The Code has six principles.
- Integrity – Members must act honestly and with integrity.
- Competence and care – Members must carry out work competently and with care.
- Impartiality – Members must ensure that their professional judgement is not compromised, and cannot reasonably be seen to be compromised, by bias, conflict of interest, or the undue influence of others.
- Compliance – Members must comply with all relevant legal, regulatory and professional requirements.
- Speaking up - Members should speak up if they believe, or have reasonable cause to believe, that a course of action is unethical or is unlawful.
- Communication – Members must communicate appropriately.
Who does the Actuaries' Code apply to?
The Actuaries’ Code applies to all members of the IFoA
When does the Actuaries' Code apply?
The Code applies at all times to all Members’ conduct in relation to an actuarial role.
The Code also applies to all Members’ other conduct if that conduct could reasonably be considered to reflect upon the profession.
How does the Actuaries' Code apply?
If you have any questions about your obligations under the Actuaries' Code you may wish to submit your query to the Professional Support Service.
Failure by a Member to comply with the ethical requirements set out in the Code may lead to disciplinary proceedings under the IFoA’s Disciplinary and Capacity for Membership Schemes.
Guidance
The IFoA has developed non-mandatory Guidance to support the principles and amplifications in the Actuaries' Code. It has advice for members to help them better understand the nature of their obligations under the Code and applying it in practice.
Access the guidance
- How to use the Guidance, Section 1: Introduction and Section 2: Application, Scope, and Status and Purpose
- Section 3: Principle 1 - Integrity
- Section 4: Principle 2 - Competence and Care
- Section 5: Principle 3 - Impartiality
- Section 6: Principle 4 - Compliance
- Section 7: Principle 5 - Speaking Up
- Section 8: Principle 6 - Communication
Download our guidance as a PDF
Download the guidance as a PDF
Training and education
The Professional Skills Training webinars and videos touch on various aspects of the Code and are available to watch through the VLE.
- Watch "Actuarial Interaction and Challenge"
- Watch "Speaking Up, Whistleblowing - What do we mean? Is there a Difference?"
Support
If you have any questions about the Code, you can contact the IFoA's Regulation Team.
Contact Details
If you have any enquiries about the Actuaries' Code please email
Filter or search events
Events calendar
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Mathematical Futures: The Actuary in a World Transformed – Sir Adrian Smith will outline how advances in data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence in the world of big data will transform the nature of many industries, including financial services. The broader environment within which mathematics is applied will change rapidly, often led by innovative yet disruptive forces outside. These changes will undoubtedly have an impact on the work of actuaries - and the profession will need to adapt quickly to thrive. -
General Insurance Spring Conference 2021 webinar series
Online conference19-25 May 2021
The General Insurance (GI) Spring Conference is a result of the General Insurance Lifelong Learning Committee (GILL) combining this year’s 'Current Issues in General Insurance' (CIGI) and 'Technical Issues in General Insurance' (TIGI) conferences into a virtual webinar series over 19 – 25 May that will be available to watch online globally. -
CILA 2021
Available to watch globally in May.19-21 May 2021
We continue to live in a world of global uncertainty. Survival depends on our ability to simultaneously navigate through the diverse root-causes, ranging from: the consequences of Climate Change; on-going financial consequences of the COVID pandemic; or self-imposed changes in regulatory requirements and accounting standards. -
This is a free webinar on the consultation on changes to the Practising Certificates (PC) Scheme.The proposals come from a recent review of the PC Scheme which was the first substantive look at the IFoA’s approach to the requirements and process for PCs since 2010. It responds directly to feedback received on how the current scheme works especially that received from members and PC Holders.
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The world is changing. The fourth industrial revolution, globalisation and the COVID-19 pandemic are up-ending traditional social and business norms around the world; changes that were once predictable and steady are now faster and more profound. -
Sessional Meeting - Long term stochastic risk models: The 6th generation of modern actuarial models?
