Together we achieve great things

Our volunteers are the lifeblood of our organisation, and the IFoA could not achieve what it does without their input and contribution.

From board chairs and committee members to journal editors and CPD co-ordinators, our volunteers come from all stages of their career and from across the globe. Despite their busy working lives, our members find time to contribute to our mission and vision, helping us to create impact and fulfil our public charter of working in the public interest.

Each of our volunteers brings different skills, talents and abilities. Our diversity is our strength, along with the knowledge that, together, we are one IFoA.

A profession to be proud of

Here are just some of the contributions our volunteers have made over the last year.

volunteers

new volunteers since last year

working parties volunteers

Committee volunteers

Practice Board and Committee meetings

virtual sessional meetings, sharing member-led research

new working parties, developing member-led research

Over

individuals helped us pilot our digital communities

Working together

We have a number of active member working parties. Here are just some of their achievements over the last year. The Mental Health Working Party has had great success in raising the profile of mental health considerations across the actuarial profession and the wider insurance and pensions sector. Highlights of their work included an awareness week in February 2022 featuring blogs and podcasts, a presentation at the IFoA Conference in June, and a discussion paper delivered at a sessional meeting. Our Sustainability Board continued to go from strength to strength this year, with 11 new research groups launched with 60 volunteers. Grasping the value of collaborative working, the Board worked with the Climate Crisis Advisory Group to spread their message to a broader financial services audience. The Sustainability Board's work is helping to raise the profile of the profession and is congruent with the IFoA's Climate Change Statement and commitments under the Green Finance Education Charter and Professional Bodies Climate Action Charter. Our Finance and Investment Board gave input across a range of areas, including contributing to a new Banking syllabus to enable incoming members of the profession to specialise in banking.

MBEs awarded to three IFoA members

At the start of 2022 we were extremely proud to hear that three IFoA members had been recognised in the New Year Honours List and awarded MBEs for their work in the following areas.

Stuart McDonald

For his invaluable contribution to the understanding of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact.

Mitesh Sheth

For his contribution and leadership on various diversity initiatives, including the Diversity Project, the LGBT Great #50For50 initiative, and the Race and Ethnicity workstream.

Fiona Mackenzie

For her outstanding services in raising awareness of sexual violence against women through the We Can’t Consent To This campaign.

This public recognition demonstrated, once again, the way our members utilise their skills and abilities for the good of society.

The Actuary magazine

Our membership magazine, The Actuary, is consistently voted our No 1 communications channel by members. Thanks to the work of our volunteer Editor and Features Team, we are able to deliver a professionally produced, stimulating and thought-provoking magazine to our qualified members every month. In September 2021 The Actuary website won best website at the Memcom awards, which recognise excellence in professional membership. A week later, the magazine won Best Magazine at the Association Excellence Awards.

“High quality design, obvious pride in the production, pivoted from existing print magazine to online version – very focused on its core audience with a care about content and quality. It demonstrates progression from an old-style, printed magazine to a modern version, which offers choice of hard and digital format. A clear winner for this category!”

Judges, Association Excellence Awards

Chartered Actuary

Council has long held a conviction that a move to Chartered status would be both a positive and constructive move for the profession, bringing with it myriad benefits, including enhancing the value and attractiveness of IFoA membership, protecting the status and standards of the actuarial profession globally, and supporting the future growth of the profession by ensuring recognition of the IFoA’s qualifications.

Over the course of 2022, the Council Chartered Actuary Steering Group, comprising Charles Cowling, Malcolm Slee, Danny Quant and IFoA CEO, Stephen Mann, put in place Council's plans to put to a member vote the decision on whether to adopt Chartered Actuary status, in the belief that this will lay the foundations for a flourishing profession for decades to come.

Next page: Together we supported the IFoA Foundation