)
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), the UK-based chartered professional body dedicated to educating, developing and regulating actuaries based in UK and internationally is introducing a new course for individuals, who do not want to pursue actuarial courses for 8-10 years.
The programme, Certified Actuarial Analyst can be completed in two to three years (depending on the student's pace) and will be offered from 2014 onwards.
Derek Cribb, Chief Executive of IFOA said that this is new membership qualification from the institute which is designed to give those working in actuarial support roles and the broader financial services sector a path to acquire technical skills.
Also Read
"A Fellowship qualification may not be right for everyone. There are individuals who want to pursue qualifications that can be completed in a shorter duration. Hence, we decided to introduce this qualification," he added.
An actuary in an insurance company helps assess a risk and price it accordingly. Apart from insurance companies, accounting firms and pension firms also employ actuaries. In India, there is a dearth of actuaries who have completed all the papers. To be a qualified actuary, an individual needs to be accredited by a body like the Institute of Actuaries of India. This is done after a prospective candidate clears all 15 papers in actuarial science and gets a fellowship.
Companies also appoint individuals who have passed 10 papers as an associate in the actuarial department. There are only about 300 fully qualified (those who have cleared all 15 papers) actuaries in India.
Actuarial professionals put the drop-out rate at 40-45%. This includes both drop-outs from institutes and entry level drop-outs from companies. In the actuarial courses offered by institutes too, students mandatorily work as interns in the actuary department of a company, while studying.
The Certified Actuarial Analyst qualification has been developed by IFOA in response to employer and employee demand, and a survey carried out by the Institute on the same had positive responses.
Cribb said that the Certified Actuarial Analyst proposal supports the public interest objective in our Charter by professionalising actuarial support roles; bringing those undertaking these roles into our regulatory framework; and promoting awareness of actuarial science.
"India is a key market for us. Hence, this new qualification would be beneficial for professionals and students who have not been able to complete the qualifications needed to become a qualified actuary. We are also looking at giving some leeway to these individuals with respect to the exam modules, for those who have completed some papers of study.
The qualification consists of an entry test (Module 0) which candidates will have to pass before taking the further five exam Modules (Modules 1-5) which will in turn focus mainly on calculations and book-work. Module 0 will be available to non-members.
Modules 1-4 will cover: Finance and Financial Mathematics, Statistics and Models, Long Term Actuarial Mathematics, and Short Term Actuarial Mathematics. Module 5 (Models and Audit Trails) is a practical exam, delivered online. There will also be a work based skills requirement.
According to Cribb, a conversion course could be developed for fully qualified Certified Actuarial Analysts who want to move up to the Fellowship pathway. This would be made available at a later stage, if there is a demand, he said.
Apart from this, IFOA has established the Actuarial Research Centre (ARC), in partnership with the Scottish Financial Risk Academy (SFRA). The ARC works by supporting students from academia and the actuarial profession from around the world by providing PhD scholarships and access to academic and commercial sponsors with the right experience to oversee and guide them in their research.
