8344: GUATEMALA CITY,GUATEMALA

Instituto Guatemalteco Americano (IGA)

Ruta 1, 4-05 Zona 4
Guatemala City, GTM 01004
Phone 502-2422-5555

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prior to scheduling your testing appointment at a Prometric Testing Center.
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All candidates must present a non-expired, valid government-issued identification with BOTH
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Acceptable types of non-expired, valid government-issued photo identification include passport, drivers license, military
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government-issued ID lacks either a photo or a signature (but does not lack both), you should present both the
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missing from the primary government-issued ID, you may use a major credit card, bank card, etc. with a signature
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In countries where names on government-issued photo IDs are not in the English/Latin alphabet, the local Prometric test
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Calculators: Only the following Texas Instrument calculator models may be used:
BA-35
BA II Plus*
BA II Plus Professional Edition*
TI-30Xa
TI-30XIIS*
TI-30XIIB*
TI-30XS Multi View (solar)
TI-30XB Multi View (battery)
*Upon entrance to the exam room, candidates must show the supervisor that the memory has been cleared. For
the BA II Plus and the BA II Plus Professional Edition, clearing will reset the calculator to the factory default
settings.
Calculator instructions cannot be brought into the exam room. Candidates who neglect to purchase an approved calculator
or who forget to bring one to the test site must write the examination without one.
What Time to Arrive at the Test Center
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time.
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Reschedule/Cancel option on this Web site, Prometric's automated voice response system at 866-891-6394 (in North
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You want to become an actuary, now what?

Landing that first actuarial position may be one of the biggest challenges in your career, but
through hard work and perseverance you will enter into a highly rewarding profession. Here is
some advice on obtaining an entry-level actuarial position.

Exams
Probably the single most important qualification for an entry-level candidate is exam progress.
Entry-level candidates should be prepared to pass two exams before being seriously
considered for employment. However, a candidate with one exam and excellent internship
experience is just as desirable as a candidate with two exams and no experience. The market
discourages candidates from passing more than three exams without experience.

Education
Typically, the most desirable candidates possess a bachelor's degree in a quantitative area of
study. These include:

Actuarial Science
Computer Science
Economics
Engineering
Finance
Management Information Systems (MIS)
Mathematics
Physics
Statistics.

While employers favor candidates with a quantitative background, it is not unusual for
candidates with degrees in liberal arts, education, or other disciplines to land a position
provided they have proven ability to pass exams and good computer skills.

Experience
Many employers prefer a candidate have some actuarial experience prior to consideration.
Whether you are still in college, a recent graduate, or a career changer, an internship or co-op
is a good idea if not a requirement.
If you are still in college, it is vital that you obtain at least one actuarial summer internship.
Ideally, you will strive for two. Internships are a great opportunity to "try on" a discipline. One
summer you can try out pensions and the next property and casualty. Also, try to have one
internship at a traditional insurance company and another at a consultancy. The environment
at a consultancy is vastly different from that of an insurer and the environment in life insurance
is different from property and casualty.
If you are a recent graduate and have two exams under your belt, begin looking for a full-time
position, but indicate you are open to an internship. While it will be very difficult for you to
obtain employment without an internship, it is possible with a solid academic record, two
exams, and good computer skills.
If you are a career changer, an internship is still a great idea especially if you are switching
from an unrelated field such as teaching. Obtaining an internship may be a challenge. Many of
the larger employers will only consider college students or recent graduates. Smaller, private

firms are much more embracing of a varied past. Also, smaller firms can benefit from your work
to a much greater extent than larger firms.

