The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has announced the pilot of its prestigious Quality Assurance Scheme (QAS) in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
This follows the successful launch in September 2015 of the QAS across the UK where in the first 18 months, the scheme has already had strong take-up with around 25% of UK-based actuaries now working for a QAS accredited organisation.
QAS mark and branding
The QAS allows an organisation to give stakeholders a new level of assurance around its commitment to high quality actuarial work. The voluntary scheme is open to any organisation which employs one or more actuaries. Once accredited, an organisation will be able to use the QAS mark and branding to show that it adheres to the rigorous criteria.
Mr Colin Wilson, IFoA President, said: “For the IFoA, promoting and maintaining high standards in actuarial work and protecting the profession’s strong reputation is in our DNA - that’s why we created the QAS. We are delighted to be extending the scheme to Asia and our engagement in the region has been consistently positive and welcoming. It’s great to see such a wide range of interest from actuarial employers with Actuarial Partners, AIA Group, the insurance consulting practice of Willis Towers Watson and an international insurance broking firm taking part in the pilot.”
Best practice in actuarial world
To gain accreditation, organisations must demonstrate that they maintain and apply high quality policies and procedures to their actuarial work, and that these are embedded within the organisation’s culture. An independent assessment team will oversee the evaluation process, highlighting new ideas or different approaches.
Mr Wilson added that the QAS mark acts as a clear signal to clients and peers that those accredited are promoting best practice in their actuarial work.
“As we bring the scheme and all its benefits to Asia, running it as a pilot allows us to be nimble and adapt the scheme as necessary to ensure it provides the best fit for the region,” he said.
The IFoA is a royal chartered, not-for-profit, professional body. Members of the IFoA have a statutory role in the supervision of pension funds and life insurance companies. They also have a statutory role to provide actuarial opinions for managing agents at Lloyd’s. A