Government Actuarys Department
The Government Actuarys Department (GAD) has successfully been reaccredited with the industry standard for actuarial work.
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) Quality Assurance Scheme (QAS) demonstrates that GAD upholds the standards needed to produce high-quality actuarial work.
The QAS recognises the importance of the working environment and appropriate monitoring of quality controls. It shows we have good internal policies and procedures which have been independently assessed.
Purpose and process
The QAS accreditation is for organisations which demonstrate a commitment to meeting the Schemes 3 outcomes. These aim to support actuaries to comply with their professional requirements and deliver high quality actuarial work:
- Professionalism
- Development and Training
- Organisational Culture
GAD was first accredited under the QAS scheme soon after it was launched in 2016. We submit annual returns to show evidence of how we continue to improve, monitor, review and update our policies and procedures relating to the QAS outcomes. We also had an interim assessment in 2020.
Organisations with the QAS accreditation must be reassessed every 6 years to ensure they continue to meet the required outcomes.
GAD has recently successfully completed the reaccreditation process. This included the completion of detailed application forms, sharing of documents, meetings and a virtual visit from the QAS assessment team.
Professionalism and quality assurance
The QAS objectives encourage actuarial employers to ensure effective support is in place for technical and ethical issues faced by actuaries.
It recognises that the working environment is key in ensuring that actuaries fulfil their professional obligations. Therefore, the QAS has 6 objectives include promoting:
- professionalism in organisations that employ actuaries, in relation to their actuarial work
- effective quality assurance at an organisational level and thereby, indirectly, the quality of actuarial work
- greater confidence in the work of actuaries
As part of the regular monitoring of QAS accredited organisations, assessors establish whether an organisations policies and procedures are embedded in its ethos and there is a culture of continuous improvement.
Important milestone
The IFoAs QAS Committee reviews organisations applications for accreditation, annual returns and re-accreditation. It also helps to oversee the ongoing administration and development of the scheme.
Actuarial Director Steve Humphrey said: This is an important milestone for GAD. It demonstrates that we have continued to meet the required criteria. As well as receiving an independent assessment of our policies and procedures, we are able to share best practice ideas with other QAS a