Description: This column discusses the use and management of data withn the computer language R.

Description: Discusses SOA-sponsored apps that are useful to actuaries.

Description: This article covers the American Academy of Actuaries’ “Model Governance Checklist” that was created in response to PBR regulatory model governance needs.

Description: This article explains how one company, American Life of New York, is using innovative applications to improve and speed the underwriting process.

Description: End-User Computing (EUC) applications (such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and others) provide a great benefit by allowing users to directly manage, control, and manipulate data. Unlike SAP, Oracle, and other Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications that facilitate the automated and integrated flow of transactions and data, EUCs are neither ponderous nor difficult to modify. In fact, EUCs allow businesses and users to quickly deploy solutions in response to shifting market and economic conditions, industry changes, or evolving regulations. They can also help plug functionality gaps for ERP systems. Alas, those same elements that make EUCs so appealing (and vital in providing timely information) can also make them challenging to manage and control effectively.

Description: Briefly reviews the history of Information Technology, IT, in the life insurance business. It then talks about the emerging trends in IT management and the impact they likely will have on the work of the life insurance actuary.

Description: Small insurance companies sometimes feel constrained to use Excel instead of a commercial actuarial system due to cost and inertia. This article provides multiple reasons why that decision leads to unintended risks for the actuarial department and the company as a whole.

Description: This article discusses using Excel to calculate internal rate of return IRR and the potential complications associated with the task.

Description: This article reviews Spreadsheet Check and Control, a book that provides techniques to avoid errors in spreadsheets and to check existing spreadsheets for errors.

Description: This article discusses best practices in designing spreadsheets with the end-user in mind.