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Professional Conduct Standards. 1: General information
Professional Conduct Standards, version 3.0
1. General
| 1.1 | The Faculty of Actuaries and the Institute of Actuaries are separate professional bodies constituted by individual Royal Charters who together style themselves as the Actuarial Profession |
| 1.2 | Every member must comply with the standards of behaviour, integrity, competence and professional judgement which other members or the public might reasonably expect of a member. Failure to meet such standards is misconduct, as defined in the disciplinary schemes. |
| 1.3 | The PCS sets out general principles and ethical standards. It is not comprehensive or exhaustive. Other professional standards may impose additional requirements in specific circumstances and are classified either as mandatory or recommended in nature. Some professional standards may contain material falling into more than one category as indicated in the standard. For the avoidance of doubt, professional standards classified as “Practice Standards” have mandatory status, except where indicated otherwise in that standard, and professional standards classified as “Recommended Practices” have recommended status (see paragraphs 4.2 and 4.3 below). The PCS is a mandatory Professional Standard. |
| 1.4 | It is the professional responsibility of each member to be conversant with the PCS. In the course of carrying out their professional duties or otherwise all members must comply in both the spirit and the letter. This applies even when a member is also subject to the standards of another professional body. |
| 1.5 | Considerable reliance is placed on the conscience of each individual member and on the collective conscience of all members to maintain the highest standards of conduct. |
| 1.6 | Except for those firms regulated under the Institute of Actuaries’ Designated Professional Body regime, the Actuarial Profession regulates individual members, not members’ firms. Where a member becomes aware that the member’s firm intends to act, or has already acted, in a way which would put the member (or any other member connected to the firm) in breach of professional guidance, the member must take appropriate preventative or corrective action (see also paragraph 4.4.1). |
| 1.7 |
BAS standards apply to members with professional responsibility to the intended recipient of advice in relation to:
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| 1.8 | The Actuarial Profession imposes certain technical standards for work done by members outside the scope specified by BAS and set out in paragraph 1.7. Further it expects its members to apply appropriate technical standards and these should, where ambiguity might otherwise exist, be specified in any relevant letter of engagement or contract of employment. Where the context of the engagement or employment makes clear the standards which would apply, then these need not be specified, but the member must then apply those standards fully. These standards may be those of a relevant actuarial body or, where specified in the contract, the International Actuarial Association (IAA). In applying technical standards issued by a body other than the Actuarial Profession, BAS or a UK statutory authority, the member may undertake through terms of engagement or a contract of employment to have regard only to the underlying principles rather than to comply with all the detailed requirements of those standards, but otherwise the full standard would need to be applied. |
| 1.9 | Members working outside the UK are strongly encouraged to join any relevant local professional actuarial body whenever it is appropriate, having regard to the nature of their work, to do so. If the requirements of a local body to which the member belongs appear to conflict with the PCS or any other relevant professional standards, the member should normally seek advice from a senior actuary and, if that does not resolve the matter, seek guidance from the Actuarial Profession. |
| 1.10 | For the avoidance of doubt, the PCS places no barrier on the establishment of a corporate practice or of a mixed partnership with members of other professions. A member must avoid arrangements which inhibit the member’s ability to conform to the standards of behaviour, integrity, competence and professional judgement which other members or the public might reasonably expect of a member (including, but not limited to, the requirements of professional standards). |
| 1.11 | One of the responsibilities of the senior actuary in a firm (or the senior actuaries acting collectively, where a firm has nominated more than one senior actuary) is to draw the relevant provisions of the PCS to the attention of appropriate senior non-actuarial colleagues with a view to ensuring that the firm does not act in such a way as would put its members in breach of professional standards. In addition, it is a responsibility of a senior actuary to give guidance on the application of professional standards to other members within the firm. |
| 1.12 | A member who has any doubt about the interpretation of professional standards or their application in particular circumstances should normally seek advice from a senior actuary in the first instance. If it would be inappropriate to do this or if, having consulted a senior actuary, the member has residual doubts about the course of action to be taken, the member should seek guidance from the Actuarial Profession. |
Page updated: 2 December 2008
Contact: Web editor
Contact: Web editor