Jessica Lauren Moon
February 26, 2014
Stats II
Paper #1
Actuary
Uncertainty is an aspect of life that cannot be ignored, and with that uncertainty comes a level of risk. Risk can result in a horribly undesired event or it could produce unimaginable success. Which will happen is a question that can be analyzed and answered to the best of their knowledge by actuaries. They “are the analytical backbone of our society's financial security programs… and the brains behind the financial safeguards in our personal lives” (Beanactuary), so that individuals can live without worrying too much about what the future may hold.
An actuary is a business professional who analyzes the financial consequences of risk. Actuaries use “mathematics, statistics, and financial theory to study uncertain future events, especially insurance and pension programs” (Purdue). Actuaries foster “formulas to predict how much money an insurance company will pay in claims, which results in determining the overall cost of insuring a specific group, business, or individual” (Ferguson 20). An increase in risk raises potential cost to a company, which, in turn, raises its rates. Actuaries analyze risk to estimate the number and amount of claims an insurance company will have to pay. They ultimately assess the cost of funding the business and incorporate the results into the design and evaluation of programs. A career as an Actuary is better described as a "business" career with a mathematical basis than as a "technical" mathematical career.
Within this profession there is a lot of depth within the title of an actuary. Actuaries typically do many different activities to come to the specific results. They spend a lot of time “compiling statistical data and other per...
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... lot of focus, hard work, consistency, and motivation to prepare for and successfully complete each exam that has to be taken. Typically each candidate wanting to be an actuary “studies for about 100 hours for every hour of the exam” (actuary.org). “Potential employers suggest the minimum requirements for hiring are a 3.2 GPA or higher and at least 1 actuarial exam” (Purdue). Desirable qualities that are sought after within an applicant are technical ability, communications skills, and a diverse background including courses in mathematics, statistics, business, and the liberal arts. The actuarial exams, consisting of 30-35 multiple-choice problems and lasting around 3 hours, administered by both the SOA and the CAS, cover a variety of subjects of importance in the insurance industry such as probability, interest theory, risk management, and life contingencies.
Insurance is a subject that not everyone wants to talk about because it’s something that only gets brought up when they have an incident that happens to them or they might just not know enough about it. The insurance business is a huge business, which many people don’t realize that the top richest companies are all insurance companies. It is an interesting industry that not enough people know a whole lot about and through watching the film “Cedar Rapids”, you get some accurate depictions on the inside of the industry through an insurance agent’s and even though it’s not shown, an insurance broker’s point of view. Throughout this film there were some interesting points that many people might not be able to tell, but some are accurate in
For most professionals, designations must be acquired through a series of training and schooling. In the United States, actuarial candidates have the opportunity to be a part of the following organizations: the Society of Actuaries, the Casualty Actuarial Society, the Conference of Actuaries in Public Practice, and the American Academy of Actuaries. Each of these societies has specific requirements in the realm of passing exams and attaining work experience in the actuarial field.
Over one million people are employed as accountants, and most can be found in private business and industry. “Nearly 40 percent of all accountants are certified, and about 10 percent are self-employed’(Caruna, 1). In addition to openings resulting from growth, the need to replace accountants who retire or transfer to other occupations will produce thousands of job opening annually in this large occupation. The Occupational Outlook Handbook states that the expansion of accountants is related to: “increasingly complex taxation, growth in both the size and the number of business corporations required to release financial reports to stockholders, a more general use of accounting in the management of business, and outsourcing of a...
Rousmaniere, Peter. “Facing a tough situation.” Risk & Insurance 17.7 (June 2006): 24-25. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 23 March 2011.
My mathematical knowledge is a special gift. I have comprehended math problems from simple addition up to calculus significantly easier than my fellow classmates. Whenever I am stuck on a problem, I refuse to quit until I reach a solution. I was introduced to an actuary occupation as a freshman in high school, and I have been intrigued ever since. Actuaries manage risks and predict probabilities, like the probability of me receiving the Lily Scholarship (85.93%) or the probability of me getting into Purdue’s Honors College (51.67%). The mathematical task will always be
Insurance claims adjusters are a play a very important role in the insurance field. If a loss or catastrophe occurs claims adjusters are needed immediately to examine the claim and figure out how much money the insurance company must pay. An insurance claims adjuster is a very flexible job with hours varying every day and few qualifications and requirements. This is a very interesting and diverse job since no one claim is identical to another.
Financial statements are formal records that represent the financial activities of any business entity. Financial records are used to calculate the performance, financial strength and liquidity of a company. There are four basic types of financial statements:
While many small businesses may do the day to day accounting they may still turn to a certified public accountant (CPA) when it comes to their year-end financials and their taxes. While some require little to no education outside of high school, payroll specialist or an accounting assistant, others look for the individual to have a bachelors in accounting, credit analysis manager. While still others can require a masters, such as a finance director. No matter what field an accountant decided to go into a few necessary skills are computer, mathematical, and various accounting software will be needed. (O*Net Online Accountants, 2016) Most areas also include a need to have interpersonal
...so there is currently a very high demand for accountants. The accounting field has a high growth when compared with other careers. The job outlook for accountants mimics the health of the economy, which means that if the economy is good, there are more job opportunities and need for workers. There is a 13% expected growth in the accounting field from 2012-2022. Talented accountants advance fast and accountants who are not very good at the job do not get promotions. There is always new information to learn, and an accountant’s job is secure once they have the job.
•Numeracy; includes estimations and calculations with numbers, budgeting and scheduling, accounting, and lastly data analysis.
In particular the adoption of the International Accounting Standard has made the profession more challenging. Accounting is an extremely complex activity with substantial ethical implications which have changed over the last century. Accountants are increasingly becoming an important part of successful business teams. This is because they understand the language of money and a company's complex financial situation better than any other employees. The job outlook for Accountants and auditors seems promising for those still in college with a major in Finance or Accounting. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014), there is a projection of 13 percent growth for 2012 to 2022 for the employment of accountants and auditors. There are few issues that will hinder prospective acc...
External pressure from our Life Insurance partners wanted us to commit to using their services. Life Insurance had designed and implemented an accounting system a few years ago that provided wonderful functionality. This system is being used by most of the enterprise although there is no corporate mandate requiring administration areas to use it. While the functionality of this system is quite detailed and impressive, it fails to meet all of the needs of the annuity business customers. Because the annuity business requirements were quite extensive, the life insurance group could not commit to the necessary enhancements that would be required to their system to satisfy annuity users. Because of these business requirements, we then conducted an extensive analysis to determine what Annuities IT could do to satisfy the business requirements. The analysis revealed that we could build our own accounting system for only 25% of the cost of using the life insurance system.
...t quickly to have a competitive advantage. Also, said companies may not employ actuaries on a full-time basis. For example, some companies may only employ the assistance of an actuary on a consulting basis for some large scale projects. Alternatively, an actuary might be hired to fill a ‘multifaceted’ role at a company that may include a combination of roles such as marketing, client management or financial duties in addition to traditional analytical work.
Accounting dates back as far as first centuries, is the language of business. As everything has gone through many changes, accounting has also changed many times through out the centuries. It went from the use of abacus to the most advanced softwares, and computers. With these drastic improvements nowadays accounting, financial accounting and management are facing big challenges. From the presentation of the reports to communication to the users, investors, and owners, the accounting field has gained totally a new shape from two decades ago. Today with the dynamic change in every aspect of life, the accounting field has to act fast and be able to adapt these new changes and challenges in order to survive.
J. David Cummins, A. S. (1999). Changes in the Life Insurance Industry: Efficiency, Technology and Risk Management: Efficiency, Technology, and Risk Management. Springer.