Description: The August/September 2014 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.

Description: This article summarizes the October 11, 1973 meeting of the Actuaries’ Club of Boston devoted to a discussion on the education of actuaries. George L. Hogeman,Pesident of Paul Revere Life, noted that while insurance industry management was generally satisfied with the work of the actuary, there were a number of shortcomings of actuaries, including a reluctance to utilize new techniques and a lack of much needed communication skills. In a very articulate presentation, Denis W. Loring, Actuarial Associate at John Hancock [representing the actuarial students], expressed the consensus he had reached with his fellow students. They felt that management development training and an awareness of EDP constraints and opportunities were missing from the syllabus. He stressed the need to gear exam preparation toward problem solving and felt that the actuary should be much more in the forefront in developing research techniques. The E and E Committee members, rather than defending the existing educational system, added to the number of problem areas pointed out by prior speakers. Deficiencies in the syllabus were noted for underwriting, investment and finance, and marketing and advanced underwriting. It was felt that the effect of the insurance industry involvement in providing broader financial services should be considered in future syllabus changes.