ASB Headlines
- Comment Period Ends for Request for Comments on ASOP Content and ASB Procedure
- Comment Period Ends for Exposure Draft for ASOP No. 41
- Comment Period Ends for Exposure Draft on the Proposed Repeal of ASOP No. 31
- ASB to Revise ASOP No. 10
- ASB to Meet June 16-17 in Washington
Comment Period Ends for Request for Comments on ASOP Content and ASB Procedure
In September 2008 the ASB issued a Request for Comments on ASOP Content and ASB Procedure with a comment deadline of December 31, 2008. The ASB had approved a limited revision of the Introduction to the Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOPs) document at that same meeting. This revision clarifies language relating to the way the ASB approaches the process of writing and revising ASOPs. Among other changes, it removed language that suggested the ASB merely codified existing practice, which is not the case
During its revision of the Introduction, the Board recognized that some actuaries object to provisions of the document that describe the ASB’s current procedures because they
believe that the procedures should be changed. Before entertaining any possible changes
to the Introduction in that regard, the Board intends to perform a review of the ASB
procedures as a whole and, if any such changes are needed, then propose further changes
to the Introduction. This Request for Comments is the beginning of that process.
The comment period for this request for comments ended on December 31, 2008.
Comment Period Ends for Exposure Draft for ASOP No. 41
At its September meeting the ASB approved for exposure a draft of a revision to ASOP No. 41, Actuarial Communications, with a comment deadline of December 31, 2008.
The goal of the ASOP No. 41 revision is (1) to make it clear the actuary is responsible for any assumptions and methods underlying the actuarial communication unless they are disclaimed, (2) to standardize the treatment of deviation among all ASOPs, and (3) to clarify the ASOP's wording and structural arrangement.
Click here to download the ASOP No. 41 exposure draft.
The comment period for this draft ended on December 31, 2008.
There is a close connection between the Deviation document and ASOP No. 41. The ASB approved the Deviation document in September, 2008, but it does not take effect until ASOP No. 41 is approved as a final revision. It is possible that changes to ASOP No. 41 as a result of the exposure process may require conforming changes in the deviation language, hence this somewhat unusual process.
Click here to download the final Deviation document.
Comment Period Ends for Exposure Draft on the Proposed Repeal of ASOP No. 31
The ASB voted at its September meeting to publish an exposure draft of the proposed repeal of Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 31, Documentation in Health Benefit Plan Ratemaking.
The ASB has reviewed ASOP No. 31 and compared its guidance to ASOP No. 41, Actuarial Communications, and other ASOPs. The Board concluded that the guidance in ASOP No. 31 is addressed in ASOP No. 41 (both the existing version and the proposed revision) and other ASOPs and, as such, should be repealed.
Click here to download the exposure draft.
The comment period for this draft ended on December 31, 2008.
ASB to Revise ASOP No. 10
At the ASB's September meeting, the Board approved the ASB Life Committee's recommendation to revise ASOP No. 10, Methods and Assumptions for Use in Life Insurance Company Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with GAAP.
ASOP No. 10 provides guidance in establishing methods and assumptions for use in life insurance companies' financial statements prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The ASB plans to remove interpretaions of GAAP in the ASOP to ensure that the standard does not conflict should these principles be amended.
The Board plans to release an exposure draft outlining changes to the ASOP in 2009.
ASB to Meet June 16-17 in Washington
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the ASB will be on June 16-17, 2009, at the Academy offices in Washington.
For more information, e-mail Erica Kennedy or call her at (202) 223-8196.
