S. Michael McLaughlin, FSA 2001, FIA, MAAA, CERA

Principal, Global Leader, Actuarial & Insurance Solutions
Deloitte Consulting, LLP
Chicago, IL

Brief description of current work:

Actuarial Consulting, primarily life insurance and annuities, financial reporting, capital management, enterprise risk management. My clients are large companies typically with international operations.

Primary Area(s) of Practice:

Life Insurance, ERM

Other Areas of Practice / Interests:

International, Investment, Health, Products, Reinsurance, Tax, Litigation support, Management & Personal Development

Professional Background:

I am global leader of a large consulting actuarial practice, with over 600 professionals in 30 countries. I am helping to lead our actuaries into broader areas of work and in broader industries. We use actuarial methods for pricing and reserving, for risk and capital management, performance measurement, acquisitions, audits and much more. We are working in not only insurance but also broader financial services. Beyond financial services, my team works in industries such as technology and manufacturing. Actuarial training has much broader application than we used to think. Actuaries do a great job in our traditional areas. I've also seen what we can do in broader areas, for example, with ERM. Part of my current work is management, but mostly I still work hands–on with my teams to serve my clients.

I started my career in a multi–line insurance company operating in over 30 countries. Originally I was a computer programmer who did unusual and interesting projects for the actuaries. This was in Jamaica, so I did UK Institute exams. My work was mainly life pricing and financial reporting. Later I served as health actuary in 2 companies in Dallas, Texas, where I got first–hand experience of the speed of onset of morbidity risk. I entered the consulting arena in 1984 and participated in a wide variety of engagements. I've done my share of traveling and working long hours. My experience both as a consultant and within life insurance companies has been diverse and interesting.

Volunteer Experience:

Currently I'm Vice President, Secretary & Treasurer of the SOA. I'm an active member of the Leadership Team, which meets weekly to conduct the business of the SOA between board meetings. I've been involved in detail with basic and continuing education, legal matters, financials, operations, staff, international issues and more. I would say my participation and judgment has contributed greatly to the team. As Treasurer I advocated the decision to hold membership dues level for 2008. I've also helped reduce SOA expenses by reducing certain consulting fees. I chair the finance committee, the admissions committee, the policy manual task force, and a task force on relationships with other actuarial organizations. I served as Board member 2002–2005.

I have played a leading role in moving our profession into enterprise risk management. I have been outspoken on the subject, starting at one of my first board meetings. I chaired the Joint Risk Management Section organizing committee, I helped to include CAS and CIA members in that section, and I strongly advocated the CERA credential. This will be an important area of growth for our profession.

Prior to serving on the board, I chaired the Financial Reporting Section Council. I've led continuing education seminars, such as Advanced GAAP. I served on the project oversight group and was co–author of the GAAP text book. And I have been a frequent writer and presenter at professional meetings. I won the Annual Prize for Papers, 1987, with my paper on GAAP Methodology for Universal Life.

Vision Statement:

I have many ideas of my own, of course, but I am committed to working with the Board under the SOA's strategic plan. The strategic plan, whether current or future, helps our organization to be more effective in the long term, instead of tackling a series of short term plans.

My objective is to increase actuarial employment opportunities, while maintaining and enhancing the value of the credential. For this to happen, actuaries will have to think outside the box of traditional work. This is not to compromise our skills and traditions! To the contrary, I believe that actuarial skills and methods have been underutilized for years. With our training in mathematics, financial economics, model construction, and risk management, it just can't be true that our only employment is in insurance and benefits. In other countries actuaries are working for banks and asset managers. Our training applies for example to pricing, or capital and risk management in manufacturing, transportation, or energy companies.

We will accomplish this by market development, attracting new entrants to the profession, continuing education of current members, and communicating with non–traditional employers, all the while maintaining our high educational and professional standards.

We'll never abandon our traditions. But we can provide valuable professional services in more industries. One good example is enterprise risk management. We'll grow in influence. We'll also have to grow our profession in size. But that will reflect a greater number of job opportunities.

For more information, see my web site at mcactuary.com.