Actuarial Notes

Standards of Practice

By Actuarial Standards Board (Canada) · Canadian Institute of Actuaries · 2024 · 224061

Study guide: Exam GH-201C

The Standards of Practice that apply to actuarial work in Canada, in the complete version dated June 2024 (effective June 1, 2024; accession 224061). Responsibility for them vests in the Actuarial Standards Board (Canada), which approves the standards and changes to them through a process that includes consultation with the actuarial profession and other interested parties. 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).

On the syllabus

  • Exam GH-201C — Reserving, outcomes 1d and 1g; sections 1400, 1510, 1700, 2100, 2200 and 2300 of the June 2024 Standards of Practice (the syllabus calls it "Standards of Practice - Insurance").

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

1300 The Engagement

  • 1310 Accepting and continuing an engagement
  • 1320 Financial interest of the actuary
  • 1330 Financial interest of the client or employer
  • 1340 General knowledge
  • 1350 Knowledge of the circumstances affecting the work

1400 The Work

  • 1410 Approximation
  • 1420 Event
  • 1430 Subsequent events
  • 1440 Data
  • 1450 Models
  • 1460 Quality Assurance
  • 1470 Control
  • 1480 Reasonableness of result
  • 1490 Documentation

1500 Another Person's Work

  • 1510 Actuary's use of another person's work
  • 1520 Auditor's use of an actuary's work
  • 1530 Review or repeat of another actuary's work

1600 Assumptions and Methods

  • 1610 Methods
  • 1620 Assumptions
  • 1630 Provision for adverse deviations
  • 1640 Comparison of current and prior assumptions

1700 Reporting

  • 1710 Reporting: external user report
  • 1720 Reporting: internal user report
  • 1730 Reporting: oral report
  • 1740 Summary report

2000 Insurance

2100 Insurance Contract Valuation: All Insurance

  • 2110 Scope

2200 Insurance Contract Valuation: Canadian Considerations

  • 2210 General
  • 2220 Definitions
  • 2230 Reporting

2300 Insurance Contract Valuation: International Actuarial Standards of Practice

  • 2310 General
  • 2320 Appropriate Practices
  • 2330 Communication

2400 The Appointed Actuary

  • 2410 Definitions
  • 2420 Scope
  • 2430 Accepting and continuing an engagement
  • 2440 Report on matters requiring rectification
  • 2450 Report to the directors
  • 2460 Communication with the auditor
  • 2470 Certification of capital filings as required by the regulator

2500 Financial Condition Testing

  • 2510 Scope
  • 2520 Analysis
  • 2530 Reporting
  • 2540 Opinion by the actuary

2600 Ratemaking: Property and Casualty Insurance

  • 2610 Scope
  • 2620 Method
  • 2630 Reporting

2700 Policyholder Dividend Determination

  • 2710 Scope
  • 2720 Report on policyholder dividends

3000 Pension Plans

3100 Scope

3200 Advice on the funded status or funding of a pension plan

  • 3210 General
  • 3220 Types of valuations
  • 3230 Going concern valuation
  • 3240 Hypothetical wind-up valuation
  • 3250 Solvency valuation
  • 3255 Other valuations
  • 3260 Reporting: External user report
  • 3270 Disclosure for stochastic models used to comply with specific regulatory pension plan funding requirements

3300 Full or Partial Wind-up Valuation

  • 3310 General
  • 3320 Assumptions
  • 3330 Reporting: External user report

3400 Financial reporting of pension costs

  • 3410 General
  • 3420 Reporting: External user report

3500 Pension commuted values

  • 3510 Scope
  • 3520 Method
  • 3530 Demographic assumptions
  • 3540 Economic assumptions
  • 3550 Disclosure
  • 3560 Reduced life expectancy
  • 3570 Target pension arrangements

4000 Actuarial Evidence

4100 Scope

4200 General

  • 4210 Circumstances affecting the work
  • 4220 Financial interest of the actuary
  • 4230 Role as expert
  • 4240 Testimony
  • 4250 Capitalized values
  • 4260 Assumptions and methods
  • 4270 Application of law

4300 Actuarial Evidence Calculations, Other than Capitalized Value of Pension Plan Benefits for a Relationship Breakdown and Criminal Rate of Interest

  • 4310 Scope
  • 4320 Assumptions and methods
  • 4330 Contingencies

4400 Capitalized Value of Amounts Other than Pension Plan Benefits for a Relationship Breakdown

  • 4410 Scope
  • 4420 Assumptions and methods

4500 Capitalized Value of Pension Plan Benefits for a Relationship Breakdown

  • 4510 Scope
  • 4520 Method
  • 4530 Assumptions
  • 4540 Reporting: external user report

4600 Calculation and Reporting of Criminal Rate of Interest

  • 4610 Scope
  • 4620 Data
  • 4630 Method

4700 Reporting

  • 4710 External user report
  • 4720 Internal user report

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

  • 6210 General
  • 6220 Advice on Funding or Funded Status
  • 6230 Reporting: External User Report

6300 Full or Partial Wind-Up Valuation

  • 6310 General
  • 6320 Reporting: External User Report

6400 Financial Reporting of Non-Pension Employee Future Benefits Costs

  • 6410 General
  • 6420 Reporting: External User Report

7000 Social Security Programs

7100 Scope

7200 General

  • 7210 Circumstances affecting the work
  • 7220 Data

7300 Valuation

  • 7310 Methods
  • 7320 Assumptions
  • 7330 Economic assumptions
  • 7340 Non-economic assumptions
  • 7350 Margins for adverse deviations
  • 7360 Sensitivity testing

7400 Experience analysis

7500 Reporting on the valuation of a social security program

8000 Enterprise Risk Management

8100 Scope

8200 General

  • 8210 Circumstances affecting the work
  • 8220 Identification, assessment and management of risks
  • 8230 Enterprise level risk management
  • 8240 Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA)

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