Mandatory reading material

The list of material below is mandatory reading as of November 7, 2023, for completing the Professionalism Module that all CIA members must complete every two calendar years. Members must submit an attestation to having reviewed the mandatory reading material, as part of their completion of the Professionalism Module, with their continuing professional development (CPD) annual compliance statement, when appropriate.

New items will be added to the mandatory reading list as relevant material is published. However, once members complete the Professionalism Module, they will not be required to go back and review any new material for the module until they are required to complete it again (i.e., in two years). Members will be made aware of any changes to these documents if they’re subscribed to CIA news emails.

Some of the mandatory reading material relates to recent Bylaw changes that affect Institute governance, an important aspect of professionalism for members of a professional association. Members who already read about these changes, as part of the approval and voting process, do not have to read it again.

Note: Time spent reviewing this material may be counted, if relevant, towards members’ minimum of 80 hours of CPD activities.

Documents	Document effective dates	Comments
1. Rules of Professional Conduct (Rules) 2. The Notice to members: Minor administrative amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct related to new member categories provides a detailed summary of the amendments to the relevant Rules.	January 1, 2024	Minor administrative amendments were made to the Rules to address the changes to the Bylaws related to the new member categories. It is important for members to reread the Rules periodically as a refresher.
3. Bylaws  4. This Notice to members: Proposed amendments to the Bylaws – New member categories provides a summary of the relevant changes made to the Bylaws.	January 1, 2024	It is important for all members to be aware of the changes that have been made to the Bylaws that may affect them.
5. Policy on Administration of Member Rights and Privileges	January 1, 2024	This policy provides detailed guidance about the administration of CIA members’ rights and privileges referenced in Section 3.1 of the Bylaws, as well as in Rules 2 and 10 of the Rules, including the circumstances in which a member is not entitled to some, or all, of these rights and privileges.
6. Policy on Councils	January 1, 2023	Pursuant to Bylaw 8.2, the key role of this policy is to establish, with duties and purposes, the appropriate councils, designated by the Board, to conduct CIA business.
7. Guidance Document: General Advice on the Application of Rule 13	May 27, 2020	Rule 13 of the Rules addresses the situation where a member becomes aware of an apparent material noncompliance with either the Standards of Practice or the Rules. It indicates the member’s responsibilities in terms of resolving the apparent material noncompliance and, if necessary, reporting the situation to the Professional Conduct Board. This document covers most, but not all, situations that could be encountered by members in their usual practice and includes general advice to members who become engaged in a confidential consultation process.
8. Policy on Qualification Requirements	January 1, 2024	This policy prescribes the requirements for CIA membership that are established in accordance with the Bylaws.
9. Discipline reports	2021-2023	Reports are issued in accordance with the CIA disciplinary process, in order to keep members informed about disciplinary action that has been taken. Reports are normally published twice annually (June and November).

Recommended reading material

The following list of documents is recommended reading (i.e., not required to complete the Professionalism Module) to give members additional information regarding changes to practice-related material and/or the CIA’s key activities. Changes to the Standards of Practice are shown here and is recommended reading for members for whom the changes are applicable.

Documents	Publication dates	Comments
1. Standards of Practice (Standards)	2021-2023	A memo showing the most recent changes is included with each part of the Standards.
2. Practice resources	2021-2023	This collection of materials is published by the CIA to help members in their Canadian actuarial practice. In addition to the Standards mentioned above, it includes: • Guidance material – educational notes and educational note supplements to illustrate the application of the Standards but are not binding. • Research – research papers, mortality studies and other reports and studies published by the CIA. • Practice resource documents – to assist members in considering whether they have addressed all relevant topics within a practice area (includes skills and knowledge inventories published by the CIA).
3. Public statements	2021-2023	Public statements articulate the views of the Institute on topics of public interest. The CIA produces three types of public statements: • Policy statements – These are on topics that have a substantial element beyond the scope and content of existing actuarial standards of practice, guidance, research or public statements, with a goal to contribute to forward-looking and informed public and private decision making. • Insight statements – These provide proactive actuarial insight to key stakeholders on topics within the scope and content of existing actuarial standards of practice, guidance, research or public statements, with a goal to highlight important actuarial issues. • Advice statements – These provide advice to key stakeholders in response to their requests for input on topics within the scope and content of existing actuarial standards of practice, guidance, research or public statements.
4. CIA annual reports	2021-2023	Annual reports provide a summary of the Institute’s key activities each year.
5. Documents from the Professionalism and Credential Monitoring Board (PCMB)	2021-2023	Documents from the PCMB include: • Reports on criminal conviction disclosures (annual) • CPD audit reports (annual) • CPD audit process guidelines
6. CIA policies and guidelines	2021-2023	A complete list of current CIA policies and guidelines.