Actuarial Society of South Africa
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| Founded | 1948 |
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| Type | Professional Organisation |
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Area served
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South Africa |
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Key people
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Peter Temple (current President), Roseanne da Silva (President Elect) |
| Website | www.actuarialsociety.org.za |
The Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) is the governing body for the actuarial profession in South Africa.
Since 2010, Fellowship has been obtained by passing a set of prescribed examinations of the Actuarial Society of South Africa. Prior to this, Fellowship was traditionally obtained through exams written through other recognised actuarial organisations, mostly the Institute of Actuaries in London or the Faculty of Actuaries in Edinburgh.
Following qualification, Fellow members may add FASSA (Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa) after their names and Associate members may add AMASSA (Associate Member of the Actuarial Society of South Africa). The FASSA qualification has mutual recognition with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the United Kingdom, the Actuaries Institute in Australia and the Society of Actuaries in Ireland.
Contents
History
The history of the Actuarial Society of South Africa began with the Actuaries' Club, which was formally established on 14 June 1937. The Actuaries' Club served the purposes of bringing the actuaries in the country together and operated in two sections, one in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town.
While the Actuaries’ Club did some useful work in connection with draft legislation and the protection of the status and interests of actuaries, it was more suited for social purposes. Consequently, the Club was disbanded and the Actuarial Society of South Africa was established. Its inaugural meeting was held in Johannesburg on 22 December 1948. At the time, there were 42 people with actuarial qualifications in the country.
This event was celebrated at the Actuarial Society’s Jubilee Convention in 1998, which was preceded by the first meeting on African soil of the International Actuarial Association (IAA).
Timeline of key events:
- 1948 - The Actuarial Society of South Africa holds its inaugural meeting on 22 December.
- 1966 - SA 56-62 Mortality Tables are published.
- 1972 - The first annual Convention is held in Sea Point.
- 1973 - The first Murray Medal is awarded to Tom Murray.
- 1978 - The JSE Actuaries Index is launched.
- 2001 - Volume 1 of the South African Actuarial Journal is published.
- 2009 - The South African actuarial qualification is formally launched on 23 November.
- 2010 - The Actuarial Society of South Africa hosts the 29th International Congress of Actuaries from 7–12 March, the first time the event is held in Africa.
- 2012 - Desmond Smith is the first actuary from Africa to serve as IAA President.
- 2015 - ASSA becomes the first actuarial association internationally to offer a Banking subject at Fellowship Applications level.
Current affairs
- For the Society's current term of office (2014-2015), the President is Peter Temple and the President-Elect is Roseanne da Silva.[1]
- Since 2010, the Society has transformed into a full service professional organisation, including the development of the local education system, and significant constitutional changes.
- In April 2015, the Actuarial Society announced the introduction of a new Fellowship Applications subject, namely Banking (F206). ASSA is the first actuarial association internationally to offer a Banking subject at the Fellowship Applications level. The first exams took place in November 2015.
Membership
The Actuarial Society of South Africa has the following classes of membership:
- Fellow member (FASSA) - one who has successfully completed the Fellowship examinations and has met the prescribed requirements on professionalism
- Associate member (AMASSA) - one who has successfully completed the Associateship examinations and has met the prescribed requirements on professionalism
- Student member - one who has such educational qualifications and who is following a course of study for the prescribed examinations
- Affiliate member - one who has such educational qualifications and is active in such areas as may be prescribed
- Library member - one who has an interest in actuarial science but is not eligible for membership in another class
- Honorary member - one who has rendered particularly valuable assistance in promoting the objectives of the Actuarial Society.
The Associateship training provides a general background in financial risk management, while the Fellowship training builds on the base of subjects required for the Associateship and provides an in-depth specialization in one of the main practice areas. The Fellowship designation is required for statutory roles in South Africa.
The Actuarial Society is also accredited to award the designation of Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA) which enables actuaries to apply their acquired skills as enterprise risk management (ERM) practitioners. FASSA or AMASSA is a pre-requisite designation for the award of CERA.
Former presidents of the Actuarial Society
By convention, presidents of the Actuarial Society take office following the AGM at the Actuarial Convention, usually held in October or November. In 2001 their term was changed from one to two years and the office of Immediate Past President was abolished. In 2009, the President's term was changed so that the handover occurred at the end of the calendar year.
- 1948– D Spence-Fraser
- 1988–1989 Donald Fabian
- 1992–1993 Peter Milburn-Pyle
- 1993–1994 Mike Levett
- 1994–1995 Douglas Keir
- 1995–1996 Desmond Smith
- 1996–1997 Steve Handler
- 1997–1998 Reg Munro
- 1998–1999 Blignault Gouws
- 1999–2000 Paul Truyens
- 2000–2001 Mike Codron
- 2001–2003 Joubert Ferraira
- 2003–2005 Janina Slawski
- 2005–2007 Adrian Baskir
- 2007–2009 Garth Griffin
- 2010–2011 Peter Doyle[2]
- 2012–2013 Themba Gamedze
- 2014–2015 Peter Temple
