Description: This is a perspective of the upcoming year from the view of the Chair of the Council of the TaxationSection. Following the challenges from the past year and since the arrival of the pandemic, I discussed how we will adapt to this new virtual or hybrid world and how the Taxation Section will continue to offer material to its members.

Description: The average person spends from one third to one half of every waking hour thinking about the past or present. We talk to ourselves when we do. Psychologists have identified three steps you can take to make your self-talk more positive. This will make you happier and better able to achieve the goals you set at home and at work.

Description: This article covers the importance of letting teams lead you as a leader, that it's okay to admit you're not okay even at work, and that it's important to find informal ways for virtual teams to connect.

Description: Investing in and taking care of employees can result in many-faceted positive results, for your team and for your firm. We first state the case for "taking care of employees," then exhibit several practical methods for showing you care for your employees.

Description: This presentation proposes a solution to the student actuarial paradox “I mastered the syllabus but failed the exam,” by utilizing the two-dimensional syllabus vehicle which pedagogically focuses on the two dimensions of content and problem difficulty. This presentation advocates the PMR characterization of three levels of problems difficulty: Plug-ins (easy), Monkey-wrench (intermediate), and Research-type(hard) questions. PMR was developed by examining difficulty levels in SOA exams, and problems of various software vendors. The author's students routinely score high on the SOA FM exam; it is hoped that these methods will assist other instructors in their quest for good pedagogy. Very briefly: “Plug-ins,” refer to multi-part problems, for example, calculating the price of an annuity that is first increasing and then level; “Monkey-wrench” problems specifically refer to plug-in multi-part problems where one component is a monkey-wrench, an issue the candidate has not previously encountered. It might be a non-typical modeling or it might be a non-typical algebraic simplification or it might be an unexpected integration of distinct modules in a manner that the candidate has not yet seen. “Research-type questions” refer to problems requiring some type of experimentation for example, looking at initial cases, seeing a pattern and then applying methods

Description: Update of climate risk related governance and disclosure.

Description: Article describes accomplishments as Chair during the year. Four accomplishments are mentioned: i) Actuarial Research Conference ii) Early Career Award, iii) Establishment of Outstanding Educator Award, iv) Push to create surveys from the section containing a reservoir of ideas that can be used for webinars, podcasts, etc.

Description: A compilation of reader responses is presented to a real life situation posed involving a management, leadership, or other business decision. This issue’s case study involved a very new actuarial manager trying to deal with a disruptive employee.

Description: The objective of this statement of principles is to articulate the current understanding of the significant principles that form the scientific framework underlying all areas of actuarial practice. The intended audience includes practicing actuaries, researchers and others, such as representatives of standard-setting organizations. This articulation is not immutable and should be revised if changes arise in our understanding of the key concepts and phenomena relevant to actuarial science, or if a better expression of the ideas is developed. This statement is the culmination of an effort that begin with the October 1991 draft by the SOA Committee on Actuarial Principles entitled “Principles of Actuarial Science. After incorporating numerous comments, that statement was published in Transactions of the Society of Actuaries XLIV, 1992.

Description: This article studies the syllabus as a dynamic, interactive teaching tool that informs and is informed by both solutions of complex course problems and student difficulties with these problems.