An Interview with CAS President Jim Christie

Future Fellows is a great resource for candidates who want to learn more about CAS Exams, but candidates should also pay attention to content highlighted in the CAS Weekly Bulletin email updates that are sent both to candidates currently taking CAS exams and CAS members.

In January the CAS Weekly Bulletin included a link to "Expectations for the CAS for 2019: My Presidential Goals,^" a CAS Roundtable Blog article by new CAS President Jim Christie. I recommend that all candidates read this because his goals include some direction for changes to CAS education and admissions as well as his vision for continued growth of the CAS.

Future Fellows reached out to Jim Christie to learn more for our readers. We thank Jim for taking the time to answer our questions.

Future Fellows (FF): Your goals reference several items that relate directly to the CAS exam structure; specifically, you mentioned an International Exam 6. What regions do you see benefitting from this and what sort of content might such an exam include?

Jim Christie (JC): The CAS has a task force working on developing a syllabus for a broad Exam 6 International to go along with our current Exams 6 for the U.S., Canada and Taipei. While still in its formative stages, we envision the syllabus and corresponding exam will remove certain U.S.-centric material from Exam 6 U.S. and instead focus on non-U.S. issues like international accounting standards (IFRS17), Solvency II, and perhaps regional solvency or statutory reporting regimes. We expect Exam 6 International will be jointly sponsored by CAS and local actuarial bodies who will build in country-specific material, resulting in an exam utilizing a combination of Exam 6 International and additional material important to that country. The initial focus is on countries in Southeast Asia. This is essentially how Exam 6 Canada and Exam 6 Taipei were started.

FF: Do you foresee the expansion of The CAS Institute’s (iCAS) programs changing the educational expectations of employers? That is, do you think having credentials from iCAS might become a job requirement or influence hiring decisions?

JC: Yes, absolutely. We have already begun to notice some actuarial job postings that list CSPA as a desirable designation. As iCAS offers even more credentials (e.g., in use of catastrophe models), we expect employers will start to ask for these designations as well.

FF: Your goals mentioned pushing forward with more predictive analytics education for members and candidates. As the field of predictive analytics and the techniques used continue to evolve, what challenges do you see in keeping our education relevant? Is it better to focus on specific techniques or on training actuaries on more general principles to help them evaluate new techniques?

JC: It is clear that a good working knowledge of predictive analytics tools is necessary to do leading-edge actuarial work today. The CAS has added many predictive analytics tools in Exams MAS I and MAS II. We have also continued to offer continuing education opportunities in predictive analytics tools for our members who want to gain or improve their knowledge in this area. We are also investigating whether there are ways we can add continuing education programs on managing the professionals who are using predictive analytics tools.   

FF: What are some things you will highlight when you speak at events and say that the CAS is the gold standard in educating property-casualty actuaries?

JC: Several things come to mind. First, the CAS is the only actuarial credentialing body focused solely on P&C insurance. Second, we continually look for new ideas and approaches from both members and non-members, so our educational offerings remain leading edge. And third, our members are exceptionally well qualified to use actuarial techniques and processes in new areas.

FF: You mention embracing innovation and continuing to add new topics to the syllabus. As more cutting-edge techniques are being taught it may become harder to find qualified volunteers from the current CAS membership to write and grade examinations. How will the CAS address this challenge in the future?

JC: Certainly adding new topics to the syllabus narrows the pool of potential volunteers capable of assessing potential syllabus material and creating exam questions. The CAS has just created a task force to thoroughly review our education process. That task force may recommend ideas like using paid external experts to assist in creating certain exam materials.

FF: You also mention building on relationships and understanding with the SOA — do you think this will extend to our examination structure?

JC: While there are numerous areas where the SOA and CAS can and will work collaboratively, I do not expect that this will extend to creating a common foundational syllabus in the near term. Without broad agreement on what material is needed to adequately support all the specialty Fellowship tracks, it will be virtually impossible to establish a mutually acceptable preliminary syllabus.

FF: Finally, as you think about the audience of Future Fellows, what critical soft skill or business skill would you recommend the actuary of the future focus on when trying to deliver value in the changing environment of today’s insurance industry?

JC: If there is a single soft skill the actuary of the future should focus on, in my mind that is becoming a more effective communicator.