FRC: Regulators publish current risks to high quality actuarial work

9 Feb 2018 11:29 AM

In a report, published yesterday, the Joint Forum on Actuarial Regulation (JFAR) highlights current risks to high quality actuarial work.

The Risk Perspective identifies nine ‘hotspots’ where there is a perceived increase in risk to the public interest where actuarial work is central.  These include political and legislative risk, market performance and uncertainty, climate-related risk and technological change.  The JFAR also recognises common themes that cut across the hotspots such as professionalism, intergenerational fairness and Brexit.

The Risk Perspective is intended to raise awareness of the importance of high quality actuarial work in mitigating risks to the public interest and to focus actuaries on the right risks so as to perform their work to the highest quality. In today’s fast-changing world, the report explores   the implications on actuarial work of people living longer, rising environmental concerns and technology advancing at an unprecedented pace.  
The perspective was developed using a new Actuarial Risk Identification Architecture (ARIA).  The ARIA enables JFAR to identify and review the macro environmental drivers, risks inherent in actuarial work and the market characteristics which currently lead to an increase in risk. 

Stephen Haddrill, CEO of the Financial Reporting Council and Chair of the JFAR, said:

In this ever-changing world, actuaries make judgements to measure and manage risk and uncertainty, adapting their work to respond to these challenges. We believe that the Risk Perspective will support actuaries, their employers and users of actuarial work to consider current and emerging risks in their activities. 

Through the Risk Perspective, JFAR seeks to raise awareness and generate discussion about the current and emerging risks to quality actuarial work.  It invites feedback by email to RiskPerspective@frc.org.uk and will hold stakeholder outreach events during 2018. 
 
Notes to editors:

  1. The Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) mission is to promote transparency and integrity in business.  The FRC sets the UK Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes and UK standards for accounting and actuarial work; monitors and takes action to promote the quality of corporate reporting; and operates independent enforcement arrangements for accountants and actuaries. As the competent authority for audit in the UK the FRC sets auditing and ethical standards and monitors and enforces audit quality.
  2. The Joint Forum on Actuarial Regulation (JFAR) was established in 2013 by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Pensions Regulator (tPR) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The JFAR is a collaboration between regulators involved in actuarial work to co-ordinate, within the context of its members’ objectives, the identification and analysis of public interest risks to which actuarial work is relevant. Since 2014, the JFAR has published its Risk Perspective and this is the fourth such report.  The Risk Perspective sets out the collective view of the regulators on risks to high quality actuarial work arising from current issues.  It is intended to raise awareness of the risks and potential mitigations, seek views on the risks identified, and guide the JFAR’s future work. 
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