Computer Skills
Technology plays an important role in the actuarial profession, so a good working knowledge of
the tools of the trade is extremely important to obtaining an actuarial position and success on
the job. Possessing an above-average understanding of both Excel and Access is a must, and
to a lesser extent Word and PowerPoint. SQL is becoming an indispensable skill, and many
employers are requiring knowledge or even mastery of it before consideration. Programming
languages such as VBA and C++ are beginning to become a requirement as well. The better
your computer skills, the more likely you are to be hired!
What don't you get?
Someone without a mathematical or statistical background is at a great disadvantage in passing
exams. Being "good at math" doesn't cut it, in this industry that's just shooting par. These days two
exams on a resume means zilch. Recent graduates with no exams are still looking at one to two
years minimum to even be considered.
I really find the devaluation of a graduate degree on this board disgusting. What's with this trend? '''''
it, why did I even go to a four year school?
I should have just gone to a two year auto body program, at least then I could fix the dings on my
car.
Someone in economics has a good understanding of the market and of the financial sector that
actuaries should be concerned with, or at least, that's what the SOA's Image Campaign would have
us believe. I would say that having an economics degree (like the original poster has) is a very good
start.
For many higher level positions, it's almost essential to have a graduate degree. I've noticed that
statisticians generally require a master's/Ph.D degree as a requirement.
You don't need a graduate degree in order to work in an actuarial position. In fact, I'd say you'd be
getting farther and farther away from the business aspect as you delve further into a graduate
actuarial program.
Only way to know if you can pass exams is to actually take them. You don't actually have to major in
math or actuarial science in order to take these exams. I know at least two people who have
progressed through the exams with peculiar situations - one was an English major, who is currently
an ASA and just sat for 8M, and one just graduated high school this past May, but got a 10 on Exam
M in Spring 2005 and finished Courses 1 & 2 while in high school.
So does a graduate degree help one get a job or progress further in the profession? Maybe, but in
ways that FSA described in his post earlier. You could have gotten an associate's degree in auto
mechanics - as long as you can understand life contingencies and loss models, you'll be fine. Except I
think most employers require a 4-year degree for an actuarial position.
So all I've been reading from this forum is that grad school is useless. The reason I ask is because I
did not major in an area close to actuarial science and have take only very basic classes in stats/prob
and econ, so I am wondering if graduate school would give me more background in more advanced
classes like finance etc (or do you people think I could learn that stuff by myself?). I also don't have
any internship experience in this field so I'm wondering if grad school would help me get that footing
for getting into the profession. I would greatly appreciate some advice so to which path I should
take, thanks.
Graduate school might help to give you the footing that you need to get into actuarial science, but I
might ask: Is it for you? Do you love doing math problems just for the fun of it? Do you like looking

at complex equations from different points of view, just because it's interesting? Can you derive the
quadratic formula?
If the answer to these questions is "no", then perhaps you'd do better to go for an MBA and get a job
in business somewhere.
Really, the necessary and sufficient condition of being an actuary is whether or not you can pass
exams. Personal hygiene, communication skills, confidence all help you get further in any field,
including being an actuary, but the exams are really it. Most actuaries study for exams mostly on
their own, with the help of the Study Materials (do a google search for ASM actuarial study
materials).

Corporate Finance and ERM vs. Quantitative Finance and

Investment tracks (self.actuary)
I'm currently weighing both of these options. Just finishing up my ASA
designation over the summer and now I need to figure out which of
these is right for me.
I'm currently living in Canada and work in an investment product
development position. I am contemplating moving to the U.S. in the
next 5-10 years to work in investment banking or risk management in
the financial sectors. Needless to say, insurance and mortality tables
bore me to death.
What do you guys think an actuary in my position should do to keep my
options as open as possible? I feel like ERM has a broader scope over
actuarial science as a whole but QFI might be just broad enough for my
needs, in that it covers most aspects of investment banking without
dealing with the "boring" stuff.
Let me hear your guys' input! What kind of jobs do you have and why
would you recommend going one way or the other?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
[]s4gresRetirement 2 puntos 5 meses atrs

You could always do QFI and then get the CERA designation. That will
cover both your goals and is only a 2 hour longer exam process.
[]pettiblayInvestment[S] 1 punto 5 meses atrs

That's a good point, I've also thought of the alternative, which would be
ERM and CFA but that's a bit more taxing (and probably more rewarding
as well). Thanks I hadn't thought of that!
[]SweetGeorgiaSam 1 punto 5 meses atrs

You can always get a CFA to fulfill the VEEs :D

[]Jcdenton52 1 punto 5 meses atrs

I'm not as far as you, but I'm definitely thinking of using actuary skills in
a more finance-geared application when the time comes. I guess my
only question is how and when those paths diverge
[]pettiblayInvestment[S] 1 punto 4 meses atrs

I don't think choosing either will necessarily make my career diverge

from what It is right now since ultimately, both are quite similar and the
end result is basically the same.
Quote:

Originally Posted by fightinphilz

Hi,
For those of you working in P&C and Health (specifically Health since the P&C SOA
track is new), how often do you see actuaries specialize in the Investment or Finance
ERM track as opposed to the traditional Health or P&C track?
The "traditional" P&C path is through the CAS, not the SOA.

