Standards of Practice

By Actuarial Standards Board (Canada) · Canadian Institute of Actuaries · 2026 · 226011

Study guide: Exam 6C

The Standards of Practice that apply to actuarial work in Canada, in the complete version effective April 1, 2026. Responsibility for them vests in the Actuarial Standards Board (Canada), and they consist of recommendations, in boxed text with their effective dates, and explanatory text that supports and expands upon them. Part 1000 holds the general standards; the practice-specific parts cover insurance (2000), pension plans (3000), actuarial evidence (4000), non-pension employee future benefit plans (6000), social security programs (7000) and enterprise risk management (8000), Part 5000 having been replaced by Section 2800.

On the syllabus

Exam 6C — objectives A1 and C1–C5; Sections 1240, 1400, 1510, 1520, 1600, 1700, 2100, 2200, 2300, 2400, 2500, 2600, 8100 and 8200, April 1, 2026 (Section 2600, Ratemaking, for objective A1).

1000 General

1100 Introduction

1110 Application
1120 Definitions
1130 Interpretation
1140 Judgment
1150 Accepted actuarial practice
1160 Scope

1200 Permitted Deviations

1210 Conflict with law
1220 Conflict with terms of engagement
1230 Unusual and unforeseen situations
1240 Materiality
- Deviation from a recommendation or explanatory text is accepted actuarial practice if its effect is not material.
- "Material" is judged from the point of view of a user, having regard for the purpose of the work: an omission, understatement or overstatement is material if the actuary expects it to affect the user's decision-making or reasonable expectations.
- Where the standard varies among users or uses, the actuary chooses the most rigorous; it becomes more rigorous as an entity approaches a threshold such as a regulatory capital requirement.
- Items that are reported separately are not netted in considering materiality.

1300 The Engagement

1310 Accepting and continuing an engagement
1320 Financial interest of the actuary
1330 Financial interest of the internal user
1340 General knowledge
1350 Knowledge of the circumstances affecting the work

1400 The Work

1410 Approximation
- An approximation is appropriate if it reduces the cost or time of the work, or improves the actuary's control over it, without affecting the result; one whose appropriateness is doubtful is reported with reservation.
1420 Event
1430 Subsequent events
- A subsequent event is taken into account only if it provides information about the entity as it was at the calculation date, retroactively makes the entity different at that date, or makes it different afterwards when the work is to report on the entity as it will be; a subsequent event not taken into account is reported.
1440 Data
- The actuary applies the procedures needed to reach a conclusion on the sufficiency and reliability of the data.
1450 Models
- The actuary chooses a model appropriate to the purpose of the work and understands any limitations that might make its results inappropriate or misleading.
1460 Quality assurance
- Appropriate quality assurance processes, which may include peer review, are implemented before the work is released to users.
1470 Control
1480 Reasonableness of result
1490 Documentation

1500 Another Person's Work

1510 Actuary's use of another person's work
- The actuary uses and takes responsibility for another person's work if such actions are justified; an actuary who uses it without taking responsibility says in the report that they relied on it, with the rationale for the nature and extent of that use.
- Even without taking responsibility, the actuary examines the other person's work for evident shortcomings and either reports the result or avoids using the work.
1520 Auditor's use of an actuary's work
- The actuary cooperates with an auditor who wishes to use the actuary's work, in accordance with the Joint Policy Statement approved by the Canadian Actuarial Standards Board and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board.
- Under the Statement, use of the other professional's opinion or work does not constitute reliance: each remains responsible for their own work.
1530 Review or repeat of another actuary's work

1600 Assumptions and Methods

1610 Methods
- The actuary selects a method that takes account of the circumstances affecting the work.
1620 Assumptions
- A model or data assumption is the best estimate, modified if appropriate to provide for adverse deviations; any other assumption is continuation of the status quo unless there is a reasonable expectation that it will change.
- Selected assumptions are independently reasonable and appropriate in the aggregate.
1630 Provision for adverse deviations
- A provision for adverse deviations is included only to the extent required by the engagement, mandated by law or prescribed by practice-specific standards.
1640 Comparison of current and prior assumptions
- The assumptions for a periodic report are consistent with those of the prior calculation unless the actuary reports the inconsistency.

