Joint Professionalism Course in Singapore, 14-15 August 2012

SSSHUTTTTTT!

 The doors closed on the Metropolitan Rapid Transit at Changi Airport. I sat back and smiled. I was thrilled to be back in Singapore. This was a truly cosmopolitan experience. Then as the train fed its way through the tastefully managed futuristic architecture to the city centre, I felt inside my briefcase for my first presentation slides. The fifth Singapore Joint Professionalism Course was soon to begin.

 I had been invited to perform on the strength of my regular involvement in the UK Actuarial Profession’s new Professional Skills Course. The ‘Joint’ in the title indicated that the course was meeting the regulatory requirements of three actuarial bodies, the UK Profession, the CAS and Actuaries Institute (the Australians).

 The ground force was Patsy Lau and her son Raymond. The organiser in chief, Andrew Linfoot, had been summoned abroad and could not attend – but it was a tribute to his standing in the marketplace and his persuasive talents, that the big hitters from among Singapore’s actuarial top table, were there to lend advice and gravitas to the proceedings. Thus over the couple of days, I shared the rostrum with:

• Colin Pakshong (FIA);and
• Scott Yen (FCAS).

The occasional contributors were:

• Jill Hoffman (the SAS President);
• Richard Holloway;
• David Maneval (a French non-life actuary);
• Andrew Loh; and
• Hamish Worsley (representing Actuaries Institute).

Attendees!

There were 17 delegates of whom five were general insurance (the rest life), four were CAS, four were Australian (the rest UK members) and by origin they were almost exclusively from Singapore and Malaysia. The programme had been designed to meet the requirements of all three bodies, as well as retaining the special local features for which this joint course has become famous in the region. There was a mixture of Fellows, Associates and students in attendance.

No rules, no right answers

I quickly checked my ammunition. My first salvo introduced the concepts of professionalism and ethical behaviour – no, there were no rules nor right answers, just considerations for the actuary when exercising judgement. From the barrels in my laptop, I had primed four case studies which were shelled out to groups of delegates – the big message here seemed to be that you could lend a lawnmower across the garden fence but do not talk insurance.

After lunch, I hit the DVD button and immediately Alec Trevelyan faced cross examination by Caroline Hunter Yates on his recent misdeeds.

Case studies divide opinion

The debate got ever hotter when I distributed the first set of practice specific case studies. Battle lines were evenly drawn over whether you should point out to a fellow actuary that he has miscalculated his reserves, if you are on opposite sides of portfolio buy-and-sell, BEFORE the deal is signed.

Special challenges of SE Asia

The final session of day one surrounded the challenges facing actuaries in SE Asia. While I acknowledged that public awareness of my profession was a global problem, I was intrigued to learn that a recent candidate in Singapore’s presidential elections was (and is) an actuary; but that he had kept that fact hidden from his electorate – just what did that say about pride in his vocation?

Ethics and the public interest

I opened the second day on the role of the professional body in matters ethical and public interest. There was a definite nodding of heads in relief that the association was going to play a large part in both. More case studies followed and I found myself defending the notion that integrity demands the whole truth not just the absence of lies.

Discipline and the increased muscles of the CPD scheme worried some of the delegates, especially when the local scheme demanded 20 hours.

When life and general insurance experts, Richard and David, took the stage, the delegates were ready for some first- hand practice-area training. I felt a spasm of pride that so many of the world’s guidance notes seem to stem from the UK’s own Guidance Notes.

Successful conclusion to the course

The photo call and certificate award ceremony, the traditional passing-out, left me with very little time to catch my flight. But the handshake and exchange of parchment, caught on the hard-drive of a Nikon, could not be relegated to a post-course envelope. I could still run, once the formalities had been completed, couldn’t I?

Visit our gallery of photographs taken at the course.

Neil Hilary FIA