COMMON STANDARDS & PRACTICES


Governance

The Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA) is governed by a Board of Directors (the Board) according to its By-Laws.

The Board meets monthly and is composed of nine members, the President, President Elect, Immediate Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, Student Representative and three additional members.  The members of the Board are elected by members of the CAA at an Annual General Meeting and serve the Association for two years. Their mandate is to manage the work and advance the objectives of the CAA either directly or through established committees such as the Common Standards Committee.

Policies and documents which are used in governing the operations of the CAA and its members are the By-Laws, Code of Conduct, Disciplinary Process, Communication Policy, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Policy and the CAA Actuarial Practice Standards (APS).

CONSTITUTION


By-Law No. 2

The By-Laws set out the objectives of the Association and the means by which such objectives can be realised. 

By-Law No. 2 was enacted at the Annual General Meeting of December 6, 2019 and last updated on December 4, 2024.

CAA By-Law No.2

INTEGRITY


Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct outlines expected behaviours and responsibilities for CAA Members. It connects values, principles and proper practices with day-to-day behaviour in order to promote respect, integrity and professionalism.

  1. A member must know the current requirements of this Code of Conduct and shall perform professional services with integrity, skill and care. He shall fulfill his professional responsibility to his client or employer and shall not act against the public interest.
    [Note: In this Code no distinction is made between the various subsets of actuaries (consultants, actuaries serving companies or pension funds et cetera). The word "client" always refers to the person or institution "consuming" the services of a member or the services of the firm or company for which the member is working. "Employer" refers to the situation where a member is employed by an insurer or other institution.]

  2. A member shall act in a manner to uphold the reputation of the actuarial profession and shall act in a manner to fulfill the profession's responsibility to the public. He shall avoid publicity that might lead to undue or unfair professional advantage, that cannot be substantiated or that is of a misleading nature. Unfair advantage includes both the unfair promotion of one individual and the unfair criticism of another.

  3. A member shall, whether employed or not, express an independent opinion or provide unbiased independent advice, where the circumstances require this. A member must analyse and make relevant decisions without being unduly or inappropriately controlled, constrained or influenced.

  4. A member shall perform professional services with courtesy and shall co-operate with others serving his client or employer. He must treat client information with confidentiality and must make no disclosure of the client's affairs unless so authorised by the client, or so required by law, or as required by the Disciplinary Procedures of the Caribbean Actuarial Association.

  5. A member shall perform professional services only if he is competent and appropriately experienced to do However, he may act in such circumstances if he acts in cooperation with or with the guidance of an actuary who has the requisite knowledge and experience. Through continuing professional development, he must maintain his knowledge, experience, and skills in order to remain competent to perform professional services in a particular area in the light of changes in techniques, regulations, professional standards and codes of professional conduct.

  6. A member is responsible for maintaining applicable practice standards in his work. He must take into account any relevant Actuarial Practice Standards issued or endorsed by the Caribbean Actuarial Association and the status of those Actuarial Practice Standards (e.g. mandatory, recommended practice et cetera). A member who takes responsibility for the work, is as accountable as an actuary for that work and may not plead limited qualification or inexperience as an extenuating circumstance for a breach of accepted actuarial practice. The Actuarial Practice Standards therefore apply to that member, with “member” substituted for “actuary”, but without any implication that the member is an actuary.

  7. A member shall, in communicating his professional findings, show clearly that he is the source of the findings and that he is available to provide the client or employer with supplementary information and explanation about scope, methods and data.

  8. A member shall, in communicating his professional findings, identify the client for whom these findings are made and in what capacity the member serves.

  9. A member shall not perform professional services involving an actual or potential conflict of interest, unless the member's ability to act fairly is unimpaired and there has been full disclosure of the actual or potential conflict.

  10. When a member is asked to take on a professional appointment previously held by another member, before he accepts the appointment, he shall consider whether it is appropriate to consult with the previous member as to whether there are any professional reasons not to accept the appointment or any particular considerations, which should be borne in mind before giving actuarial advice. The other member must provide any required information as soon as possible and may not attempt to obstruct a client who wishes to change advisers.

  11. A member shall disclose, in writing and timely, to his client all sources of income related to any service by the member, his employer or firm, on behalf of a client.

  12. A member shall be subject to the Disciplinary Procedures prescribed in the rules of the Caribbean Actuarial Association, and, subject to the right of appeal within those rules, shall accept any judgment passed, or the decision of any appeal procedure.

  13. When a member becomes aware of a breach in the codes of conduct by another member and the member decides that the nature of the breach is such that action is called for, the member shall follow the procedure set out below:

  1. He/she shall discuss the apparent breach with the other member with the objective of:
    i. seeking more information about the matter so as to form a view whether there has actually been a material breach and/or
    ii. to explore whether the matter is one where the breach can either be mitigated or be rectified entirely by the other member taking remedial action.

  2. If the other member does not cooperate in a timely manner or if the matter is not resolved as a result of such discussions, the member may refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee of the Caribbean Actuarial Association.

Definitions

Actuary: A Fellow, by examination, of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Casualty Actuarial Society, Canadian Institute of Actuaries, the Society of Actuaries, het Actuarieel Genootschap or any other actuarial association which is a full member of the International Actuarial Association and approved by Executive Council.

Member: All classes of members of the Caribbean Actuarial Association.
Words in the masculine include the feminine and the singular includes the plural and vice versa, unless the context specifically provides otherwise.

Revised December 2017.


Communications Policy

The Communications Policy lays out the CAA's principles for Members to share ideas and opinions outside of formal publications by or on behalf of the Board of Directors.

CAA Communications Policy

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY


CPD Policy

The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Policy lays out the CAA's requirements for Members to complete professional development and attest to their compliance.

CAA CPD Policy 2025


Disciplinary Process

At the 17th Annual Conference a Disciplinary Process was adopted for the membership to regulate and govern disciplinary action against members.

Effective December 1, 2022, the Disciplinary Process has been updated to conform to By-Law No. 2.

CAA Disciplinary Process