or consulting with an actuary should not rely on compliance with the SOA CPD Requirement as an indicator of qualification to practice.
DC12. If a member is "Non-compliant" with the SOA CPD Requirement is he or she qualified to practice?
There is no direct link between the SOA CPD Requirement and qualifications to practice in any country. Also, qualifications to practice mean different things in different countries; specific professional activities may count as practicing as an actuary in one country (and therefore subject to qualification standards) but not in another. An SOA member could be "Non-compliant" with the SOA CPD Requirement and still qualified to practice or still be able to perform certain professional activities. Only the actuary can say whether he or she has met applicable qualification standards or whether their professional activities would be deemed subject to those standards.
DC13. If a member is "Non-compliant" with the SOA CPD Requirement are they still subject to applicable codes of conduct or actuarial standards of practice?
Yes. As long as the actuary is a member of the SOA they are subject to the applicable codes of conduct and actuarial standards of practice for the country in which they practice.
DC14. How can I find out which method an SOA member used to attest compliance?
That information is not publicly available. The individual actuary may disclose it to you if he or she wishes.
DC15. How can I find out whether an SOA member was compliant with the SOA CPD Requirement for other periods (beyond those disclosed in the directory)?
That information is not publicly available. The individual actuary may disclose it to you if he or she wishes. Please note that the SOA CPD Requirement was effective on January 1, 2009, and the first period for which members attested was 2009-2010.
DC16. I employ an actuary (I hire an actuary in a consulting role). This actuary is not compliant with the SOA CPD Requirement but did not inform me. What should I do?
Actuaries who are non-compliant with the SOA CPD Requirement are required to inform anyone relying on their actuarial expertise that they are not compliant with the SOA CPD Requirement. But, the actuary may not have informed you for several reasons. First, actuarial expertise is not the same thing as using skills common to actuaries (and many other professionals). Second, as a practical matter, we only require non-compliant members to inform key contacts.
What is the role for which you hired the actuary? For example, if you are a school principal who hired an actuary to teach 8th grade algebra, the actuary probably didn't deem that they use actuarial expertise in their current role (while math is a fundamental skill set for an actuary, not every use of mathematics implies a use of actuarial expertise). Many actuaries retain their designation after they've ceased to work in a traditional actuarial role or moved to non-traditional roles that use similar skills. Those actuaries have not elected to disclose their non-compliance because they don't believe they use actuarial expertise in their role.
If you do believe you have hired the actuary for their actuarial expertise, first check to make sure the actuary hasn't disclosed non-compliance already to another person at your organization (e.g. an HR director or the most senior contact in their consulting role). The actuary is not required to disclose non-compliance with the CPD requirement to every person at an organization they are employed by or consult to.
If you still believe the actuary has failed to properly disclose non-compliance, please contact the SOA.
DC17. I'm an SOA member. How do I get proof of my compliance with the SOA CPD Requirement since it's been in place?
Members can print out a history of their SOA CPD compliance which will show the compliance status for each cycle of the SOA CPD Requirement (starting with 2009-2010) as well as the method used to attest compliance. Log-in through the member directory and click the SOA CPD Attestation button. That will take you to a page which will allow you to print your SOA CPD Attestation history.
DC18. I'm an SOA member. My boss wants to know what method I used to comply with the SOA CPD Requirement. How can I get that for him?
Members can print out a statement that will show the compliance status for the current CPD cycle and the method used to attest compliance. Log-in through the member directory and click the SOA CPD Attestation button. That will take you to a page which will allow you to print your current SOA CPD compliance record.
DC 19. I'm an SOA member and when I first went to attest compliance, I misunderstood the rules and mistakenly attested "Non-compliant". I realized later on that I was compliant and updated my status to "Compliant". What will the membership directory and any printed statements show?
The membership directory will show the most recent attestation, which in this case was "Compliant". The printed record also only shows the most recent attestation for any given CPD cycle, which in this case is "Compliant".
DC20. I'm an SOA member and when I first went to attest compliance, I misunderstood the rules and mistakenly attested my method of compliance as "Section B of the SOA CPD Requirement". I actually had used "the continuing education requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standard" as my method of compliance. When I realized my mistake I logged into the SOA membership directory and updated my CPD attestation. What will the membership directory and any printed statements show?
The membership directory only shows that you attested compliance, and does not show any method of compliance. The printed record also only shows the method of attestation for the most recent attestation for any given CPD cycle, which in this case is was the continuing education requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standard.
DC21. I'm an SOA member and the attestation period is closed and I forgot to attest compliance. What does the membership directory show?
The easiest thing to do is to go into the membership directory and look up your own record. For 2009-2010, the record will show "Pending" on or before April 30, 2011 and "Non-compliant" after that date. You may attest compliance electronically through May 30. After that, you have to contact SOA customer service and they can help you attest.