STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT |
August 2017 |
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International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB)—Canada Earlier this month, I met with the IPSASB’s Principal Paul Mason at the IAA offices in Ottawa, with SSC Chair Barbara D’Ambrogi-Ola and IAA Past President Rob Brown joining via conference call. The main topic that was discussed was the upcoming exposure draft of IPSASB standard with respect of the reporting for social security benefits. Paul expressed the need for the exposure draft to be more descriptive and queried what disclosures should be included. He suggested that the IPSASB may wish to consult with the IAA on the wording of the document with respect to disclosures. Paul also questioned whether long-term sustainability reporting for social benefits should be made mandatory by the IPSASB. IPSASB for now has a recommended practice guideline Reporting on the Long-term Sustainability of an Entity’s Finances, which is not mandatory. The IAA will assist the IPSASB in formulating disclosure requirements and will comment on the upcoming exposure draft when released. Supervisory Capacity-Building Program—China
Earlier this month, I met with the IPSASB’s Principal Paul Mason at the IAA offices in Ottawa, with SSC Chair Barbara D’Ambrogi-Ola and IAA Past President Rob Brown joining via conference call. The main topic that was discussed was the upcoming exposure draft of IPSASB standard with respect of the reporting for social security benefits. Attendees at the event in China Forty-two participants came from 21 jurisdictions and seven faculty members contributed. The event was co-organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the IAIS and the Asian Forum of Insurance Regulators (AFIR). It was hosted by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), with the IAA and the China Association of Actuaries as partners. Opened by the CIRC’s vice-chair, Chen Wenhui, and closed by its director general, Jiang Bo, it is the largest training event conducted under the ADB’s technical assistance program, Thematic Self-Assessment and Peer Review of IAIS Insurance Core Principles and Standards for Asia and the Pacific. Feedback received from participants shows a high level of satisfaction with the content and organization. Many participants indicated that, as a result of attending, they intended to initiate new activities in their work. A web page containing presentations and other material will be put on the AFIR website. A web-based chat group has been established for participants and faculty to support ongoing networking and discussion. A handbook summarizing the main points, providing additional references and addressing questions that may arise for supervisors is scheduled for completion by the end of August. Faculty were Arup Chatterjee (ADB), Rodolfo Wehrhahn and Herve Odjo (ADB); Su Hoong Chang (Monetary Authority of Singapore); program co-ordinator Jules Gribble (IAIS); Shu-yen Liu (PwC); and Fred Rowley (IAA Past President). For further information, please contact Jules Gribble. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) Meetings—France The meetings of the OECD Working Party on Private Pensions and the Insurance and Private Pensions Committee (jointly with the committee meetings of the IOPS) took place from June 19–21. IAA OECD Subcommittee Chair Christelle Dieudonné, Insurance Regulation Committee Chair Dave Sandberg, IOPS delegate Esko Kivisaari and Pensions and Employee Benefits Committee member Charles Cowling attended. The funding monograph was discussed; there is some overlap with work relevant to the IAA that the OECD is undertaking on pension fund solvency and interest rates. It has been agreed to forward the monograph to the OECD and ensure there is detailed cross-referencing in the next OECD document on solvency and interest rates. Present at the IOPS committee meetings were Dariusz Stanko of the IOPS and Esko Kivisaari and Christelle Dieudonné of the IAA. It was noted that the joint publication on actuaries in pension supervision was a success and more joint projects are planned. Meetings with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)—UK President Tom Terry, Insurance Accounting Committee Chair William Hines and I met with the IASB’s Board member Darrell Scott, technical director Peter Clark, associate technical director Andrea Pryde and senior technical manager Joanna Yeoh. The meeting was to discuss the roll-out and implementation of International Financial Reporting Standard 17 (IFRS 17), which was released on May 18. The IAA contributed three layers of support to this standard. A news release was issued and the IAA’s work was showcased on its homepage. I also attended the regular meeting of the IFRS Advisory Council, where an overview of IASB Board and IFRS activities was provided. Also discussed were the role of IFRS in supporting Financial Stability, potential implication into wider corporate reporting and the IFRS education initiative supporting implementation and application of standards. Since the IFRS Advisory Council meeting, the IASB has reviewed the IAA Risk monograph and determined that the IAA use of IFRS 17 quotes were within the ‘fair use’ limits such that no further action were needed and that we could proceed issuing the monograph. Charles Cowling (representing the IAA Pension and Benefits Accounting Subcommittee) met with the IASB on issues connected with revised amendments to IFRIC14, and enjoyed a very positive discussion. World Bank Panel Discussion—U.S I recently participated in a panel discussion in connection with the World Bank’s launch of a new book, Risk Modeling for Appraising Named Peril Index Insurance Products. The book (available on Amazon) outlines a very systematic, quantitative and analytic process to develop and evaluate the performance of a named-peril index insurance product, and modify the product. While the process described is essentially an actuarial control cycle framework that could be applied in many different contexts, the myriad examples and sample worksheets are clearly in the context of agricultural index-based insurance for very small farmers. Some of the representatives I met from the World Bank, during my visit, are interested in maintaining contact with the IAA and indicated their intention to submit a proposal to speak at a future IAA colloquium or congress. As the book calls for data and analytics, and paints a very clear and significant role for actuaries, the IAA may have the opportunity to provide input in the future. IAA Regional Seminar and Association Meetings—Sri Lanka The Actuarial Association of Sri Lanka (AASL), in collaboration with the Asia Subcommittee of the IAA Advice and Assistance Committee, organized a seminar in Colombo, Sri Lanka, highlighting the benefits of a strong relationship between the profession and regulators. The theme of the AASL’s 1st South Asian Actuarial Conference on July 12–13 was Creating Value for Business – Risk, Regulation, Innovation, Education. The event attracted attendees from around the south Asian region, other countries in Asia and other parts of the world. About 250 people, including actuaries and other financial professionals, took part. The panel of expert speakers shared their knowledge and audience engagement was at a very high level. Tom Terry attended as the chief guest and the keynote speaker was the assistant governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Indrani Sugathadasa, chair of the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka, was guest of honour. Besides increasing awareness of the actuarial profession across the region, the conference also enabled the AASL to raise actuaries’ profile among university students. Undergraduates in their final year were invited to participate at a free separate session and learn about the profession and how to become an actuary. For more information on the topics discussed during this event, please click here.
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