There was a time, Chris Smerald says, when he didn鈥檛 always enjoy being an actuary. Not because of the job. Because it was difficult to define.
鈥淧eople would say, 鈥極h, I know what that is鈥� and immediately put you in a little box,鈥� he says. 鈥淥r they鈥檇 have preconceived ideas about you based on where you worked.
鈥淚've been on calls where people have said: 鈥業f you want to do this, you're going to need an actuary. They're helpful, but they're expensive鈥�. And that kind of wraps up a lot of people's impressions.
鈥淲e also have the reputation of saying 鈥榥o鈥� a lot. The model says no, so we say no. That's very traditional to what people think of as an actuary.鈥�
Chris feels chartered actuary designation may go some way towards increasing understanding of the actuarial profession and role.
鈥淚t could be an opportunity to redefine what we are,鈥� he says. 鈥淧eople may think they know, but they will need to actively learn what a Chartered Actuary is. And we can't communicate that well to non-actuaries without understanding what an actuary does.
鈥淭he actuarial profession is a discipline of system sciences. We solve complex problems, but we never have everything we need to reach an answer. So we apply what we call 鈥榖usiness knowledge鈥� 鈥� a euphemism for systems thinking.
鈥淎s an example, someone I previously worked with has been using consulting actuaries, but feels like he needs what I offered as his colleague. And that was simply a collaborative relationship, where it was me that said yes or no, not the model.
鈥淲e achieved that by figuring out how to reframe a problem so the model said yes. To do that, you need the business knowledge 鈥� you have to find and understand all the factors that have an effect. A good actuary has the curiosity to do that.鈥�
“You have to find and understand all the factors that have an effect. A good actuary has the curiosity to do that.” – Chris Smerald, Chartered Actuary (Fellow)
听
It鈥檚 curiosity that drives Chris to apply his actuarial skills in new ways. 鈥淚鈥檓 a member of the International Society for Systems Sciences,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I met this chap called Peter Cook, who did a presentation on ideas that underlie the sciences.
鈥淚t was difficult to understand, but it was really interesting. He had been working on his ideas for a long time. His difficulty was in communicating it. I asked him for more information, to which he said: 鈥榊ou're not going to understand it until you read this textbook on chaos theory鈥�.
鈥淚 got through the first three chapters and understood the ideas around the principle. Then we started talking, and that evolved into me helping him.鈥�
Chris found his work on the communication of complexity useful in working with Peter. 鈥淗e's explaining all these complicated things, trying to translate them into simple language,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd he found it helpful to have a non-expert listen to him and ask questions.
鈥淲e had a series of discussions where I challenged and questioned and wanted to get to the bottom of things, which is very much an actuarial skill, and it was well suited to helping him out.鈥�
听
In fact, after more than two decades working on his idea, Peter, thanks in part to Chris鈥檚 help, went public in September 2024. Chris found the process beneficial too. 鈥淚t鈥檚 helped me better appreciate my own skills,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 was thinking 鈥榳hy would this scientist find value in talking to me, when I don鈥檛 know what a boson is?鈥� But in fact he鈥檇 overlooked so much in trying to get it all down that the attention to detail I was able to bring was important.
鈥淚t got me to see better what actuaries do, what I do, how I work, the problems I'm trying to solve. It鈥檚 helped me to better understand myself.鈥�
听
We鈥檒l be sharing member stories from around the world on a regular basis, so keep an eye out for updates. If you鈥檝e chosen to adopt Chartered Actuary status, or if you鈥檝e employed an actuary who is helping to transform your organisation, we鈥檇 love to hear from you.
