Professional Guidance Notes Process
At the Council meeting of 24 February 2012, Council approved a proposal to revise the format and terminology of guidance notes as well as the process of producing or amending such professional guidance. Please see the memorandum below for more details. The changes will be implemented in stages over a number of months due to the magnitude of the project – until the time all the changes have been implemented we will keep the current format, terminology and process on the website.
Professional Guidance Memorandum 293kb
CLASSIFICATION
Professional Guidance Notes (PGNs) are issued by the Council to assist members in carrying out their professional responsibilities. Each PGN is classified as being “mandatory”, “best practice” or “advisory”.
It should be noted that the terminology will probably change when the local Code of Conduct (formerly Professional Conduct Standards) is introduced; what is currently referred to as Professional Guidance Notes will then become known as Standards of Conduct.
a) MANDATORY
A material breach of the Guide to Professional Conduct, similar standard of conduct or a PGN classified as mandatory will in itself be ground for a complaint under the disciplinary procedures and will amount to strong prima facie evidence of unprofessional conduct. A member choosing to depart from a strict interpretation of a mandatory PGN is strongly advised to disclose and justify any such departure in his report.
b) BEST PRACTICE
Failure to comply with a PGN classified as best practice will not in itself constitute grounds for complaint under the disciplinary procedures. However, a Committee or Tribunal investigating an allegation of unprofessional conduct will take into account the extent to which a member complied with a PGN in this category. It is recommended that any departure from such a guideline be disclosed.
c) ADVISORY
PGNs classified as advisory have little significance with regard to professional conduct.
NUMBERING
The following numbering convention has been adopted:
- Series 100 PGNs dealing with Life Offices
- Series 200 PGNs dealing with Retirement Funds
- Series 300 PGNs dealing with Healthcare
- Series 400 PGNs dealing with General Insurance
- Series 500 PGNs dealing with AIDS
- Series 800 PGNs dealing with CPD and educational matters
- Series 900 PGNs of a general nature
APPROVAL OF PGNs
All PGNs must be approved by Council before being issued.
The process has been revised by introducing both a strategic and professionalism review to the previous (mainly) technical review process. The following steps are required:
- Identification of the need for a guidance note.
- Presentation to Council by technical committee, covering the technical and strategic reasons for developing the guidance note.
- Agreement in principle by Council that a PGN is required.
- Drafting and consideration by relevant technical committee.
- Submission to Professional Matters Board (or a committee of the Board) for input on professionalism issues. (The Board may decide to involve the AGB as well.)
- Final draft approved by relevant technical committee and Professional Matters Board.
- Circulation among members for comment by specified cut-off date.
- Consideration by technical committee and Professional Matters Board of members’ comments and approval of final version.
- Approval by Council on recommendation of appropriate Practice Area Committee or board and the Professional Matters Board.
1. Identification of the need for a PGN
This can be done by the relevant committee, Council or other stakeholder, e.g. a committee investigating a disciplinary matter.
2. Presentation to Council
The entity that identified the need for a guidance note has present to Council the technical and strategic reasons for developing a guidance note. This may be done in a memorandum submitted to Council, or a presentation made at a Council meeting.
3. Agreement in principl e by Council
At this stage, Council does not approve the PGN or its content; it merely agrees that it is necessary to develop or amend a PGN, based on the presentation in 2 above.
4. Drafting and consideration of the PGN
This is done by the relevant committee or an ad hoc task team appointed for this purpose. Care should be taken to involve relevant stakeholders, obtain input from experts and to comply with legislative and other regulatory requirements.
5. Submission to the Professional Matters Board
The Board, or a committee of the Board, considers professionalism-related aspects of the draft. This entails, inter alia, consistency with other PGNs, as well as the extent to which professionalism is enhanced by the draft PGN.
6. Final draft approved by Technical Committee and Professional Matters Board
The Board (or a committee of the Board) and the drafting entity agree on the content and form of the draft PGN.
7. Circulation among members and invitation of comments
Once the Board (or a committee of the Board)and drafting entity have approved the draft PGN, it is circulated for comment among all members. A clear deadline is given for comments. Only in unusual circumstances, and with the consent of Council, will the period for comment be shorter than 30 days. Members who wish to comment are invited to submit comments to a contact person, who is a member of the drafting entity, as well as to the Executive Director of the Actuarial Society, for control purposes. After the period for comments has elapsed, the Executive Director ensures that all comments that had been submitted to him had been submitted to the drafting entity as well.
8. Consideration of comments
Comments on the draft PGN are considered and, where deemed appropriate, discussed with the member who submitted the comments. The drafting entity submits a revised draft of the PGN to the Board (or a committee of the Board) for approval. The revised draft is accompanied by a summary of comments received, as well as an indication of where these comments have been incorporated. Where comments have not been incorporated, the drafting entity must indicate the reasons why this has not been done.
9. Approval by Council
The drafting entity and Professional Matters Board submit a recommendation to Council. A normal majority decision of Council is required to approve a PGN finally. If Council is divided on the matter, or if some Council members have serious reservations, a meeting with the drafting entity should be arranged to ensure that all concerns have been adequately addressed.
10. Publication
Once the PGN has been approved by Council, the Executive Director confirms the number of the PGN, prepares the final version for circulation among members and make sure that it appears on the website.
11. Electronic communication
Draft PGNs, or draft revisions of existing PGNs, may be submitted to Council by e-mail and Council may approve the draft, in principle and/or final publication, by e-mail. Drafting entities who wish to follow this route must submit a memorandum on the proposed changes or proposed PGN together with the draft document, so as to enable Council to take an informed decision on the proposal.
Approved, 1995
Amended – addition of par 11 – 2003
Amended – revised process for approval - 2008