AT THE END OF OUR ARTICLE detailing proposals under consideration by the Council of U.S. Presidents (CUSP) to reform the disciplinary process (“Your Comments, Please: Changing the Disciplinary Process,” May/June 2010 Contingencies), Roger Hayne and I invited readers to respond. A dozen Contingencies readers took us up on our offer, sending thoughtful, often detailed replies. You were asked to consider … Read More
Materiality
When the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) investigates a complaint, it makes a determination whether or not a material violation of the Code of Conduct has occurred. If no material violation is found, the complaint is dismissed. If the ABCD finds that there is a material violation, the actuary who is the subject of the complaint may be … Read More
Are You a Rule Follower?
ARE YOU A RULE FOLLOWER OR A RULE BREAKER? If you assume that rules are generally reasonable, you’re probably happy to follow them. I believe that actuaries are generally rule followers (which is a good thing) but that we should think harder about the reasonableness of the rules we follow, especially in a world where others are rule breakers. We … Read More
Regulator as Resource
AS A COMPANY ACTUARY, you’ve just returned from a morning of meetings and are checking your voice mail. One message is from the actuary at the state insurance department who has an issue to discuss with you. How many of you would look forward to returning that call? I would hope that if the appropriate working relationships have been developed, … Read More
Your Comments Please: Changing the Disciplinary Process
THE TYPICAL UP TO CODE ARTICLE is one-way communication. The author develops a theme and then summarizes its main point at the end. The only effort required by the reader is, well, to read the article. We plan to take a different approach. We will describe an issue, pose a question or two, and then ask you to respond by … Read More
In Answer to Your Many Questions
EDITOR’S NOTE: Mike Toothman just completed six years of service to the profession as a member of the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD). In October 2008 and June 2009, he was a panelist on Academy-sponsored webcasts on the Code of Professional Conduct. In October 2009, he was also a panelist on an Academy-sponsored webcast on Precept 13. At … Read More
Moving from Discipline to Guidance
FOR MOST OF HIS ACTUARIAL CAREER, Paul Fleischacker’s impression of the activities of the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) was simplistic—and fairly typical. “I think I was like most actuaries who think of the ABCD as primarily a disciplinary group, rather than as a group of experts who can give guidance when you have questions on compliance issues,” … Read More
The Carol of the Bells
THE HOLIDAYS WILL ARRIVE BEFORE WE KNOW IT, and I’m reminded of some professional advice I received about 25 years ago. I was chatting at a holiday party with the general counsel of an actuarial consulting firm, trying to find a common topic between an actuary and an attorney. He told me that, in his experience, almost all actuarial malpractice … Read More
Don’t Regret Having Filed a Complaint
In your work as an actuary, it’s quite possible that at some point you’ll discover an apparent unresolved material violation of the Code of Professional Conduct. Members of any of the five North American actuarial organizations that have adopted the code are required to follow it—even when they aren’t providing actuarial services. (When you read the code, you find that … Read More
Interviewing With Integrity
“What’s your personal integrity statement?” Does the question catch you off guard, or are you prepared with a solid and concise response? The actuarial community places particularly high value on ethics and integrity. While it can be a sensitive topic, it deserves candid and comprehensive discussion. Today’s workplace has been defined by Enron, Sarbanes-Oxley, and the cry for transparency. As … Read More