Discussion points and feedback:
- What could Anushka have done at the outset to avoid getting into this situation?
It would have been prudent for Anushka to have set up a planning meeting to discuss the key responsibilities, timescales, deadlines and follow-up meetings. As this is a high-profile project it would have been helpful to have had a member of the Board involved in the planning process. Although Harvey going off on sick leave was unforeseen, Anushka could perhaps have set aside some time for contingency plans as well and built in some time for peer review.
- Is it reasonable to expect someone to act in an area of expertise where they don't feel particularly confident?
The Competence and Care principle of the Actuaries’ Code states that “Members must carry out work competently and with care’ and ‘Members must ensure they have the relevant knowledge and skill to carry out a piece of work.” Anushka should have considered whether she had the skills and expertise to complete this challenging project within the tight, non-negotiable timescale. However, it’s important to undertake challenging work to demonstrate and develop new skill sets. Anushka should have identified what skills she needed and be proactive about making sure that they were in place and be mindful of where she might need to develop as she goes. Anushka doesn’t come across as being incompetent, but she is lacking some project management skills. This is something she could reflect on and discuss in her reflective practice discussions.
- Are there any issues that the project involves both actuaries and non-actuaries?
The burdens and expectations on the two different types of professional people are different and some compromises may have to be made. It has to be clear who is ultimately responsible for signing-off the piece of work and that the work has been undertaken professionally and ethically. The Compliance principle of the Actuaries’ Code states that “Members must comply with all relevant legal, regulatory and professional requirements.” It’s likely that there is a high degree of alignment between the Actuaries’ Code and the code of conduct the accountant on the project has to follow.
- Is it a proportionate response from Rhys to consider declining to act?
The Impartiality principle of the Code states that “Members must ensure that their professional judgement is not compromised, and cannot reasonably be seen to be compromised, by bias, conflict of interest, or the undue interest of others.” Rhys was quite adamant that he needed to decline to act but perhaps he should have taken proportionality into account in this situation and exercised some judgement. Rhys may feel that there is good justification not to act because he believes that professional standards are not being adequately met. An amplification of the Compliance principle states that “Members must take reasonable steps to ensure they are not placed in a position where they are unable to comply.” It comes across as if he's using the Code as his reason to not act, and to step away from the project, rather than looking at the spirit of the Code. Declining to act is usually associated with identifying a conflict of interest in relation to a client, rather than an in-house piece of work.
The Code and the standards are both there for good reasons and actuaries should be mindful of the expectations, and how they can be useful to protect themselves in difficult situations.
- How could Rhys have been more helpful?
Rhys was particularly unhelpful. Perhaps he could have done some further work on the project, or perhaps offer to support Anushka in speaking to senior management to raise concerns about certain aspects of the work carried out.
- Should Anushka speak up to senior management?
It’s quite a difficult situation for Anushka as it would look unprofessional if she were to decline to continue to act given than she has been working on the project for some time. However, she should raise her concerns, in particular about resource, but also about other issues that have arisen on the project.
Anushka could also seek assistance from the IFoA’s Professional Support Service to help her think through some of the issues. The service is a free and confidential way of getting input from an experienced panel on professional and technical actuarial matters.
- Culture of the organisation
There are a few situations where it raises some red flags about the culture of the organisation – Anushka is clearly stressed at her work and no one appears to be picking up on this; Harvey has been signed-off on long term sickness – although we don’t know the circumstances in this scenario, a high incidence of sickness can often be indicative of a poor company culture; and Rhys is very negative about others’ work and questioning their professionalism.
Perhaps someone should speak to Rhys about his attitude as he comes across as being quite rude. He should bear in mind an amplification of the Integrity principle which states that “Members must show respect for others in the way they conduct themselves.” Rhys could definitely show more respect for colleagues and contribute to improving the culture overall.
It would be useful to have a debriefing meeting at the end of the project where everyone can talk through how it went – what went well, what went wrong, how could things have improved, not only in terms of the work, but perhaps the attitude of different staff, and how they were communicating with each other.
Summary
A few lessons to be learned – firstly, if you are offered a shiny new project, think about it. Have you got the capacity to take it on? Make sure there is some kind of planning meeting, so that you really know what's expected of you, what's expected of the other team members, and what the key deadlines are.
Secondly, it’s important to speak up sooner, rather than later. If there are potential problems with resourcing, deadlines slipping, if you're struggling to cope with the workload, then you do need to speak to someone. The problem is not going to go away, so it’s better to take action to resolve it.
Thirdly, it is probably okay to decline to act in certain circumstances, if you feel that, by acting, you might be compromising your standards, or you might be placing yourself in an unreconcilable conflict of interest.
And finally, don't just hide behind the Code or hide behind the standards, as an excuse not to take on a challenging piece of work. Undertaking challenging pieces of work that require professional judgement is ultimately what actuaries are employed to do
