Happy New Year to one and all! May the New Year bring you success in all your endeavors.
Almost 3 months into the ACOPA year, most of the ACOPA time of Leadership continues to be spent on determining how to respond the recent Academy decision to exclude ACOPA (and CCA) from the Selection Committee and Discipline Committee.
As previously announced, an ad hoc “Standards Committee” was developed, chaired by Immediate Past President Bill Karbon, to determine the ACOPA response. A face-to-face meeting was held at ARA headquarters in Arlington, VA on Dec. 17-18 to accelerate the progress of the Committee. Many thanks to Lauren Okum, Justin Bonestroo, Rick Block, Lynn Young, Judy Miller, Joe Nichols and Tom Finnegan, along with Chair Bill Karbon, for attending the face-to-face meeting and weekly calls that have provided the substance of ACOPA’s response. Thanks also to Marty Pippins and Elizabeth Duda for hosting the event.
An ACOPA member survey was completed to get broad-based input from membership. The survey had a 40% response rate, which is considered excellent. The goal of ACOPA Leadership is to act with the support of membership. The results of the survey were previously announced; click here to download them.
With the help of the face-to-face meeting, a Power Point presentation of recommendations is nearly complete and will be communicated in the month of January.
With the passage of time, we can become more certain that the Academy is not going to change course, which makes action by ACOPA even more important. I continue to have the personal concern that Enrolled Actuaries, especially ACOPA actuaries, are adequately represented in many aspects, including the qualification and discipline process in the actuarial community. ACOPA actuaries sign 75% of the Schedule SBs and ACOPA is the only actuarial organization that solely represents the interest of Enrolled Actuaries. With recent activity among actuarial organizations, will more Enrolled Actuaries become members of ACOPA? The advantages are many!
Accounting Committee
The formation of an Accounting Committee has been approved. At the Actuarial Symposium in August, during a session on pension reporting in accordance with accounting standards, nearly everyone at the conference indicated that they prepare reports in accordance with accounting standards, mostly ASC 715 for private sector employers. Also, actuarial reports in accordance with other accounting standards are also needed and ACOPA actuaries have varied involvement. Other accounting standards include GASB (accounting for governmental entities), accounting for international entities (IAS) and accounting for insurance companies (SSAP).
Stay tuned for more information on ACOPA’s response to Academy actions.
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