I have often been asked what I hope to accomplish during my tenure as CAS president. My answer is simple and significant — to strengthen our profession. I then explain how unique the actuarial profession is. It is one of very few analytical careers that is also a profession, due to the attributes that make us a profession: our unique body of knowledge, our high standards of entry, our code of ethics/professionalism, our service orientation, and our credentialing organization — the CAS itself. And this is how I make that simple statement more concrete — to strengthen our profession is to strengthen each of these attributes that make us a profession.
I’m very pleased to tell you that we are making remarkable progress in strengthening each of these attributes. I’d like to share with you a few highlights of how our profession is getting stronger as a result.
Our unique body of knowledge
We are advancing the practice of casualty actuarial science in many ways, and we are building knowledge and expertise in our members. This was abundantly evident at our Spring Meeting in May and was a powerful example of how we are evolving to meet the demands of a changing world. We delivered dedicated educational tracks on artificial intelligence and climate risk, two of the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing actuaries today. These sessions were designed not just to inform but also to prepare actuaries to lead in domains where data, uncertainty, and risk modeling converge in complex ways.
The energy and engagement at the Spring Meeting was powerful. We saw hundreds more attendees than expected, underscoring our community’s hunger for timely and strategic content. And we delivered content to build our profession’s knowledge and expertise in response. Thank you to everyone who made that meeting a success and to everyone who made that possible, through research, presentations, publications, and knowledge sharing. There is more to come in our upcoming meetings this year — the Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar and Annual Meeting.
Our high standards of entry
We continue to refine and advance our educational system to ensure that those who earn CAS designations are prepared for impactful careers in property/casualty actuarial roles and beyond.
For example, the Property Casualty Predictive Analytics (PCPA) requirement will take effect on January 1 for new Associates. This requirement has both an exam component and a project component that together ensure new members have demonstrated capabilities in predictive analytics and modeling.
To further empower candidates preparing for the new PCPA project, we are developing a GLM On-Demand Course. This course is more than a refresher — it’s a toolkit for real-world applications, guiding candidates in building their own predictive models.
This initiative strengthens our commitment to competency-based education and ensures our future members are not just exam-ready, but career-ready. The new requirement is just one example of how we ensure that the standards of entry are appropriately high for our profession.
Additionally, the Admissions Governance Committee, which was established to oversee and support the effective functioning of the Admissions process in alignment with Board strategy, has been working diligently in reviewing the results of the Actuarial Professional Analysis (APA) and prioritizing the results within the Candidate Experience Pillar of the Strategic Plan. The past few months have been dedicated to collecting feedback on concepts and ideas from various stakeholder groups and work will begin shortly on finalizing these priorities. We look forward to sharing more information about the details soon.
Thank you to everyone who plays a part in the Admissions process — particularly our Syllabus and Examination Working Group members. And thanks to our candidates who prepare themselves to meet and exceed our standards.
Our code of ethics/professionalism
One of my most rewarding experiences as president this year was to attend a CAS Course on Professionalism. I enjoyed speaking to and meeting more than 100 soon-to-be new CAS members and seeing their enthusiasm for their chosen profession. Even more impressive was seeing how they engaged authentically in discussions about ethics and professionalism. I was equally impressed with the volunteers who led the sessions and prepared informative and thought-provoking content. The case studies have been updated and improved since I participated in the Course on Professionalism many years ago. They posed challenging questions in context that is very relevant to today’s actuaries.
As the course concluded, I was confident that the next generation of CAS actuaries was just as committed to ethics and professionalism as previous generations have been. Many thanks to all who serve on our Professionalism Working Group and ensure that this commitment remains strong and relevant. And thanks to all of you who take pride in your personal commitment to professionalism and demonstrate it in your everyday lives.
Our service orientation
I’ve already said “thank you” many times now — evidence that this work of strengthening our profession relies on many members offering their time and energy. Whatever you do to serve the CAS, it has a meaningful impact on the ongoing strength of the profession. I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of you and hear about the rewards you feel from getting involved. I’ve also heard some feedback about opportunities to improve your volunteer experience. We take those opportunities seriously and look for ways to ensure your valuable volunteer time has maximal impact.
As we enter our election season, I especially want to thank those who have been nominated to serve as Board members and president-elect. Each of these members has contributed much to the strength of our profession throughout their careers. And they each have now offered to give significant time and effort in the coming years if elected. Please take the time to review the candidates’ information and cast your vote. Voting in our elections is an important way that each of us can serve the profession and ensure we remain strong.
Our organization — the CAS itself
The CAS is growing stronger as an organization. Our new strategic plan charts a course for growth and improvement across five key pillars. The Board has strengthened its commitment to transparency. We are expanding our reach to serve a larger membership community around the world to attract top analytical talent to our profession.
As I wrote about in the last issue of Actuarial Review, we seek to strengthen the foundation of the CAS this election by adopting a consolidated set of bylaws through members’ votes. The new bylaws will provide additional clarity, transparency, and resilience to benefit the CAS for many years to come. This is another way that your vote can help us strengthen the profession by strengthening our organization. Again, I strongly encourage you to take the time to review information about the proposed bylaws and cast your vote in favor.
I hope you see that “strengthening our profession” is much more than a simple answer to a frequent question. It has real meaning and a real impact. I hope you see how our members contribute in so many ways to accomplish this outcome. We can be proud to be members of this unique profession, and we can each do our part — from volunteering to voting — to ensure it remains strong.
