Vancouver meetings : October 2015 Purpose The purpose of this paper is to brief Council on the outcomes of the meetings of the International Actuarial Association (IAA) held in Vancouver from 13-18 October 2015. About this report Subsequent to IAA meetings, there is a formal process for reporting back to the International Council Committee (ICC). This report has been based on that material. It has been kept reasonably brief and, if any Councillor requires further information, they are asked to contact the writer. Where the proceedings of an IAA Committee meeting in Vancouver had no action required, no item in respect of that Committee s meeting is included in this report. This has resulted in the exclusion of reports of meetings of the following groups, all of which included worthwhile discussions: Professionalism Committee, Council, Nominations and the Presidents Forum. Attendance Overall, 253 actuaries attended the meetings. Of those, 10 were Australian actuaries or representatives: 1 Dave Finnis Tim Furlan Jules Gribble Bozenna Hinton* Tom Karp John Maroney Fred Rowley John Shepherd* Lindsay Smartt Martin Stevenson* IAA Committee and Council meetings Annexure A provides a summary, by Committee, of the relevance of its work to the Actuaries Institute and the action items arising from the particular meeting. Key highlights of particular relevance to the Institute s Strategic Plan 2015-17 (Plan) are summarised below. The new IAA syllabus was discussed, with most of the current syllabus being retained. New areas were in Data and Systems and Personal and Professional Practice. There were some concerns around the quantity of maths included in the syllabus by some 1 An asterisk next to a name denotes that funding for the individual s attendance was provided through the ICC s budget. N:\COMMITTEES\Council Committees\International\2015\Council paper - IAA Vancouver Meetings - Dec 2015 - final.docx Page 1 of 7
countries. Australia, together with the UK, Canada, the Society of Actuaries (SOA), Italy, Japan, South Africa, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany all supported it. The IAA Education Committee will be meeting each Full Member Association (FMA) to discuss any concerns they have prior to the St Petersburg meetings in May 2016. This is relevant to Goal 1 of the Institute s Plan. The SOA is actively evaluating three Australian universities for accreditation as a Center of Actuarial Excellence (CAE). (Note that, unlike the Institute s university accreditation, the SOA does not provide exemptions (yet) for subjects passed at universities.) Short term, such accreditation is likely to affect the Institute s Asian strategy; long term, it is likely to affect its education system (Goals 1 and 4 of the Plan). Banking and Data Analytics: These areas are gaining momentum in the profession worldwide and the Institute will work with the SOA, the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFA) and the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) closely in this area. The IAA Scientific Committee is also investigating the formation of new working groups in data and banking. Australia will suggest that these topics are placed on the agenda of the President s Forum in St Petersburg. (This is relevant to Goal 5 of the Plan). The Institute will work closely with IFA, SOA and CAS in providing CPD in Asia. It is recognised that building strong relationships with other bodies and working with them constructively will assist with achieving results in Goal 4 of the Plan. Although not aligned specifically to the Plan, there were many developments via various IAA committees, for example in the areas of: capital standard; International Association of Insurance Supervisors projects such as discount rates; and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board s consultation paper on recognition and measurements of social benefits. For full details of all IAA activities, Councillors are encouraged to create their own account on the IAA s website at http://actuaries.org so that they can easily access the information which is of greatest interest to them individually. Council action Council is requested to note the contents of this paper. Martin Stevenson Convenor International Council Committee N:\COMMITTEES\Council Committees\International\2015\Council paper - IAA Vancouver Meetings - Dec 2015 - final.docx Page 2 of 7
Annexure A: IAA Committee and Council meetings summary Committee Action items Insurance Accounting Committee and Education and Practice Sub-committee of the International Association of Consulting Actuaries (IACA) Highly relevant for the profession. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) plans for a final standard (IFRS X) some time in 2016 (implies mandatory adoption in 2019). Insurance Regulation (Part 1 & II) and ORSA (Own Risk and Solvency Assessment) Sub-committee Opportunity to have input in a number of areas, mainly related to life insurance before finalisation of the standard. Impacts Goals 3 and 5 of the Plan. ISAP 4 (IFRS X Insurance Contracts): this has now reached an advanced draft stage. Australian involvement in the Taskforce to continue. Australian input expected to continue in respect of IASB Exposure Drafts. Extremely important for the Australian profession and for risk management in Australia as global development will impact Institute s Members. Paper (to which Australia contributed) has been released Deriving Value from the ORSA Board Perspective. An article for Actuaries Digital is being prepared to highlight to Members what other jurisdictions are doing with regard to Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Processes (ICAAPs)/(ORSAs). Retirement Age Seminar and Population Issues Working Group (PIWG) The seminar was organised by the PIWG to discuss issues around raising the retirement age as a response to increasing longevity and the ageing population. This has possible alignment to Goal 1 of the Plan, as the work could be adapted for CPD for Members. There is definite alignment to Goal 3 of the Plan and is a very topical issue in Australia. The PIWG paper Determination of Retirement and Eligibility Ages: Actuarial, Social and Economic Impacts will be used to inform policy makers and journalists. It may also encourage Australian actuaries to be more involved in social security and therefore aligned to Goal 5 of the Plan. Of interest to the Professional N:\COMMITTEES\Council Committees\International\2015\Council paper - IAA Vancouver Meetings - Dec 2015 - final.docx Page 3 of 7