____________________________________________________________________________
For health, very little in terms of investments. You may find a little more on the P&C
side.
I am seeing ERM pop up more and more on the health side, the problem is that the
SOA ERM path is geared more for Life Insurance/Banking.
So, ERM/Finance in health is getting more important, but to answer your specific
question, neither the ERM/Finance or investment SOA track is valuable to health
actuary, right now at least (in terms of their career).
Average pay per hour is somewhat more competitive than IB at the entry level
(120k for 80 hours a week, 52 weeks a year ~ 28.8 an hour compared with 65k for
40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year ~ 32.5 an hour). However that does not take
the study hours into account. You usually get some time off before the exams but
it is more like 40 hours than 200 hours. So if you write two exams a year, it comes
down to 65k/(50*40 + 160*2) = $28. You will get 8-10% increase for passing 2
exams but in the second year, an IB analyst may get an extra 30k bonus. You will
certainly have a more balanced work-study-life however, dont expect it is a 9-5
job. I used 40 hours above for a quick calculation but I know most of entry level
actuarial analysts work for 45-50 hours (at least at the firm I interned).
I think an actuary is like an engineer in term of entry level pay and the pay cap.
With 3 exams you will get 55-65 depend on the city and it is not hard to get 6

figures in 4 years. If you are crazily study for exams and pass the rest 4 or 6
exams and all the modules, you can expect 120-130k. However, you are most
likely to be capped at 170-180k unless you move up the ladder. Depending on
what group you are in, it can be very interesting (product development) or b oring
as hell (reserve?). But that does not really bother me the most. What I was
bothered is that the ratio man/woman is ridiculous. In my internship class, there
were only 2 girls and there were at least 11 guys. My group has only one lady and
5 guys (quite frankly, she was group lead). Honestly there are a lot of
misunderstanding/misconception about actuarial profession. Even though it is one
of the high paying job you can get out of college, it is somewhat overrated.
As for the Excel question, spreadsheet design is the far better skill to have than
knowing particular Excel functions. And a lot of this (both design and function
knowledge) is best done either OJT or working on "personal" projects. You can do a
search on this forum for additional ideas.

The chief risk officer (CRO) or chief risk management officer (CRMO) of a corporation is
the executive accountable for enabling the efficient and effective governance of significant
risks, and related opportunities, to a business and its various segments. Risks are commonly
categorized as strategic, reputational, operational, financial, or compliance-related. CRO's are
accountable to the Executive Committee and The Board for enabling the business to balance
risk and reward. In more complex organizations, they are generally responsible for coordinating
the organization's Enterprise Risk Management(ERM) approach.
The position became more common after the Basel Accord, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,
the Turnbull Report
A main priority for the CRO is to ensure that the organisation is in full compliance with
applicable regulations (chief compliance officer). They may also deal with topics regarding
insurance, internal auditing, corporate investigations, fraud, and information security. CRO's
typically have post-graduate education and 20+ years of business experience, with actuarial,
accounting, economics, and legal backgrounds common.
The chief financial officer (CFO) or chief financial and operating officer (CFOO) is
a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This
officer is also responsible[1] for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial
reporting to higher management. In some sectors the CFO is also responsible foranalysis of
data. The title is equivalent to finance director, a common title in the United Kingdom. The
CFO typically reports to the chief executive officer and to the board of directors, and may
additionally sit on the board. The CFO supervises the finance unit and is the chief financial
spokesperson for the organization. The CFO reports directly to the President/Chief Executive

Officer (CEO) and directly assists the Chief Operating Officer (COO) on all strategic and
tactical matters as they relate to budget management, cost benefit analysis, forecasting needs
and the securing of new funding.

Qualification
Most CFOs of large companies have finance qualifications such as an MBA or come from
an accounting background such as CPA (Certified Public Accountant). A finance department
would usually contain some accountants with Certified Public Accountant Management
Accountant or equivalent status.

