Meeting of the International Financial Reporting Standards Advisory Council—UK
Micheline Dionne, IAA appointed Delegate and member of the International Financial Reporting Standards Advisory Council (IFRS AC), attended a meeting of the AC in February. Its role is to give strategic advice to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and trustees of the IFRS Foundation. The meeting covered the release in January of IFRS 16 on leases; the priority given to the finalization of the IFRS on insurance contracts, which is targeted for release at the end of 2016; and the value of wider corporate reporting. Also on the agenda were a review of the IFRS Foundation’s structure and effectiveness, the changing role of technology, and approaches to disclosing climate-related risks. Unofficial discussions were held to continue the IAA support on the discount rate project.
Geneva Association PROGRES Seminar—Switzerland
Dave Sandberg, Chair of the Insurance Regulation Committee, attended the PROGRES Seminar in February and met with Peter Skjoedt, Director, Financial Stability and Regulation, at the Geneva Association. The upcoming release of the Global Climate Change Index, the IAA Risk Book Project, and other possible collaborations were discussed.
Workshop on Actuarial Science and Financial Mathematics—Nigeria
The Association pour la Promotion des Sciences Actuarielles/Ecole Supérieure d’Actuariat in Benin (APSA/ESA) and National Insurance Commission (Naicom) hosted a workshop in February. It was attended by 70 people (mainly financial sector decision-makers and academics, such as the deans of mathematics departments from universities in Nigeria, plus students). This added immensely to the quality of the discussion.
 Edward J. Levay, a Past President of the IAA (2002) and past Chairman of the ASTIN and AWB Sections, a presentation on the IAA’s activities, and on professionalism.
The workshop agenda included the following topics and, along with the presentations, can be found on the Events page on the ESA website:
- An introduction to the Actuarial Sciences for Africa initiative, and a description of its actuaries’ work to develop actuarial capabilities in west Africa
- The IAA’s organization and activities, plus professionalism
- The insurance industry education initiative to develop the insurance market through the Centre for Insurance and Financial Management Studies
- The Nigerian Actuarial Society and the actuarial profession in Nigeria
- The GIZ Nigeria Financial System Development Programme
The participants agreed that the workshop is a step forward to promote and develop the actuarial profession in Nigeria, for financial Institutions and for the economy as a whole.
After the workshop a meeting with the Naicom management took place to exchange views on the training and coaching of their staff.
Part of the workshop focused on the University of Benin, or UAC, a state-owned university that has more than 80,000 students, including some from Benin, Côte-d’Ivore, Togo, and Cameroon who are studying for a master’s in actuarial sciences that is run with the assistance of Actuarial Sciences for Africa in Germany and the APSA/ESA.
Following this event, Edward Levay gave another presentation on the IAA to actuarial science students in actuarial science and professionals, in Cotonou, Benin.
Workshop on Pensions—France
IAA Past President (2014) Rob Brown attended a workshop on pensions in March that was staged by Eurostat and the International Monetary Fund, International Labour Organization, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
It featured a meeting headed by Eurostat looking at accounting approaches for social security systems and an OECD workshop on reporting net valuation values for social security systems and public sector pension plans. The attendees included representatives of the sponsoring agencies plus the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board, International Social Security Association, World Bank, Bank for International Settlements and European Commission. Also present were representatives of 25 European countries plus Canada, the U.S., and Russia. The vast majority were statisticians from national bodies or accountants, along with economists and several actuaries, some of whom spoke as part of the program.
It was clear that the actuaries present agreed on many issues regarding social security valuations. This level of agreement led to calls for them to be present at future meetings for continuing discussions on this subject.
Spring Meetings, Actuarial Association of Europe (AAE)—Cyprus
In March, President Malcolm Campbell attended the spring meetings of the AAE’s committees on Insurance and on Standards, Professionalism and Freedoms. Much of the discussion in Europe is still about Solvency II, but the focus now is on implementation and the consequences of the regulation. The AAE is also very active in setting up model standards that relate to Solvency II and complement the IAA’s own model standards.
20th Anniversary, Croatian Actuarial Association (Hrvatsko aktuarsko društvo)
On April 1, approximately 80 people met to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Hrvatsko aktuarsko društvo (HAD). The Croatian association has grown rapidly from an initial membership of 15 to more than 100. President Malcolm Campbell was in attendance and, on behalf of the IAA, presented a plaque to HAD President Ksenija Sanjkovic congratulating the HAD on its achievements and wishing them continued success for years to come.
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