Society of Actuaries
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is a global professional organization for actuaries. It was founded in 1949 as the merger of two major actuarial organizations in the United States: the Actuarial Society of America and the American Institute of Actuaries. It is a full member organization of the International Actuarial Association. Through education and research, the SOA advances actuaries as leaders in measuring and managing risk to improve financial outcomes for individuals, organizations, and the public. The SOA's vision is for actuaries to be highly sought-after professionals who develop and communicate solutions for complex financial issues. The SOA provides primary and continuing education for students and practicing actuaries, maintains high professional standards for actuaries, and conducts research on actuarial trends and public policy issues. A global organization, the SOA represents actuaries from all major areas of practice, including life and health insurance, retirement and pensions, investment and finance, enterprise risk management, and general insurance (property and casualty) insurance. The Casualty Actuarial Society also represents actuaries working with property and casualty. The SOA, along with its public relations firm Golin, won the PRWeek Corporate Branding Campaign of the Year award for 2008. The award was given for the SOA's efforts to revitalize the actuarial profession's brand in the U.S., including the slogan "Risk is Opportunity." History
The Society was founded as a merger of two major American actuarial associations, as reflected in its logo: the Actuarial Society of America (ASA) and the American Institute of Actuaries (AIA). The Actuarial Society of America was the first actuarial professional association in North America, founded in 1889 with only 38 members and headquartered in New York City. Initial members were included by invitation, but the organization soon adopted a system of examination for qualification, with the first Fellow to qualify via exams joining in 1900. The American Institute of Actuaries was founded in 1909. Based in Chicago, it attracted members from life insurance companies in the midwestern and southern United States. The formation of the AIA, which (like the ASA) was geared toward actuaries in the field of life insurance, was followed within the decade by the creation of two other specialized actuarial organizations: the Casualty Actuarial Society, which still exists today, and the Fraternal Actuarial Association which dissolved in 1980. Between the two organizations, which came to have some overlap in membership, the number of recognized professional actuaries climbed from the initial 38 to over 1000 by the time the two organizations merged in 1949 to form the SOA. The SOA has seen continued growth since then, now recognizing over 30,000 professional actuaries as active members. Society structure

Leadership 
The SOA is headed by a board of directors, consisting of a president, president-elect, and fifteen other board members. In addition, the most recent past president is a member of the board. The board positions are filled by election. A member of the society is eligible to vote in board elections if they have the title of FSA, or if they have held the title of ASA for at least five years, and only FSAs can be elected to the board. (See the Membership section below for information on the professional titles granted by the society.) Regular board members are elected for terms of three years. The president-elect is elected for a term of one year, after which he or she becomes the president for a term of one year. The employees of the SOA are headed by the chief executive officer, a salaried position appointed by the board of directors. Elections 
The SOA holds its elections annually in late summer or early fall for its board of directors and the Section Councils. In the board of directors election, one president-elect, and six elected board members are elected each year. Elected board members serve three–year terms. The president–elect serves three one–year terms as president–elect, president and past president. In section elections, generally one third of the council is elected each year as members serve three–year terms. Section councils select their officers (chair, vice chair, and secretary/treasurer). According to the SOA Bylaws, fellows and associates who have been members of the society for five years or more are entitled to vote in the board of directors' election. According to the Section Bylaws, all members of a Section are entitled to vote in the Section Council election. This includes ASAs, FSAs, and members of co–sponsoring organizations who are also members of a Section. SOA members with valid e–mail addresses in the SOA database are sent login credentials to vote online. Members without valid email addresses, or who notify the SOA of their request, receive paper ballots. Membership 
The society's members are involved in the life, health, pension and general insurance areas of the actuarial profession. There are three designations offered by the SOA. The two Associate-level designations are Associate of Society of Actuaries (ASA) and Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA), which was introduced in 2007. The highest designation is Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA). The SOA has more than 30,000 actuaries as members. The 3 micro-credentials and affiliate membership was introduced in 2022. Requirements for membership for the SOA include the actuarial exams, a comprehensive series of competitive exams. Topics covered in the exams include mathematics, finance, insurance, economics, interest theory, life models, and actuarial science. Non-members working in the actuarial profession and taking exams are often referred to as actuarial students or candidates. Members of the SOA who meet a professional experience requirement are eligible for membership in the American Academy of Actuaries, which represents United States actuaries from all practice areas. Education system 
Professional designations in the Society are earned by completing a rigorous system of education including examinations, validations, and e-learning modules. It is common for actuarial students to work full-time in the profession while studying for the exams. Preliminary exams 
The first six to seven exams (preliminary exams) consist mostly of core mathematics related to actuarial science including probability, interest theory, life contingencies, risk models, statistical modeling, and predictive analytics. Preliminary exams administered on computers at Prometric testing centers. The scores are reported in a scale of 0 to 10 in the transcript.The score is referred to the actual passing percentage  to the following scale. If , then , i.e. the requirement for the percentage of score to get grade 10 will be higher than . That is, grade 10 is unachievable. Hence, the highest grade achievable can be 9 for a test. The current form of preliminary exams were established in year 2000 and evolved over time. Significant changes were introduced in 2005 and 2007 to introduce the new education components of Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) and Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (FAP) learning modules. In 2018 and 2023, the preliminary exams have undergone another wave of significant changes to reflect an emphasis on predictive analytics, and also provides a curriculum balance between long-term and short-term insurance coverages. The rough equivalent of preliminary exams since year 2000 are listed according to the transition rules published by SOA. There are also differences in detail between exam syllabus over time. Other components toward associateship 
In addition to the exams, candidate would also need to complete the additional education requirement such as Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) and a series of e-learning modules. The Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) is the additional topics covered by actuarial education. However, they can be validated by completing approved university courses instead of closed-book exams. The VEE was introduced in 2005 and made the scope of preliminary exams to shrink. In 2005, the 3 subjects were: Applied statistical methods, Corporate finance, and Economics. In 2018, the 3 subjects were amended as: Accounting and finance, Economics, and Mathematical statistics. A series of online learning modules are intended to be taken with the preliminary exams. The Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (FAP) were introduced in 2007 to cover real-world topics such as insurance and professionalism with readings, case studies and projects. The FAP modules superseded the former Course 5 (Application of Basic Actuarial Principles) and Course 7 (Applied Modeling) in year 2000 syllabus. In 2023, more e-learning modules were added to the education requirement as a part of educational pathway redesign. Fellowship exams 
Upper-level exam topics for the FSA designation include plan design, risk classification, enterprise risk management, ratemaking and valuation. Three fellowship exams are taken in one of six specialization tracks chosen by the candidate – Finance & Enterprise Risk Management, Investments, Individual Life Insurance & Annuities, Retirement Benefits, Group & Health Insurance, or General Insurance. The SOA is updating the Fellowship tracks beginning in late 2018. Candidates completing the Finance & Enterprise Risk Management track will also earn the CERA designation. Candidates in any of the other five tracks have the option of replacing their track-specific Enterprise Risk Management exam with a more generalized ERM exam in order to obtain the CERA designation in addition to FSA. See also
American Academy of Actuaries
Casualty Actuarial Society
List of learned societies

References

External links
Official Website
The Actuary magazine

Actuarial associations
Professional associations based in the United States
Organizations based in Schaumburg, Illinois
Non-profit organizations based in Illinois