News & Views

We would like to introduce two new members of senior staff, Phil Creswell and Alan Reed, who have joined APR to further develop our ability to offer innovative and varied solutions to our clients’ actuarial needs.

IFRS 17 projects have been afforded a breather with another year’s delay to the standard implementation date. James Nicholl takes a high-level view of some of the key areas in IFRS 17 and how this year can best be used to consolidate work to date and prepare for a smooth go live process.

At APR we like to think that documentation is one of our core strengths, from our partners right down to our most junior staff. We actively train all new joiners to ensure they can document their work effectively. As a sneak peek of how we approach this training, Michael Scanlon looks at the considerations a student or analyst should take when documenting tools or models they develop.

Claydon Peaker has interviewed several APR actuarial staff, including some with very little prior WFH experience, to discover how they are finding the move to enforced permanent home-working. We hope this will give some insight into how our team is coping.

Imelda Barnes lays out APR’s summary of both APS X2, the IFoA’s standard on reviewing actuarial work, and their post implementation review into this standard. We also explore how we meet these requirements here at APR and how we ensure compliance with wider professional standards.

With the changes to the IR35 rules now less than a month away, the landscape is beginning to look clearer but there is still plenty of work to be done to prepare. Our latest article on the topic gives an update on recent developments and looks ahead to how the market might look post-April.

Data science is an area that provides opportunities for actuaries to make good use of their skill sets, but up until now this has not been recognised explicitly in the actuarial curriculum. All that is set to change, and Chris Bryce interviews Colin Thores, Education Actuary at the IFoA, to find out more about the new Certificate in Data Science qualification.

Sunday 8 March marked International Women’s Day, which aims to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. As our own contribution to the occasion, two of APR’s female staff give their views on what it is to be a woman in the actuarial world today.

As you may have seen, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) are currently holding a consultation on changes to the CPD scheme for its members. But what will this mean in practice? In this article, Ross Gordon summarises the key changes being proposed and lets you know what to do if you want your opinion to be heard.

To help you keep on top of CPD opportunities over the coming weeks and months, Ross Gordon summarises some of the actuarial profession’s upcoming events and sessions. He has even drawn out those elusive Stage 3 Professional Skills sessions for those of us that need them.