Professional Standards Exploring the Rationale

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Professional Standards Exploring the Rationale
Fred RowleySenior Vice-PresidentInstitute of
Actuaries of Australia
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Drivers

• Issues New roles/ Penrose-Morris/ Time
• Taskforces initiated in 2005 to consider
• Professional Standards
• Code of Professional Conduct
• Disciplinary Scheme
• Governance .. CPD .. EPR
• Taskforces in 2006 working on
• GI liability standards
• GI Health FCRs
• Review of all standards

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Recommendations

• Standards clearer and more enforceable
• Code more comprehensive and binding, including
  presentational requirements
• Standards Committee has external members ( 2
  non-actuaries out of 7 )
• Disciplinary Scheme revised to be consistent with
  Code Standards

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Scope of Professional Standards

• Spectrum of views
• only where there is Regulatory mandate?
• all material work in all practice areas?
• Key question when is it justifiable for a
  Professional Body to restrict its members
  behaviour?
• Key tension material public interest versus
  commercial considerations

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Regulatory Co-operation

• Can regulate our Members conduct not the
  entitys conduct
• How well do the two Disciplinary process
  apply/interact?
• What impact does Privacy law have?
• Limits on what professional discipline can
  achieve in some cases

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Our Answers

• Professional Standards are most justifiable if
  there is a legal/regulatory mandate or(a) there
  is sufficient professional consensus on methods,
  and (b) public interest considerations override
  members commercial considerations
• Otherwise, a comprehensive Code of Professional
  Conduct, coupled with Practice Guidelines setting
  out generally accepted actuarial principles,
  usually sufficient

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Constraints on Standards

• Must do
• recognise the background law and regulation
• recognise the extent of, and limitations on, the
  role powers of the regulator, the supervisor,
  and the Institute
• make clear, unambiguous and enforceable
  standards, consistent with the regulatory intent,
  where relevant
• make the scope consistent with the binding
  nature, recognising members commercial position
• Must avoid
• making member accountable for entitys actions
• trying to extend the scope of regulation
• requiring a breach of contract when the law
  doesnt require or support it
• asking the impossible

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Cycle of Regulation

• Scope and nature of Professional Standards varies
  over a cycle of actuarial involvement
• practice area develops
• consensus on approach and methods
• self-regulation
• regulatory involvement builds (or not)
• regulatory co-operation (or not)

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Standards Depend on the Application

• The scope and content of Professional Standards
  should be appropriate to each situation
• No one size fits all approach
• Standards where there is a Regulatory mandate, or
  a strong public interest consideration that
  overrides commercial considerations for members
• Strong Code and Practice Guidelines address less
  material areas outside Regulatory focus

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Public Policy Reaching for Influence
Fred RowleySenior Vice-PresidentInstitute of
Actuaries of Australia
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Objectives

• The Institutes objectives in participating in
  the Public Policy arena are to
• influence government and industry through
  contributions to public policy and debate, and by
  doing so, to .
• extend the influence, position and profile of the
  Institute and the profession, and to .
• increase awareness, credibility and respect for
  members of the profession

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Approach

• The Institutes approach involves
• Maintaining key relationships
• Monitoring issues and emerging trends
• Targeting issues where actuaries can best add
  value
• Engaging members in the policy development
  processes, through the Practice Committees
• Effective and strategic use of the media

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Simplified Tax on Super

• Maintained relationships with Treasury,
  ministerial advisors (et al)
• Put together a team with top-level technical
  skills and political savvy
• Modeled the impact of various reform proposals,
  through SEBPC members
• Media impact planned
• Media lunch and attendances at specific
  conferences

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Thank you !
Fred RowleySenior Vice-PresidentInstitute of
Actuaries of Australia