Expanding Our Horizons to Encompass the Globe   From the President by Stephen P. D'Arcy - It is gratifying that the recent CAS membership survey indicated strong support for our current international activities. However, as someone who once worked for a small Midwestern insurer without any business beyond the United States, I can understand those who ask about our international activities, "What's in it for me?"  Continued...

Random Sampler: Confidentially Speaking   I am a strong supporter of the required Statement of Actuarial Opinion on Loss Reserves. In 1973, as the actuary for the State of Illinois Department of Insurance, I was one of the first to propose such a requirement. These statements have considerably strengthened the actuary's hand in negotiations with other members of management regarding the balance sheet reserves. Yet I am troubled by the language added to the 2004 instructions regarding the confidentiality of the report.  Continued...

Code of Professional Conduct Applicable to CAS Candidates in 2006   The Casualty Actuarial Society will require candidates taking Exams 3 and 5-9 to agree to abide by the terms and conditions of the CAS Code of Professional Conduct starting in Spring 2006. Why should the candidates have to agree to abide by it?  Continued...

Mutual Recognition-At Long Last  It's been a long time coming but at last the CAS and the United Kingdom's Faculty and Institute of Actuaries have executed mutual recognition agreements. The agreements give Fellows of the CAS the opportunity to become a Fellow of either the Institute of Actuaries or the Faculty of Actuaries. Continued...

Actuaries Abroad: Can You Believe It?  The U.K. has had several rulings on asbestos claims recently that you in the U.S. will just not believe. Generally, we expect imports from the U.S. to transform the U.K., e.g., the compensation culture, rap music, Desperate Housewives, and the like. It now looks like the U.K. is fighting back, at least on the compensation culture front!  Continued...

CAS Presents Fair Value Research to IASB  LONDON-CAS members Ralph Blanchard, Bob Conger, and Sam Gutterman presented research on the fair value of claim liabilities to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on February 15. Wayne Upton, IASB Director of Research, commented that the research, "Contributed significantly to the credibility of the actuarial profession in the eyes of the IASB." Continued...