Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Requirements for Actuaries
Continuing professional development (CPD) is a mandatory condition for maintaining the qualification and status of a certified actuary in accordance with international standards and the internal documents of the KCA.
1. Core Parameters of the CPD Hours Model
The Kazakhstan Chamber of Actuaries has adopted a transparent hours-based system for recording professional development (1 academic hour of participation = 1 hour of CPD).
- Minimum per reporting cycle (3 years): 90 hours of CPD.
- Annual minimum: no fewer than 20 hours in each calendar year.
2. Categories and Structure of CPD Hours
To ensure the balanced development of a specialist, the hours accumulated must be distributed across the following mandatory categories:
2.1 Technical Skills — no fewer than 45 hours
Specialized topics directly related to actuarial calculations and modelling:
- Pricing and reserving methods in life insurance and general insurance.
- Valuation of liabilities and accounting under the IFRS 17 standard.
- Capital adequacy modelling, solvency assessment, and risk management (ERM).
- Mathematical statistics, Data Science, and the application of AI in actuarial tasks.
2.2 Professionalism, Ethics, and Standards — no fewer than 6 hours
Topics related to professional conduct and regulation:
- The KCA Code of Professional Conduct.
- Examination of actuarial standards of practice (ASOP/KCA).
- The legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on insurance and actuarial activities.
2.3 Business Skills and Communication — no fewer than 10 hours
Skills required for effective interaction in a corporate environment:
- Financial management and corporate finance.
- Negotiation skills, the presentation of actuarial reports, and communication with management.
- Project management.
2.4 Additional Hours — up to 29 hours
At the actuary's discretion, from any recognized type of activity.
3. Limits and Crediting Rules by Type of Activity
To prevent the formal accumulation of hours, the following restrictions are established:
- Teaching, presentations, and publications: no more than 15 hours per year in aggregate.
- Crediting is applied with a preparation ratio of 2:1 (2 hours of CPD are credited for each hour of presentation).
- Hours are credited only for the preparation and delivery of new or advanced courses. The repeated teaching of basic disciplines is not credited.
- Structured self-study: no more than 10 hours per year.
- Passing international examinations: successfully passing an examination of recognized international associations (SOA, CAS, IFoA) grants 40 hours in the "Technical Skills" category.
4. CPD Log and Verification
- Every certified actuary is required to maintain a CPD Log, recording the date, the name of the activity, the number of hours, the category, and a brief description of the knowledge gained and its applicability in practice.
- The log, together with supporting documents (certificates, diplomas, seminar programmes), is submitted annually to the KCA Committee on Education and Qualification.
- The Committee performs the recording and verification of the data and maintains an open register of completed CPD programmes on the official website of the Chamber.