Actuarial Notes

VEE Accounting and Finance

VEE Accounting and Finance is one of the Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) requirements, and both bodies ask for it. It is required for the ASA and for the ACAS, and the SOA's guidelines call it VEE–Accounting and Corporate Finance. A VEE is not an exam. It is credit for university coursework, or for an approved alternative, that the VEE Administration Committee has approved for the topic. A candidate applies for it once they have passed two SOA, CAS or CIA actuarial exams. A CAS candidate may claim it directly through the CAS or through the SOA. Credit obtained through the CAS may not be recognized by other actuarial organizations, such as the SOA.

About the requirement

While this material may be entirely covered in a course or courses that cover both topics, it is more likely that separate courses will be used for accounting and for corporate finance. If distinct courses are used, the application should indicate which are for the accounting topic and which are for the corporate finance topic. The typical corporate finance program covers the topics below in one semester with an introductory course. Should the topics be split across two semesters or courses, both will be required. Most of the topics listed below should be covered.

The topics are those of the SOA's Guidelines for Approval of VEE Courses and Educational Experiences, effective November 1, 2024, the guidelines the CAS's VEE page also points to. The guidelines also set out transition credit for the retired VEE Corporate Finance topic: a candidate who earned it through an approved course before July 1, 2019 receives credit for the complete Accounting and Finance requirement on claiming it.

Learning Objectives

Accounting

  1. Describe the basic principles of corporate taxation and the taxation of investments held by institutions.
  2. Explain why companies are required to produce annual reports.
  3. Explain fundamental accounting concepts and terms, and describe the main sources of accounting regulation.
  4. Explain the structure and purpose of the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. and the interactions between them.
  5. Construct simple statements of financial position and profit or loss.
  6. Calculate and interpret financial ratios.

Corporate Finance

  1. Explain the characteristics of various forms of equity capital from the point of view of the issuer and the investor.
  2. Explain the characteristics of various forms of long-term debt capital from the point of view of the issuer and the investor.
  3. Explain the characteristics of various forms of short- and medium-term financing from the point of view of the issuer and the investor.
  4. Calculate weighted-average cost of capital.
  5. Explain the main methods of capital budgeting.
  6. Calculate a project’s investment return.

Source Material

Source Material

  • Guidelines for Approval of VEE Courses and Educational Experiences (SOA - 2024)
    • VEE–Accounting and Corporate Finance: Accounting (updated 4/24/19); Corporate Finance