President’s Report to Members – December Council Meeting

2019 President Nicolette Rubinsztein reports on the key issues discussed, and the decisions made, at the Actuaries Institute Council meeting held on 11 December 2019.

This is my final report updating members on the decisions made by Council at meeting on 11 December 2019. Once again, the meeting was busy with important discussions held on a range of agenda items.

Election of Vice President

Annette King nominated for the role of 2020 Vice President and was elected.

Council meeting CEO Report

Elayne reported that the Institute has achieved a great deal this year in terms of both BAU and strategic projects. Some recent highlights included the Appointed Actuaries Forum, Data Analytics Masterclass, Future of Health Seminar, Injury and Disability Schemes Seminar and the IAA meetings in Tokyo. Regular interaction has increased with APRA and ASIC meetings having been held. The CPD platform has now been developed and will (for example) allow articles read to be logged directly into members’ CPD record on the Dashboard. A demonstration of the CPD platform’s capabilities will be provided at the March 2020 Council meeting.

To ensure the general insurance companies are aware of the 2020 Events Program, particularly the All-Actuaries Summit being held in June, a short summary of upcoming events and who would benefit most from attending will be provided.

Elayne also advised that Tan Suee Chieh, the president-elect of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK, will most likely be visiting Sydney in early 2020.

Employee Engagement Survey

The HQ Team completed the Employee Engagement Survey in November. The results were summarised to Council. Details of the survey results will be shared with the team in early 2020, successes will be celebrated and areas for improvement discussed.

Education update

The first two new subjects for the Fellowship Program – Life Insurance and Retirement Valuation and Life Insurance and Retirement Product Development have been delivered. Two Applications subjects were also developed in 2019 for delivery in 2020. These subjects take the underlying principles from the Fellowship subjects, in the context of the Australian regulatory and business environment and consider how the principles are applied in practice.

The Actuary Program requires students to complete two subjects, the Actuarial Control Cycle and Data Analytics Principles through an accredited university. The Education Development and Delivery Team have finalised the syllabus for both these subjects. Two new subjects for the Actuary Program – Asset and Liability Management and Communication, Modelling and Professionalism have been developed for delivery in 2020.

The textbook, Understanding Actuarial Management – the Actuarial Control Cycle, developed jointly with the Society of Actuaries (SOA), was discussed. A decision on whether the book should be updated and how the arrangement with the SOA should be progressed will be finalised at the March 2020 Council Meeting.

ICA2022 Steering Committee Update

Councillor Annette King advised that the ICA2022 Organising Committee is working well and that the Sponsorship Committee continues to seek sponsors for the Congress. The grant for the NSW Government of $80-$100K will be dependent on delegate numbers and where they come from.

Strategic Plan 2019-2020

Council noted that overall, most milestones have been achieved and that the 2020 goals have been updated since the Council Strategy Day in September 2019. The new strategy will be reviewed in June 2020.

Asia and China Strategy Action Plan

Councillor Steve Hui advised that an Asia Taskforce has been established to deliver on the action items noting that resourcing and prioritisation is key to what can be accomplished over the next 12 months.  

Committee and Working Groups Update

Professional Standards Committee: Convenor Clive Aaron advised that the PSC had been particularly busy over the past few years placing a strain on volunteer resources and HQ support. Council resolved to provide in-principle support for the PSC to investigate a structure (and associated resourcing requirements) whereby it assumes accountability for the oversight of all Institute professional regulation material.

Risk Management Practice Committee: Convenor Susan Looi and Vanessa Beenders gave an overview of RMPC activities and discussed the proposal to present a paper on non-financial risks at the 20/20 All-Actuaries Summit highlighting that risk management crosses all practice areas. There was discussion on the CERA qualification and how it is highly regarded by employers.

Diversity and Inclusion Working Group: Convenor Lesley Traverso and Katrina McFadyen advised that the DIWG will look further into the Bamboo Ceiling in 2020 identifying where the issues are and what can be done. Consideration is also being given to supporting indigenous initiatives. Council noted that posting the rainbow logo on the Institute’s website in support of the LGBTQI community in March was well received by members. Noting that Lesley Traverso has resigned from the role of DIWG Convenor, Council expressed their thanks for her work and leadership of the DIWG, Co-chairing the ICA2022 Marketing Sub-committee and other committees that she has generously volunteered on over the years.

CPD Committee: Councillor Jules Gribble reported that there a currently 17 members on the committee and that they are planning to collect feedback throughout 2020 and develop recommendations to bring back to Council in December. An interim report will be prepared for the Council Strategy Day being held in June 2020. It was also agreed that an overview of the Actuarial Society of South Africa’s CPD Program will be provided at the March Council Meeting.

Young Actuaries Council Proposal

Senior Vice President Hoa Bui spoke to her proposal to establish a Young Actuaries Council (under 35), with the convenor attending Council meetings to represent the views of younger members noting that this engagement is important to the future of the profession.

Council was supportive of the proposal and suggested that the group’s name could be Young Actuaries Advisory Board to ensure the governance between both groups is clear. It was resolved that Hoa would engage a group of younger members to come back Council with their ideas on how to better engage young members.

Finance and Management

The proposed budget and capital expenditure for 2020 was approved. The proposed changes to the timeline for the HQ Team’s remuneration adjustments was approved.

HQ Success Stories

Elayne gave a demonstration of the improved member data analytics via the Tableau platform. Council commended HQ for advancing this initiative to enable the provision of more tailored communications and information for members.

Next meeting

The next Council meeting is on Wednesday 11 March 2020

Thank you

It has been a privilege to serve as your President in 2019, I have enjoyed the year enormously. A huge thank you to Elayne and the HQ Team, our Council members and all our volunteers. I think our profession is in very good shape and is continuing to advance.

Feedback please

If you would like to provide some feedback or comments, please contact one of your councillors below.

Nicolette Rubinsztein (2019 President)
Hoa Bui (2020 President)
Jefferson Gibbs (Senior Vice President)
Annette King (Vice President)
Naomi Edwards
Jules Gribble
Steve Hui
Iris Lun
Darren Stevens
David Whittle

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