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I
n June, the International Actuarial
Association (IAA) celebrated its 10th
anniversary. In reality, however, its roots
can be traced back over 100 years.
In the late 19th century, a draft law
was submitted to the Belgian Parliament,
assigning an important role to actuaries.
During the debate, an MP asked what
an actuary was, as he could not find
a definition of the word, and it was
subsequently dropped from the text.
To demonstrate that actuaries were
active in other countries, a group from the
Belgian actuarial profession organised the
1895 Congress of Actuaries in Brussels and
persuaded the Belgian government to invite
delegates from other nations.
The IAA flourished as the body responsible
for organising an International Congress of
Actuaries every few years, at venues all over
the world, with the 1898, 1927 and 1964
Congresses being held in the UK.
In 1992, at the Congress in Montreal,
Paul McCrossan, then President of the
Canadian Institute of Actuaries, suggested
the establishment of an international body
to represent the actuarial associations,
with a focus on promoting professionalism
and addressing public interest issues.
This group continued to meet, expanded
its membership, and became known
as the McCrossan group. It led to the
establishment of the International Forum of
Actuarial Associations (IFAA) as a section of
the IAA at the Brussels Congress in 1995.
Special interests
No sooner was the IFAA established than the
IAA began to warm to the idea of turning
itself into an association of associations,
with the 1998 Congress in Birmingham an
important turning point.
The individual actuary focus of the old
IAA was carried forward by the continued
organisation of congresses and the
proliferation of sections, supervised by the
member services committee. In recent years,
sections have been formed to meet the needs
of life actuaries (IAALIFE), health actuaries
(IAAHS), pensions and social security actuaries
(PBSS) and consulting actuaries (IACA), the
latter having previously been an independent
organisation established in 1968.
The last of the new sections is called
Actuaries without Frontiers (AWF) and seeks
to identify and meet demands for actuarial
services in less developed areas.
High achievers
After 10 years, it is healthy to look back
and review what the new IAA has achieved.
It now has 58 actuarial associations as full
members and 23 as associate members. Full
members have in place a Code of Conduct
meeting the IAA requirements, a fair and
effective discipline system, a due process
for approving standards of practice and
an education system to ensure minimum
IAA requirements are met. In total, the 81
associations represent more than 43 000
actuaries in 102 countries.
The main activities of the IAA are
carried out by its many committees,
with strong efforts being made
to achieve consensus. Impressive
progress has been achieved by
the committees that deal with
international accounting standards and with
insurance solvency.
Each of these committees has built up
strong relationships with corresponding
international bodies, such as the
International Accounting Standards Board
and the International Association
of Insurance Supervisors. They work
relentlessly, responding to consultation
documents and exposure drafts, seeking to
bring an actuarial perspective and influence
developments for the public good. Other
committees deal with pensions, social
security and financial risk and have good
links with other international bodies.
Another group is concerned with the
development and policing of the IAA
education requirements, the vetting of
applications for membership and discussion of
professionalism issues.
Continued expansion
The past 20 years have seen an extraordinary
expansion of the profession, with more than
30 new actuarial associations established. In
May 2008, the China Association of Actuaries
held its launch meeting, with representatives
present from the IAA and major associations,
including the UK profession. The latest
initiative from the IAA is an ambitious
International Actuarial Education Programme.
The new IAA has been extraordinarily
successful in its first 10 years in developing
a global profession with a huge range of
activities and influence. With hundreds of
volunteers participating from around the
globe, including a generous share from the
UK Actuarial Profession, we can expect the
IAA to go from strength to strength in the
next decade.
.
For the full version of this article visit www.the-
actuary.org.uk/814432
More information on the International Actuarial
Association can be found at www.actuaries.org
World association
As the IAA celebrates its 10th anniversary, Chris Daykin traces the association's
heritage and looks at its significant achievements to date
Chris Daykin is a past
chairman of the IFAA
and is chairman of
the PBSS section of
the IAA.
International IAA
40 October 2008
�In total, the 81 associations
represent more than 43 000
actuaries in 102 countries �

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