Committee Action items Standards Committee, the Health Practice Committee, the Public Policy Council Committee and the General Insurance Practice Committee (National Disability Insurance Scheme). The PIWG is preparing a paper on Long Term Care with the first draft to be available in St Petersburg in May 2016. Once paper completed, could be aligned to Goals 1, 3 and 5 of the Plan, but will need to see the first draft before deciding on its use for the Australian profession. Mortality Working Group Presentation on the Human Mortality Database (HMD) Major source of information in human mortality. It is facing a funding crisis and the Institute will discuss with the Financial Services Council whether it could assist. Chief Executive Officers Meeting State of the profession survey. Phase 1 surveying certain member associations The Institute to be included in the next meeting in St Petersburg. Australia is not yet committed to the survey, although it has indicated support in principle. Phase 2 white paper for discussion in Cape Town November 2016 Presidents Forum Under Any Other Business, Lindsay Smartt (LS) raised the need for a conversation on Analytics. IFA, SOA, CAS and ASSA had all expressed support for this. LS to have input to the agenda for the IAA s St Petersburg meeting. Advice and Assistance Committee IAA Fund meeting in Bangkok in November. Jules Gribble has been appointed Vice Chair of the Asia The IAA Fund held its meeting after the Asian Actuarial Conference (AAC). The President attended, but was not asked to speak. The ICC s Convenor to discuss with Jules Gribble. Annual conference now being held in conjunction with the AAC. Australia should participate more strongly. N:\COMMITTEES\Council Committees\International\2015\Council paper - IAA Vancouver Meetings - Dec 2015 - final.docx Page 4 of 7
Committee Sub-Committee. Action items Aligned to Goals 1, 3 and 4 of the Plan. Scientific Committee This Committee is interested in Banking and Data Analytics. Opportunity for Institute Members to be further involved if working groups are established in these areas. ERM Taskforce of the Actuarial Standards Committee (ASC) Once the draft ISAP 5 has progressed, drafting of ISAP 6 on ERM Programs and IAIS Insurance Core Principles will commence. Both of these ISAPs will be exposed in due course for comment by FMAs. The Institute will review and provide comments. These ISAPs may eventually have direct relevance to Institute Members providing advice on regulatory solvency/capital models and ERM frameworks. A key consideration will be whether the scope of the ISAPs is appropriate from the Institute s perspective. The potential for further ERM-related ISAPs in support of the IAIS Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) should be noted and the Institute s view of this determined. N:\COMMITTEES\Council Committees\International\2015\Council paper - IAA Vancouver Meetings - Dec 2015 - final.docx Page 5 of 7
Non-official IAA meetings The IAA meetings provide an ideal opportunity for Australian representatives to hold meetings of mutual interest with actuaries from other geographies: Meeting Action plans Joint Education Forum A forum for the actuarial educating bodies to be informed of global developments in education. This meeting continues to be highly relevant for the Institute. Strong involvement from the Institute representative should be maintained. It is an important forum outside the IAA meetings, as it provides the opportunity for the Actuaries Institute to learn what other countries are doing in the education area. Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFA) meeting IFA is undergoing a major strategic review in respect of Education, Regulation, Public Relations and Member Support. Work closely with IFA on new IAA syllabus - aligned to Goal 1 of the Plan. Work with IFA on CPD events in Asia aligned to Goal 4 of the Plan. Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) meeting Australia appears ahead in banking and data analytics, but important to keep abreast of what the IFA is doing in these areas. CAS is enthusiastic about working with the Institute on Asian CPD events. Interest in data analytics. Head of Learning to liaise with CAS on CPD in Asia aligned to Goal 4 of the Plan. CAS is also interested in joining in with the IFA/SOA Asian initiative. President to speak to Bob Miccolis and Bob Conger at ACC. Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) meeting MRA was signed with ASSA. Promoted to Members through: the Weekly Bulletin; separate special emails to Fellows and Associates; announcement on the Institute s company LinkedIn page; and has been uploaded to the Institute s website. N:\COMMITTEES\Council Committees\International\2015\Council paper - IAA Vancouver Meetings - Dec 2015 - final.docx Page 6 of 7
Meeting IAA meetings being held in Cape Town in November 2016. ASSA will hold its Convention immediately following. ASSA is rewriting its pension course, along similar lines to Australia s. Action plans Australia will promote ASSA s Convention to its Members. Continue to work with ASSA on education initiatives in banking, pensions and data analytics. Society of Actuaries (SOA) meeting Two major topics were raised: Centers of Actuarial Excellence (CAE), and Collaboration on CPD in Asia Australia raised its concerns about the SOA s CAEs. The CEO has discussed with the CEO of SOA. Australia (Education Development Group) to evaluate the effect on universities being granted CAE status. Asia Strategy Working Group to also be kept updated with developments and include mention in its report to Council in December 2015. Work with SOA on CPD developments in Asia. N:\COMMITTEES\Council Committees\International\2015\Council paper - IAA Vancouver Meetings - Dec 2015 - final.docx Page 7 of 7