1700 Reporting

1710 Reporting: external user report
- An external user report identifies the internal user, describes the work and its purpose, says whether it is in accordance with accepted actuarial practice in Canada, describes each material assumption with its rationale, discloses any reservation, and gives opinions on the assumptions and methods and on the results.
- The actuary withdraws or amends a report if information coming to hand after the report date invalidates it.
1720 Reporting: internal user report
1730 Reporting: oral report
1740 Summary report

2000 Insurance

2100 Insurance Contract Valuation: All Insurance

2110 Scope
- Sections 2200 and 2300 apply to the valuation of insurance contracts and other obligations in accordance with IFRS 17; for a valuation not in accordance with IFRS 17 they do not apply.
- Section 2400 applies to the appointed actuary, 2500 to the appointed actuary's report on an insurer's financial condition, 2600 to P&C ratemaking, 2700 to policyholder dividends and 2800 to public personal injury compensation plans.

2200 Insurance Contract Valuation: Canadian Considerations

2210 General
- The discount rate paragraphs 1620.35–.37 do not apply to an IFRS 17 valuation, and the IFRS 17 risk adjustment for non-financial risk is not a provision for adverse deviations.
- An assumption or methodology set by the principal or another party is treated as use of another person's work under 1510; the actuary would not take responsibility for it if it conflicts with what is appropriate, or if it cannot be judged without substantial additional work.
2220 Definitions
2230 Reporting
- The actuary's report covers the policy liabilities, not only the insurance contract liabilities, with an opinion on their appropriateness and the fairness of their presentation in the IFRS financial statements; if the actuary cannot report without reservation, the standard reporting language is modified.
- The standard opinion paragraph reads: "In my opinion, the amount of policy liabilities is appropriate for this purpose. The valuation conforms to accepted actuarial practice in Canada and the [consolidated] financial statements fairly present the results of the valuation."

2300 Insurance Contract Valuation: International Actuarial Standards of Practice

2310 General
- Actuaries performing services in connection with IFRS 17 apply IFRS 17 and this section, which reflects the International Actuarial Association's ISAP 4.
2320 Appropriate Practices
- The actuary's threshold of materiality for the actuarial services is not greater than the entity's threshold for its financial statements.
- The level of aggregation, the choice of measurement approach, the treatment of the loss component, the coverage units and the roll forward of the CSM are treated as work subject to 2210.05, and changes to these processes are disclosed.
2330 Communication

2400 The Appointed Actuary

2410 Definitions
2420 Scope
- The section applies to an appointed actuary under the federal Insurance Companies Act, or under a provincial Act that gives substantially the same access to information, protection against civil liability and duties.
2430 Accepting and continuing an engagement
2440 Report on matters requiring rectification
- The appointed actuary identifies and monitors matters that may threaten the insurer's financial condition, reports any that requires rectification to senior management with a deadline, and reports it to the regulator if there is no suitable rectification by then.
2450 Report to the directors
- The appointed actuary of a Canadian insurer reports at least yearly to the directors, or their audit committee, on the insurer's financial position and financial condition.
2460 Communication with the auditor
2470 Certification of capital filings as required by the regulator

2500 Financial Condition Testing

2510 Scope
2520 Analysis
- At least once each financial year the appointed actuary investigates the insurer's recent and current financial position and financial condition through financial condition testing, reports in writing to the board, and comments on consistency with the ORSA.
- Financial condition is satisfactory if, throughout the forecast period, assets exceed liabilities under the solvency scenarios, the regulatory minimum capital ratios are met under going concern scenarios, and the internal target capital ratios are met under the base scenario.
- The base scenario is normally consistent with the insurer's business plan; a solvency scenario is a plausible adverse scenario if it is credible and has a non-trivial probability of occurring.
- Consistency within each scenario considers ripple effects — policy owner, routine management and regulatory action — and each threatening scenario is reported with and without corrective management action.
2530 Reporting
2540 Opinion by the actuary
- The report contains a signed opinion that the insurer's financial condition is satisfactory, satisfactory subject to stated actions, or not satisfactory.

