Description: This article offers a possible resolution to certain circularity issues that may arise while implementing the SOP.

Description: Chairperson’s Corner Mark J. Freedman from The Financial Reporter, December 2004, Issue No. 59.

Description: This is my first article as chairperson for the Financial Reporting Section, having taken over that role as of the annual meeting. However, this is far from my first article for The Financial Reporter. In a former life, I was the editor for this newsletter. More recently, I served as a member of the Financial Reporting section council. So for me, 2005 is going to be a year of transition, as I take on the challenges of being section chairperson. I welcome the opportunity, and I am sure that my prior experiences with the newsletter and the section council have prepared me well to take on the responsibilities that lie ahead.

Description: As my penultimate column, this is my opportunity to strike the existential pose and wax poetic about the fact that human nature has no history. Each generation born harbors the same hopes, dreams, and desires as the generation that preceded it. Following, in no particular order, are some observations related to this insight.

Description: A discussion of the limitations of the use of spreadsheets versus formal programs in actuarial processes. including limited documentation, inability to incorporate new features without significant coding and subtle bugs that may appear.

Description: The Financial Reporter Section Newsletter, June 1, 2007, Issue No. 69

Description: SFAS 157, Fair Value Measurements, defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures. This article briefly summarizes SFAS 157 and then turns to the computation of a fair value liability and the use of risk margins, with some expanded discussion of the cost of capital method for establishing the risk margin.

Description: Newsletter for the Life Insurance Company Financial Reporting Section

Description: Activity surrounding the principle-based approach to statutory reserves and minimum regulatory capital is gaining momentum. This article will allow those readers who are not as close to this initiative to quickly become familiar with the landscape of the movement and where it stands today.

Description: Feature article discussing the use of fair value or market consistent measurement for the valuation of insurance liabilities.