7 June 2021
This paper explores the use of long-term stochastic modelling for risk management. Life insurance is a long-term business and carries with it long-term risks, yet a lot of current actuarial risk management is focused on short-term modelling approaches. -
Tools like python/R are being heavily used to provide end-to-end analytical solutions for risk management. They help to set up a framework/platform to collect risk data and work out stochastic analytics to provide insights into the risks faced by a firm, be it in any sector. -
Actuarial Implications of Pandemic: Modelling Unemployment and Mortality Impact of Vaccination
9 June 2021
In this webinar, two presentations present the research from the Health and Care practice area on two key issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic; Scott Reid will share the research on unemployment modelling and John Ng will discuss the mortality impact of vaccination. -
The webinar will look at several aspects of intergenerational fairness and our panel of experts will challenge you, society, taxpayers and generations X, Y and Z on key aspects of DB v DC pensions, public v private sector pensions, state benefits and key aspects of sustainability.
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Pensions Conference 2021
Online webinar series16-22 June 2021
Welcome to the programme for our 2nd Virtual Pensions Conference. This year's conference features 11 webinars offering members and non-members the opportunity to get up to date content from leading experts in the pension industry. There will also be opportunity to ask questions and contribute to the discussion. -
Annual General Meeting 2021
24 June 2021Given our commitment to the safety of our members and employees, and as the easing of restrictions in respect of COVID-19 cannot be guaranteed at this point in time, we have decided to hold our AGM virtually again this year.
The Business of the AGM
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IFoA Presidential Address 2021
25 June 2021Join newly inaugurated IFoA President Dr. Louise Pryor as she explores what we need to do to keep abreast of the changing world – and how we can seize the resulting opportunities – in her Presidential Address, ‘A Learning Society’
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This is a free webinar on the consultation on changes to the Practising Certificates (PC) Scheme.The proposals come from a recent review of the PC Scheme which was the first substantive look at the IFoA’s approach to the requirements and process for PCs since 2010. It responds directly to feedback received on how the current scheme works especially that received from members and PC Holders.
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Actuaries in all practice areas have had an “alert” to consider climate risk. A plethora of scenarios and tools are being developed both internally and as part of industry-wide initiatives but is there yet a sense of good practice?
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The paper “Asset liability modelling in the quantum era” shall be presented by its authors, Tim Berry and James Sharpe, and chaired by Andrew Smith, Assistant Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at University College Dublin.
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Internal audit is often the Cinderella of the audit world. It’s a regulatory requirement for insurance companies to have an internal audit function, so why not make it as useful as possible? This session will look at how to link an internal audit plan to the risk register, and how that helps audit committees and boards to spot problems and fix them.
Mathematical Futures: The Actuary in a World Transformed – Sir Adrian Smith will outline how advances in data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence in the world of big data will transform the nature of many industries, including financial services. The broader environment within which mathematics is applied will change rapidly, often led by innovative yet disruptive forces outside. These changes will undoubtedly have an impact on the work of actuaries - and the profession will need to adapt quickly to thrive.
The General Insurance (GI) Spring Conference is a result of the General Insurance Lifelong Learning Committee (GILL) combining this year’s 'Current Issues in General Insurance' (CIGI) and 'Technical Issues in General Insurance' (TIGI) conferences into a virtual webinar series over 19 – 25 May that will be available to watch online globally.
This is a free webinar on the consultation on changes to the Practising Certificates (PC) Scheme.
The world is changing. The fourth industrial revolution, globalisation and the COVID-19 pandemic are up-ending traditional social and business norms around the world; changes that were once predictable and steady are now faster and more profound.
This paper explores the use of long-term stochastic modelling for risk management. Life insurance is a long-term business and carries with it long-term risks, yet a lot of current actuarial risk management is focused on short-term modelling approaches.
Tools like python/R are being heavily used to provide end-to-end analytical solutions for risk management. They help to set up a framework/platform to collect risk data and work out stochastic analytics to provide insights into the risks faced by a firm, be it in any sector.
In this webinar, two presentations present the research from the Health and Care practice area on two key issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic; Scott Reid will share the research on unemployment modelling and John Ng will discuss the mortality impact of vaccination.
Welcome to the programme for our 2nd Virtual Pensions Conference. This year's conference features 11 webinars offering members and non-members the opportunity to get up to date content from leading experts in the pension industry. There will also be opportunity to ask questions and contribute to the discussion.
This is a free webinar on the consultation on changes to the Practising Certificates (PC) Scheme.