CAS Convenes Annual Leadership Meeting

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Sixty CAS leaders met here on March 23 to brainstorm and discuss the future of the CAS. President-Elect Pat Grannan welcomed the attendees, who were committee chairs, Regional Affiliate presidents, exam committee general officers and part chairs, and members of the Executive Council. The attendees discussed the CAS's international role, future research and continuing education, and alternative approaches to basic education.

In his report on the actions of the CAS Task Force on Nontraditional Practice Areas, task force chair Mike Miller said that his group determined that it was impossible to identify all areas into which actuaries would move. Among the task force's recommendations, Miller related that proactive councils for each practice area should be allowed to evolve into special interest sections, which could be the primary vehicles for delivering continuing education and research.

Mavis Walters, chair of the CEO Advisory Task Force, presented some of the key findings of the CEO Survey. The task force was charged with identifying the needs of potential customers and employers of actuarial services and exploring how actuaries might best meet those needs. Task force members conducted interviews in 1999 with 14 P/C insurance industry leaders.

Walters related that to some CEOs it seemed that actuaries were risk averse in their own careers. In general CEOs tapped actuaries for nontraditional roles and promotions—actuaries did not approach management. Walters also spoke of the need for younger actuaries to have opportunities to solve problems and the importance of their developing strategic business skills and focusing on customer issues. (To view the entire report, see http://www.casact.org/about/reports/ceo.htm.)

LeRoy Boison, vice president-international, asked CAS leaders to deliberate on how to help CAS members practice abroad and whether the CAS should work with developing nations and assist in teaching actuarial practice. Questions of whether the CAS should be more proactive internationally and how much the society should take on were also discussed in breakout sessions.

Dale Porfilio, chair of the new Joint CAS, CIA, and SOA Committee on Academic Relations, spoke on the relationship of the CAS with the academic community. He urged members to offer feedback on a white paper developed on the subject.

Robert Brown, SOA president-elect, revisited the "Big Tent" concept in which actuaries would be recognized as the leading professionals in modeling and management of financial risk and contingent events. Offering a modification of the concept discussed at last year's meeting, Brown described several proposed tactics to create an organization to accommodate Big Tent, including inviting groups like the CFAs, the International Association of Financial Engineers, and the Global Association of Risk Professionals to become members. Members of these groups could be recognized either with an FSA, honorary FSA, or Affiliate memberships.

Another proposed tactic involved starting new practice areas within the SOA, such as for financial engineering. These practice areas would be highly independent and would be responsible for determining their own qualification requirements. Using a concept he named "Alpha" with the visual diagram of a flower, Brown showed how the various practice areas would radiate like petals around a core organization.

Summaries of the meeting's breakout sessions are being compiled and will be reviewed by the Long Range Planning Committee, Executive Council, and Board of Directors.