Faculty of Actuaries

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The Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland is the professional body representing actuaries in Scotland.

The Institute of Actuaries, is a separate body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. While the Faculty of Actuaries and the Institute of Actuaries are separate institutions, they work very closely together, and the professional qualifications and professional standards for actuaries are identical in each of them.

The Faculty of Actuaries was formed in 1856 with the aim of representing the interests of actuaries practicing in Scotland. In 1868 the Faculty of Actuaries was granted a royal charter.

The Faculty's slogan is "Making financial sense of the future."

1 Examinations
- 1.1 Core exams
- 1.2 Specialist exams
2 University-based exams
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Examinations

Qualification by the Faculty consists of a combination of exams and courses. The exams can only be taken upon having officially joined the body, unlike many other countries where exams may be taken earlier; although a candidate may offer proof of having previously covered topics (usually while at University) in order to be exempt from taking certain subjects. The exams are split into four sections: Core Technical (CT), Core Applications (CA), Specialist Technical (ST), and Specialist Applications (SA). In addition to exams and courses, it is required that the candidate has spent at least three years working as an actuary, and be of 23 years of age, for him or her to qualify as a “Fellow of the (Institute/Faculty) of Actuaries” (FIA/FFA) (Faculty and Institute of Actuaries 2006).

[edit] Core exams

The Core Technical section consists of the 8 exams and a “Business Awareness Module,” CT9. These are usually first sat by a candidate and include the underlying mathematics involved in actuarial work as well as an introduction to financial and economic issues. These are also the most common exams for which candidates may get exemptions. While these are the first exams, candidates coming from a less mathematical background often find these more difficult than the later ones due to the mathematical theory content. Topics covered include annuities, stochastic modelling, time series, and triangles.

The Core Applications section consists of two exams and a modeling course, CA2, that focus on the application of concepts learned, especially to insurance companies. This includes the communications model, CA3, which tests the candidate on their ability to communicate complex actuarial concepts to others. Upon successful completion of both the CT and CA subjects a candidate is said to be an “Associate of the (Institute/ Faculty) of Actuaries.”

[edit] Specialist exams

The Specialist Technical section represents the first time the candidate has a choice of which exams to take. The candidate chooses two from the various actuarial specialist subjects e.g. Life, Pensions, or Investments and further technical knowledge on said subjects is attained.

The Specialist Applications section allows the candidate to choose one area for which they take the SA paper and attain full Fellowship; leading to many referring to this as the “Fellowship paper.” However, as the rules on the ordering of exams are relaxed, this exam may be taken before taking some earlier exams resulting in candidates qualifying on other papers.

[edit] University-based exams

As an alternative to taking professional exams while working as a trainee actuary, a number of universities offer actuarial science degrees at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. Successful students can earn exemptions from professional exams.