“Running a business without a strategic plan is like driving across the country blindfolded without a map.” You may have heard different variations on this quote, originally attributed to Forbes. You can fill in the last part of the simile with any number of activities requiring vision or, metaphorically, understanding. Whether you choose the literal or the figurative, the vision or understanding must be keen.
As we sharpen our focus in 2020, the CAS will harness its energy to deliver on three main priorities:
- A new strategic plan.
- Increased stakeholder engagement.
- A four-year road map for basic education.
Given all the changes occurring in our industry and the world at large, the CAS is revisiting its envisioned future and resultant strategic goals.
Looking at our current state of the organization, there is no doubt that we are growing and that the average age of our members is skewing younger. (See the charts below.) We have a number of distinctly different member cohorts and each may have different needs and different engagement preferences; the value proposition of the CAS to a retiring member is likely to be much different from that of a newly minted Associate. Throughout 2020, we aim to understand the complexity and diversity of our membership and other key stakeholders — candidates, educators, employers and regulators — to ensure that the CAS is providing maximum value to all our constituents.
The last major deliverable for 2020 will be the release of a view of the changes we aim to implement in basic education. This basic education road map will include: moving away from our paper and pencil validation to a more contemporary environment, validating predictive analytics at an applied level, developing a capstone project that could tie together knowledge obtained across all the exams and shifting towards modules or more online content. We aim to have the road map for 2021-2024 complete by midyear.
I’m excited and energized about this coming year as CAS president. The CAS has set some big goals and I look forward to achieving them. You can read more about my vision in the Actuarial Review. I encourage you to leave your thoughts about my vision below!
