New Year, New Challenges

It's a new year and I am the new CAS president, so I thought this a fitting opportunity to present new ideas that will take shape in the year to come.

Two themes present themselves as major areas of focus for the near future: international and enterprise risk management (ERM).

As I said last November when I took over as president, the international arena is complex because of the numerous actuarial organizations and the many possible roles we can play. We now have the opportunity to engage in a number of activities that could benefit our current and future members. Working with our executive council, in particular Amy Bouska, our vice president-international, we will clarify our international strategy and identify tactical plans to focus our resources and activities.

ERM is also complex because it is far reaching, encompassing all types of organizations around the globe. Numerous organizations are already involved in ERM. We need to clarify our vision, or the desired role of the CAS and our members, in this rapidly developing field. Working with John Kollar, our vice president-risk integration and ERM, we will present a report and recommendations to the Board early this year.

In addition to creating a place for these themes in the actuarial profession, I will work with CAS leaders to accomplish four goals:

First, we will produce progress reports on our Centennial Goal and propose revisions to our Strategic, Actionable, and Measurable Goals or SAM Goals. SAM Goals are the individual goals that have been identified to move us toward our Centennial Goal. Committee leaders and CAS members have raised several questions about whether some of the SAM Goals contain appropriate metrics or whether they are helpful goals at all. Periodic reconsideration of the goals is clearly appropriate.

Second, we will implement board actions resulting from the Governance Issues Task Force, which will report to the CAS Board this February. The task force is considering possible changes to enhance our governance process, such as nonmember representation on the CAS Board. Related to governance, we will also review the present structure of the CAS Executive Council and recommend changes as appropriate.

Third, we will work to further enhance the reputation of the casualty actuary. The CAS Board Task Force on Actuarial Credibility made several recommendations last year, including disclosure of the actuary's best estimate of reserves in statements of opinion and the development of ranges. We will continue our cooperative work with the American Academy of Actuaries, the Actuarial Standards Board, and the ABCD to implement as appropriate these recommendations developed earlier this year by this board task force. We will also continue the process of actively seeking member input on these potentially significant actions.

Finally, I will work to help maintain active communications with our membership and with other organizations. To accomplish this, I will plan to attend more than 30 meetings covering over 60 meeting days during my year as president, starting with the Annual Meeting last November. If I have the opportunity to meet you this year but forget where, I hope you will understand.

I am greatly honored to have the opportunity to be your president for the coming year. Because I have had the privilege of working closely with Steve D'Arcy and a number of other presidents before him, I know our board, our executive council, and our membership have high expectations of the person holding the office of president.

Here's to a new year, filled with new themes, new goals, and new milestones for the CAS.