Current CAS Issues and Directions

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Current CAS Issues and Directions
Roosevelt C. Mosley, FCAS, MAAA SWAF Summer 2007
Meeting June 5, 2007, Austin, TX
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Agenda

• CAS Education Strategy Update
• Other Education Issues
• CAS Centennial Goal
• ERM Initiatives
• Other News
• Your Input

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Update on Education Strategy Background

• Task Force on Review of Education and Examination
  Process and Procedures 1998
• Chauncey Group 2000
• Future Education Task Force 2002
• Task Force on FCAS Education 2004
• Board Task Force on FCAS Education - 2005
• Special Board Meeting January, 2006
• Produced White Paper Based on Board Discussion

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Update on Education Strategy

• White Paper on CAS Education Strategy
• Released in November 2006
• Feedback invited via online survey through
  January 2007.
• Several significant proposed changed to education
• Board discussed feedback in March 2007.

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Update on Education Strategy

• Reasons for New Strategy
• Expanding scope of practices
• Some new areas are not conducive to traditional
  testing
• Not all skills need same level of mastery
• Balance of increasing syllabus materials and
  travel time

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Update onEducation Strategy

• White Paper on Education Proposals
• Mastery vs. familiarity
• Optional elective capabilities
• Optional tracks for Fellowship
• Enhanced continuing education program
• Non-exam evaluation methods
• Improved education material

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Update on Education Strategy

• Summary of Feedback
• Fellowship tracks did not garner broad support
  concern with impeding career mobility.
• Providing more rigorous continuing education
  offerings was strongly supported.
• Required workshops for basic education some
  support for testing knowledge and skills.
• Other feedback
• Desire for improved study materials

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Survey of Stakeholders- Results

• More than 8 in 10 agreed with Mastery of some
  material, familiarity with others.
• Only 10 disagreed with more rigorous CPD
  opportunities
• Certificates of Achievement in specialty areas
  45 agreed, 44 disagreed, 22 no opinion
• Plus 206 written comments!

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Survey Comments- Themes

• Survey was slanted towards favorable answers.
• Specialization certificates would make it hard to
  
• move into other areas.
• VEE not a good idea- people will shop for
  easiest
• courses, career-changers dont want to/cant
  go
• back to college
• We have a lot to gain if we just improve current
  exams.
• Give upper exams twice a year.
• Why are we using the SOA as a role model?

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Comments- More Themes

• Exams are a barrier to entry designed by a small
  group of elites who want to keep themselves
  expensive and dont want to dilute the ACAS/FCAS
  designation.
• Make sure this credential means something.
• Exams cannot make people experts- only
  experience can.
• We need other delivery methods besides
  closed-book exams.
• CPD requirements- good or bad?
• Stop jerking us around!

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Update on Education Strategy

• Next Steps
• Board held lengthy discussion during meeting in
  March.
• Small task force of the Board formed to review
  the feedback to the White Paper in more detail
  and consider the comments of the Board.
• Board will discuss issue again in June 2007.

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Update on Education Strategy

• No implementation timeline has been contemplated
  at this point.
• We will not have details on implementation until
  we first agree on the strategy that is to be
  implemented.
• Implementation will not occur for several years.
• Implementation plan will include a transition
  strategy designed to minimize disruption for
  candidates.

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Other Education Issues - Improved Educational
Materials

• Board established the Task Force on Developing
  Education Materials.
• Task Force issued two Requests For Proposals for
  authors to create educational publications on
  (1) ratemaking and (2) reserving. 
• Proposals were due March 30, 2007.
• Board to decide on awarding contracts during June
  2007 meeting.

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Other Education Issues - Candidate Code of
Conduct

• Board approved adoption of a Code of Professional
  Ethics for Candidates, and Rules of Procedure for
  Disciplinary Actions Involving Candidates
• Purpose to require Actuarial Candidates to
  adhere to the high standards of conduct,
  practice, and qualifications of the actuarial
  profession.
• Effective with registration for the 2008 Spring
  exam sitting.

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CAS Centennial Goal

• March 2003
• CAS Board adopted the Centennial Goal.
• November 2006
• LRPC presented its annual report to the Board
  Board agreed to revisit the goal.
• March 2007
• Board reaffirmed the long-term vision for CAS
  approved refreshed wording for the Goal.

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CAS Centennial Goal

• The CAS will be recognized globally as a leading
  resource in educating casualty actuaries and
  conducting research in casualty actuarial
  science. CAS members will advance their
  expertise in pricing, reserving, and capital
  modeling and leverage their skills in risk
  analysis to become recognized as experts in the
  evaluation of enterprise risks, particularly for
  the property and casualty insurance industry.

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ERM Initiatives

• ERM Vision
• 2007 ERM Symposium
• Online Course Introduction to ERM
• 2007 CAS Spring Meeting ERM track (six
  sessions)
• CAS ERM Committee

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CRUSAP

• Critical Review of the U.S. Actuarial Profession
  (CRUSAP) Task Force issued its final report (see
  www.crusap.net).
• Board discussed report in March 2007.
• Agreed that Council of US Presidents (CUSP) will
  focus on professions reaction to the report.
• Board to receive and review CUSP proposed
  responses at future Board meetings.

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Board Governance

• Fellows approved changes to the Constitution in
  2006 to allow the CAS to appoint additional board
  members to the CAS Board of Directors.
• Board approved the appointment of Mark Vonnahme
  to the Board in March, making him the first
  non-actuary to serve the CAS in this capacity.

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New CAS Journal
www.VarianceJournal.org
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Image of the Actuary Campaign

• Profession-wide campaign.
• Image Advisory Group, made up of members from
  each of the North American actuarial
  organizations, oversees campaign.
• www.imageoftheactuary.org/ for more information.

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2007 Calendar of Events

• Spring MeetingJune 17-20, 2007, Orlando
• ASTIN ColloquiumJune 19-22, 2007, Orlando
• Limited Attendance Reinsurance SeminarJuly 16,
  2007, London
• CLRSSeptember 10-11, 2007, San Diego
• Annual MeetingNovember 11-14, 2007, Chicago

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ASTIN 2007

• CAS is host of the 2007 ASTIN Colloquium
  ASTINs 50th Anniversary!
• Immediately follows the 2007 CAS Spring Meeting,
  with a joint day of sessions.
• http//www.actuaries.org/ASTIN2007/

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I welcome your input regarding . . .

• CAS Education Strategy
• CAS Centennial Goal / ERM Initiatives
• CAS Publications and Research
• Image of the Actuary Campaign
• 2007 Calendar of Events
• Other Topics
• Questions?

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• Thank You!

Roosevelt C. Mosley, FCAS, MAAA SWAF Summer 2007
Meeting June 5, 2007, Austin, TX