Mission and Vision Statement

The Society of Actuaries is an educational, research, and professional organization dedicated to serving the public and Society members. Its mission is to advance actuarial knowledge and to enhance the ability of actuaries to provide expert advice and relevant solutions for financial, business, and societal problems involving uncertain future events. The vision of the Society of Actuaries is for actuaries to be recognized as the leading professionals in the modeling and management of financial risk and contingent events.

Terms and concepts used in the Mission and Vision Statement may be amplified as follows:

1. Educational Organization
The SOA provides basic education in the fundamental principles of actuarial science, advanced education and professional development in areas requiring specific technical or regulatory knowledge, and continuing education for practicing actuaries.

2. Research Organization
The SOA conducts research to develop studies of historical experience and techniques for projections into the future, to analyze the actuarial aspects of public policy issues, and to provide the foundation for further expansion of the profession.

3. Professional Organization
The SOA promotes high standards of professional competence and conduct within the actuarial profession. The SOA has adopted a Code of Professional Conduct, and in matters of conduct and discipline, it cooperates with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and with the American Academy of Actuaries, including the Actuarial Standards Board and the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline.

4. Serving the Public
By developing and valuing financial programs, actuaries provide service to the public. In addition to looking after the interests of direct participants and beneficiaries of such public and private programs, actuaries also provide advice to shareholders, regulators, financial analysts and others. The SOA meets its responsibility to the various publics by recruiting and educating actuaries and by its role as a professional organization. Note that the SOA places serving the public ahead of serving its members.

5. Serving its Members
The SOA is committed to meeting the needs of its members. Members work in the traditional practice areas of life insurance, retirement systems, health benefit systems, financial and investment management, and emerging practice areas. In meeting the needs of its members, the SOA conducts meetings and seminars, publishes papers and studies, makes or sponsors investigations, promotes educational activities for students and members, utilizes technology to enhance communications, sponsors academics and supports universities with actuarial science programs, organizes special interest sections, and undertakes such other activities as appropriate. However, in accomplishing many of these tasks, the SOA relies on the generous support of its members in volunteer roles.

Although the majority of SOA members reside in Canada or in the U.S., a significant number of members live or practice in other geographical areas. The SOA is committed to encouraging the development of actuarial science worldwide and to addressing the international needs of SOA members. The SOA is a member of the International Actuarial Association (IAA) and of the worldwide actuarial profession.

6. Advancing Actuarial Knowledge and Enhancing the Ability of Actuaries
Knowledge of actuarial science is the foundation of the actuarial profession. Actuaries often deal with problems relating to uncertain future events. With insurance based on scientific actuarial principles, financial aspects of uncertainties such as premature death, disability, the need for medical care, etc., can be exchanged for the certainty of a premium payment. Pension and social security programs require actuarial analysis based on contingencies such as period of employment, covered earnings, and mortality. Investments and other financial transactions involving risk or uncertainty can also be modeled using actuarial techniques. In a dynamic and rapidly changing world, actuarial knowledge must be continuously expanded to meet increasingly complex problems and to enhance the value added by actuarial analysis.

7. Recognition as the Leading Professionals
The vision of the SOA is not only to have actuaries be the leading professionals in the modeling and management of financial risk and contingent events, but to have this expertise widely recognized and accepted outside the actuarial profession as well.

8. Critical Success Factors
Critical success factors for the profession and the SOA are:

For the Profession

• Be relevant to the needs of our customers. Provide value to a large enough constituency to sustain meaningful work for current and future members of the profession. This may mean expanding our horizons as a profession.
• Be recognized and credible with employers, clients, policymakers and the public by clearly defining who we are and how we differ from others.
• Expand the scope of the actuarial profession. Design a paradigm that expands the scope of meaningful applications of our science, while preserving its integrity and uniqueness.
• Have an effective influence on public policy.
• Focus on maintaining quality membership by recruiting, educating and retaining people who are a credit to the profession, the customers and the societies we serve.
• Be forward looking, flexible and adaptable. Where appropriate, motivate the need for actuarial services in the absence of government regulations. Focus our professional resources on outcomes most important to members and the public.

• Provide a relevant education system to train new actuaries and provide continuing education for actuaries. Keep Education & Examination and Continuing Education systems in line with the profession's needs.
• Carry out research initiatives that maintain a current knowledge base and expand it so that we can add value to our customers; publications should support dissemination of knowledge base; the knowledge base needs to support both new and existing practice areas.
• Provide appropriate scope for actuarial practice, encompassing attention to new practice areas and appropriate geographical areas, and building and maintaining employment opportunities for actuaries. Focus should continue to be on customer needs.
• Provide and maintain strong and effective services for members. The key is helping members add value to their customers with emphasis on external focus.
• Maintain a strong volunteer system and effectively support it with staff.
• Provide support to help achieve the critical success factors for the profession.
• Prepare for the future, focusing on both the long and the short term.