2600 Ratemaking: Property and Casualty Insurance

2610 Scope
- The section applies to the derivation of indicated rates for P&C insurance contracts — not to the recommendation or selection of the rates to be charged, and not to public personal injury compensation plans.
2620 Method
- The best estimate present value of the revenue at the indicated rate equals the best estimate present value of the corresponding claim costs and expense costs, plus the present value of a provision for profit, over a specified period.
- The actuary considers data, credibility, changes in circumstances, development, trend, unusual events, the provisions for expense costs and profit, and the time value of money.
2630 Reporting

2700 Policyholder Dividend Determination

2710 Scope
2720 Report on policyholder dividends

2800 Public Personal Injury Compensation Plans

2810 Scope
2820 Valuation of Insurance Contracts and Other Obligations for Financial Reporting
2830 Valuation of Benefits Liabilities for Funding Purposes
- 2831 Circumstances Affecting the Work
- 2832 Economic Assumptions
- 2833 Margins for Adverse Deviations
2840 Gain and Loss Analysis
2850 Sensitivity Analysis
2860 Reporting

3000 Pension Plans

3100 Scope
3200 Advice on the funded status or funding of a pension plan
3300 Full or Partial Wind-up Valuation
3400 Financial reporting of pension costs
3500 Pension commuted values

4000 Actuarial Evidence

4100 Scope
4200 General
4300 Actuarial Evidence Calculations, Other than Capitalized Value of Pension Plan Benefits for a Relationship Breakdown and Criminal Rate of Interest
4400 Capitalized Value of Amounts Other than Pension Plan Benefits for a Relationship Breakdown
4500 Capitalized Value of Pension Plan Benefits for a Relationship Breakdown
4600 Calculation and Reporting of Criminal Rate of Interest
4700 Reporting

6000 Non-Pension Employee Future Benefit Plans

6100 Scope
6200 Advice on the Funding, Funded Status, Financial Condition or Financial Position of a Non-Pension Employee Future Benefit Plan
6300 Full or Partial Wind-up Valuation
6400 Financial Reporting of Non-Pension Employee Future Benefits Costs

7000 Social Security Programs

7100 Scope
7200 General
7300 Valuation
7400 Experience analysis
7500 Reporting on the valuation of a social security program

8000 Enterprise Risk Management

8100 Scope

Part 8000 applies to an actuary with responsibility for, or significant involvement in, the development, implementation, maintenance or review of components of enterprise risk management programs, and only to the extent of that responsibility and involvement.

8200 General

8210 Circumstances affecting the work
- The actuary considers whether the risk management elements that regulations require are in place — risk management policies, risk tolerance statements, a capital assessment such as the ORSA — and proportionality to the entity's nature, scale and complexity.
8220 Identification, assessment and management of risks
- Assessing the probability and impact of risks considers risk correlations, aggregation and tail risks, and the appropriateness of the risk modelling, stress testing, reverse stress testing and scenario testing applied.
8230 Enterprise level risk management
- An aggregate risk assessment considers the interdependence of risks — correlations that may not be linear and may change under stressed conditions — off-balance sheet exposures and diversification benefits.
8240 Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA)
- For an ORSA, the actuary considers among other factors its time horizon, access to new capital in times of financial stress, and differences between the regulatory capital requirements and the entity's own assessment of its capital needs.

Sources

Standards of Practice (Effective April 1, 2026) (CIA, 2026) — the landing page (publication date, accession no. 226011) and its PDF: title page, the tables of contents of each part, the section headings, and the text of Sections 1240, 1400, 1510, 1520, 1600, 1700, 2100–2600, 8100 and 8200
CAS Exam 6C Content Outline, Fall 2026 — the citation and the assigned sections