News in brief

Annual report published
The annual report of the Councils of the Faculty and the Institute of Actuaries has been published. The report can be downloaded from the Profession’s website. A limited number of hard copies are available at all three office locations. Copies were also available at the Faculty OGM on 23 June 2008 and will be available at the Institute AGM on 30 June 2008.

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New faces
Seamus Creedon replaced Ronnie Bowie as chairman of the member support executive committee at the end of June. Nick Salter replaced Seamus Creedon as deputy chairman of the member support executive committee. Gordon Sharp replaced Brian Ridsdale as chairman of the CMI executive committee at the end of June.

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Book now for stochastic reserving and modelling seminar
Quantifying reserving uncertainty will become increasingly important under Solvency II and International Accounting Standards. This two-day seminar, 3-4 July at Staple Inn, will introduce and explore stochastic methods through a series of lectures and hands-on working examples. Aimed at actuaries and others wishing to gain practical experience in the application of stochastic reserving methods to estimate reserve uncertainty, no previous experience in this area is required. For more details, please visit www.actuaries.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/132222/StochasticReserving20080703.pdf

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FRC appoints director of actuarial standards
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has announced the appointment of Louise Pryor FIA as director of actuarial standards. She qualified in 1987 and has been involved in financial modelling and risk management for more than 25 years, as a university lecturer, a software developer and consultant, and a consulting actuary in both life and general insurance. She has also been a project director of the Board for Actuarial Standards (BAS) since 2007 and was responsible for a recent discussion paper on actuarial mortality assumptions. In her new role, Ms Pryor will lead the programme of transition for BAS, from guidance notes to the new technical actuarial standards issued by BAS.

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FSA appoints new chairman
Lord Adair Turner, pictured above, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Lord Turner will take up his appointment in September, when Sir Callum McCarthy steps down, for a period of five years. Lord Turner is a British businessman and academic, and is currently chairman to the Economic and Social Research Council. He is also non-executive director for business groups including Standard Chartered, Siemens and Paternoster. Announcing the appointment, the Chancellor, Alastair Darling, said Lord Turner’s expertise would be invaluable in driving forward the FSA’s objectives of maintaining confidence in the financial system, promoting public understanding, protecting consumers and reducing financial crime.

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Register for your ERM email update
Have you registered to receive your monthly update from the enterprise risk managemement (ERM) practice area? If you would like to receive news of events and activities, please update your personal profile on the members’ section of the website to indicate your interest in ERM. You can also contact Mark Symons at mark.symons@actuaries.org.uk or +44 (0)20 7632 2133. The date has been set for the next global webinar on ERM — 10 December 2008. More details to follow.

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ACA appoints new chairman
The Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has appointed Keith Barton FIA as its chairman. He took over from outgoing chairman Ian Farr on 1 June 2008. Mr Barton has worked for consulting actuaries Hewitt Associates for 30 years and is scheme actuary for a number of large pension plans. He is also chairman of the trustees of the company’s own pension fund.

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Actuaries on the Street
A recent episode of ITV’s Coronation Street featured a reference to actuaries. In a brief conversation about turf accountants, one character described actuaries as dealing in risk and working for insurance companies.