Professional Integrity in Actuarial Practice

 
 
Indian Actuarial Profession
Serving the Cause of Public Interest
   
Rishabh Prakash
Ramnath Shenoy
Indian Fellowship Seminar
Case I4: Eavesdropping
Case Details
Consultant to trustee of pension scheme
Conducted a review of investment strategy
Already discussed with investment committee:
2 company (sponsor) appointed directors
Finance director
Human resources director
Overhear a conversation on route – sketchy but source credible
Deals with potential sale of most stable parts of the sponsor’s
business
2
Issues posed
What professional issues arise from the situation?
How to deal with them?
3
Issues in light of Actuaries Code
Integrity
Discussion of information could amount to “rumour mongering”
Sketchy information shouldn’t disseminate further
Confidentiality of the information needs to be respected
Competence and Care
Information incomplete - the actuary heard bits of the conversation
Information not credible – not formal communication, could be
wrong
But if true could have serious consequences on the fund
4
Issues in light of Actuaries Code
Impartiality
“Members will not allow bias, conflict of interest, or the 
undue influence of others
to override their professional judgement “
The comments of the other actuary may amount to undue
influence if the course of action is changed based on them
5
Issues in light of PCS
Confidentiality
“As a matter of law, information acquired by an actuary in the course of
professional work is frequently confidential to the actuary’s client or the actuary’s
firm. As such, it should not normally be disclosed unless consent has been obtained
from the actuary’s client or the actuary’s firm, as the case may be”
Need to understand the level of confidentiality in the information
and respect it
Standards for Advice
“An actuary must consider the extent to which it is appropriate to carry out
investigations to assess the accuracy and reasonableness of any data being used”
May not be advisable to form any opinion based on this information
Inappropriate to do any investigation without confirmation
6
Steps we would take
Information not public may only be a rumour
Cannot discuss openly
Hence:
Won’t specifically broach the topic of the sell-off in the meeting
Go ahead and discuss findings of investment strategy review
Offer to make approach flexible by building in contingency scenarios
Build in sale of major parts of the business as a contingency scenario
Reiterate employer/ sponsor covenant
If rumours gather steam: seek a meeting, confirm veracity of
news, offer to overtly modify investment strategy
7
Thank you
Rishabh Prakash 
prakash.rishabh@gmail.com
Ramnath Shenoy 
ramnath.shenoy@gmail.com
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Institute of Actuaries of India discusses ethical issues related to eavesdropped information on a potential business sale affecting a pension scheme. Topics include confidentiality, competence, and impartiality in decision-making, as per Actuaries Code.

  • Actuaries
  • Ethics
  • Confidentiality
  • Impartiality
  • Professional Integrity

Uploaded on Feb 17, 2025 | 0 Views


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  1. Institute of Actuaries of India Case I4: Eavesdropping Rishabh Prakash Ramnath Shenoy Indian Fellowship Seminar Indian Actuarial Profession Serving the Cause of Public Interest

  2. Case Details Consultant to trustee of pension scheme Conducted a review of investment strategy Already discussed with investment committee: 2 company (sponsor) appointed directors Finance director Human resources director Overhear a conversation on route sketchy but source credible Deals with potential sale of most stable parts of the sponsor s business 2

  3. Issues posed What professional issues arise from the situation? How to deal with them? 3

  4. Issues in light of Actuaries Code Integrity Discussion of information could amount to rumour mongering Sketchy information shouldn t disseminate further Confidentiality of the information needs to be respected Competence and Care Information incomplete - the actuary heard bits of the conversation Information not credible not formal communication, could be wrong But if true could have serious consequences on the fund 4

  5. Issues in light of Actuaries Code Impartiality Members will not allow bias, conflict of interest, or the undue influence of others to override their professional judgement The comments of the other actuary may amount to undue influence if the course of action is changed based on them 5

  6. Issues in light of PCS Confidentiality As a matter of law, information acquired by an actuary in the course of professional work is frequently confidential to the actuary s client or the actuary s firm. As such, it should not normally be disclosed unless consent has been obtained from the actuary s client or the actuary s firm, as the case may be Need to understand the level of confidentiality in the information and respect it Standards for Advice An actuary must consider the extent to which it is appropriate to carry out investigations to assess the accuracy and reasonableness of any data being used May not be advisable to form any opinion based on this information Inappropriate to do any investigation without confirmation 6

  7. Steps we would take Information not public may only be a rumour Cannot discuss openly Hence: Won t specifically broach the topic of the sell-off in the meeting Go ahead and discuss findings of investment strategy review Offer to make approach flexible by building in contingency scenarios Build in sale of major parts of the business as a contingency scenario Reiterate employer/ sponsor covenant If rumours gather steam: seek a meeting, confirm veracity of news, offer to overtly modify investment strategy 7

  8. Institute of Actuaries of India Thank you Rishabh Prakash prakash.rishabh@gmail.com Ramnath Shenoy ramnath.shenoy@gmail.com

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