Federal government of the United States[edit]

The federal government of the United States has incorporated more elements of businesssector practices in its management approaches, including the use of the CFO position
(alongside, for example, an increased use of the chief information officer post, within public
agencies).
The Chief Financial Officers Act, enacted in 1990, created a chief financial officer in each of 23
federal agencies. This was intended to improve the government's financial management and
develop standards of financial performance and disclosure. The Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) holds primary responsibility for financial management standardization and
improvement. Within OMB, the Deputy Director for Management, a position was established by
the CFO Act, is the chief official responsible for financial management.
The Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM) is specifically charged with overseeing
financial management matters, establishing financial management policies and requirements,
and monitoring the establishment and operation of federal financial management systems.
OFFM is led by a controller.
The CFO Act also established the CFO Council, chair by the OMB Deputy Director for
Management and including the CFOs and Deputy CFOs of 23 federal agencies, the OFFM
controller, and the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, the head of the Office of Fiscal Service of
the Department of the Treasury. Its mandate is to work collaboratively to improve financial
management in the U.S. government and "advise and coordinate the activities of the agencies
of its members" in the areas of financial management and accountability.
OMB Circular A-123 (issued 21 December 2004) defines the management responsibilities for
internal financial controls in federal agencies and addressed to all federal CFOs, CIOs and
Program Managers. The circular is a re-examination of the existing internal control
requirements for federal agencies and was initiated in light of the new internal control
requirements for publicly traded companies contained in the SarbanesOxley Act of 2002.

While significant progress in improving federal financial management has been made since the
federal government began preparing consolidated financial statements, the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) reported that "major impediments continue to prevent [GAO] from
rendering an opinion."[2] In December 2006, the GAO announced that for the 10th consecutive
year, the GAO was prevented from expressing an opinion on the consolidated financial
statements of the government due to a number of material weaknesses related to financial
systems, fundamental recordkeeping, and financial reporting.
At the same time, in calendar year 2007, the CFOC announced that for the second consecutive
year, every major federal agency completed its Performance and Accountability Report just 45
days after the end of the fiscal year (2006).

Changing role[edit]
In recent years, the role of the CFO has evolved significantly. Traditionally being viewed as a
financial gatekeeper, the role of the CFO has expanded and evolved to a strategic partner and
advisor to the CEO. In fact, in a report released by McKinsey, 88 percent of 164 CFOs
surveyed reported that CEOs expect them to be more active participants in shaping the
strategy of their organizations. Half of them also indicated that CEOs counted on them to
challenge the companys strategy.[3]
According to one source, "The CFO of tomorrow should be a big-picture thinker, rather than
detail-oriented, outspoken rather than reserved, prefer to delegate rather than be hands-on,
emphasize what gets done rather than how things are done, and make collaborative rather
than unilateral decisions. The CFO must serve as the financial authority in the organization,
ensuring the integrity of fiscal data and modeling transparency and accountability. The CFO is
as much a part of governance and oversight as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), playing a
fundamental role in the development and critique of strategic choices. The CFO is now
expected to be a key player in stakeholder education and communication and is clearly seen
as a leader and team builder who sets the finance agenda for the organisation, supports the
CEO directly and provides timely advice to the board of directors."[4]
The uneven pace of recovery worldwide has made it more challenging for many companies.
CFOs are increasingly playing a more critical role in shaping their companys strategies today,
especially in light of the highly uncertain macroeconomic environments, where managing
financial volatilities is becoming a centerpiece for many companies' strategies, based on a
survey held by Clariden Global.[5] CFOs are increasingly being relied upon as the owners of
business information, reporting and financial data within organizations and assisting in decision
support operations to enable the company to operate more effectively and efficiently.
The duties of a modern CFO now straddle the traditional areas of financial stewardship and the
more progressive areas of strategic and business leadership with direct responsibility and

oversight of operations (which often includes procurement) expanding exponentially. This

significant role-based transformation, which is well underway, is best-evidenced by the CEOin-Waiting status that many CFOs now hold. Additionally, many CFOs have made the
realization that an operating environment that values cash, profit margins, and risk mitigation is
one that plays to the primary skills and capabilities of a procurement organization, and become
increasingly involved (directly via oversight or indirectly through improved collaboration) with
the procurement function according to a recent research report that looks at the CFO's
relationship with procurement.[6]