19 March 2021
The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published its long-awaited White Paper on reform of audit and corporate governance. Within this, it also sets out important proposals for the future of UK actuarial regulation.
This includes more detail about the role of a proposed new regulator – the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA) which is the body expected to replace the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in 2023.
Under the proposals, ARGA will take on statutory oversight of the IFoA’s regulatory function and will set legally binding UK technical actuarial standards. Currently, these roles are carried out by the FRC under a Memorandum of Understanding with the IFoA.
It is also proposed that ARGA’S role could extend to monitoring compliance with those technical standards and taking action for compliance failures. The paper also considers the possibility of those technical standards applying to entities carrying out actuarial work, in addition to individual actuaries.
The IFoA has been and will continue to engage fully with government and other interested parties on regulation of the profession. We welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important review, on behalf of our members, and will be seeking views and feedback to inform our response. We would also encourage members and employers to provide their own response to consultation in order to provide BEIS with the broadest possible range of views.
The IFoA’s consideration of the recommendations and the consultation response will be led by a special group called the IFoA Regulatory Strategy Steering Group. This is made up of the Presidential Team, Council members, Regulation Board Members and the Executive Leadership Team.
The deadline for responses is 8 July 2021.