Acronyms Flashcards

1
Q

Contract design stakeholders

116

A

ALPACAS

Actuaries
Lawyers
Providers of benefits
Accountants
Customers
Administrator
Shareholders

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2
Q

Reasons for calculating provisions

A

BAD MEDICS

  • Benefit improvements for a benefit scheme
  • Accounts and reports (published and internal)
  • Discontinuance/surrender benefits
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Excess of assets over liabilities and so whether discretionary benefits can be awarded
  • Disclosure of information for beneficiaries
  • Investment strategy
  • Contribution/premium setting
  • Supervisory solvency reports
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3
Q

Contract design factors

A

AMPLE DIRECT FACTORS

  • Administration systems
  • Marketability
    -Profitability
  • Level and form of benefits
  • Early leaver benefits
  • Discretionary benefits
  • Interest and needs of customers
  • Risk appetite of the parties involved
  • Expenses vs charges
  • Competition
  • Terms and conditions of contract
  • Financing (capital requirements)
  • Accounting implications
  • Consistency with other products
  • Timing and contributions of premiums
  • Options and guarantees
  • Regulatory requirements
  • Subsidies (cross)
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4
Q

Considerations when using past data to set assumptions

A

BEST ARCHER

  • Balance of homogenous groups underlying the data may have changed
  • Economic situation may have changed
  • Social conditions may have changed
  • Trends over time, e.g., medical, demographic
  • Abnormal fluctuations
  • Random fluctuations
  • Changes in regulation
  • Heterogeneity within the group to which the assumptions will apply
  • Errors in the data
  • Recording differences (e.g. in categorization of smoker)
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5
Q

Characteristics of a prime property

A

CALL ST

  • Comparable properties for rent review
  • Age, condition and flexibility of use
  • Location
  • Lease structure
  • Size
  • Tenant quality
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6
Q

Common aims of accounting standards (for benefit scheme disclosures)

A

CARD

  • Consistency in accounting treatment from year to year
  • Avoiding distortions resulting from contribution fluctuations
  • Recognising the realistic costs of accruing benefits
  • Disclosure of appropriate information
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7
Q

Practical problems with overseas investment

A

CATERPILLAR

  • Custodian needed
  • Additional admin required
  • Time delays
  • Expenses incurred/expertise needed
  • Different/poor regulation
  • Political instability
  • Information harder to obtain (and less of it)
  • Language difficulties
  • Liquidity problems
  • Accounting differences
  • Restrictions on foreign ownership/repatriation problems
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8
Q

Main difficulties of overseas investment

A

MTV

  • Matching domestic liabilities
  • Taxation (may not be able to recover withholding taxes paid)
  • Volatility of currency
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9
Q

Additional reports accompanying accounts

A

CIRCUS

  • Chairperson’s/CEO’s statements
  • Investment report
  • Remuneration report
  • Corporate governance report
  • Uncertainty (risk) report
  • Strategic report
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10
Q

Expenses incurred by product provider

A

COST RAID

  • Commission
  • Overheads
  • Sales/advertising
  • Terminal, e.g., paying benefits
  • Renewal administration, e.g., collecting premiums/contributions
  • Asset management
  • Initial administration, e.g., setting-up costs
  • Design of the contract
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11
Q

External environment factors

A

CREATE GRAND LISTS

  • Corporate structure
  • Regulation and legislation
  • Environmental issues and climate change
  • Accounting standards
  • Tax
  • Economic outlook (e.g. interest rates, inflation, growth)
  • Governance
  • Risk management requirements
  • Adequacy of capital and solvency
  • New business environment
  • Demographic trends
  • Lifestyle considerations
  • International practice
  • State benefits
  • Technology
  • Social and cultural trends
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12
Q

Inappropriate advice

A

CRIMES

  • Complicated products
  • Rubbish (Incompetent) advisor
  • Integrity of advisor lacking, e.g., due to sales-related payments
  • Model or parameter errors
  • Errors in data relating to beneficiaries
  • State-encouraged but inappropriate actions
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13
Q

Benefit scheme info to disclose in accounts

A

DIM CLAIMS

  • Directors benefit costs
  • Investment return over year
  • Membership improvements
  • Change in surplus/deficit over year
  • Liabilities accruing over year
  • Assumptions
  • Increase in past service liabilities
  • Method
  • Surplus/deficit
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14
Q

Reasons for analysing surplus

A

DIVERGENCE

  • Divergence of actual vs expected
  • Information to management and for accounts
  • Variance calculations
  • Experience monitoring to feedback into ACC
  • Reconcile values for successive years
  • Group into one-off or recurring sources of surplus
  • Executive remuneration schemes (data for)
  • New business strain (shows effect of)
  • Check on valuation assumptions and calculations
  • Extra check on valuation data
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15
Q

Considerations in assessing different models

A

FENCED

  • Fit for purpose
  • Expertise available in house
  • Need for flexibility
  • Cost of each option
  • Expected number of times used
  • Desired accuracy
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16
Q

Types of actuarial advice

A

FIR

  • Factual
  • Indicative
  • Recommendation
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17
Q

Evaluation of risk mitigation options

A

FIRM

  • Feasibility and cost
  • Impact on frequency/severity/expected value
  • Resulting secondary risks
  • Mitigation required in response to secondary risk
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18
Q

Importance of risk reporting

A

FRAUD CRIME

  • Financing (appropriate price, reserves, capital requirements)
  • Rating agencies
  • Attractiveness to investors
  • Understand better (risks and their financial impact)
  • Determine appropriate control systems
  • Changes over time (analyse)
  • Regulators
  • Interactions
  • Monitoring effectiveness of risk controls
  • Emerging risk identification
19
Q

Economic situations in which cash is attractive

A

GRID

  • General economic uncertainty
  • Recession expected
  • Interest rates expected to rise
  • Depreciation of domestic currency expected
20
Q

Aims of a reggulator

A

GRIP

  • Give confidence in the system
  • Reduce financial crime
  • Inefficiencies in the market corrected (and efficient orderly markets promoted)
  • Protect consumers
21
Q

Economic factors

A

IS FIERCE

  • Inflation
  • Short-term interest rates
  • Fiscal deficit
  • Imports/exports
  • Employment rate
  • Returns on alternative investments
  • Currency
  • Economic growth
22
Q

Additional criteria for a risk to be insurable

A

MUD PIS

  • Moral hazard eliminated as far as possible
  • Ultimate limit on liability undertaken
  • Data exists with which to price risk
  • Pooling a large number of similar risks
  • Independent risk events
  • Small probability of occurance
23
Q

Risk responses

A

PIRATE

  • Partially transfer
  • Ignore
  • Reduce
  • Accept (retain all)
  • Transfer
  • Evade (avoid)
24
Q

Identification of causes of risk in projects

A

PNEFCPB

  • Political risk
  • Natural risk
  • Economic risk
  • Financial risk
  • Crime
  • Project risk
  • Business risk
25
General reasons for holding cash
POURS - Protect monetary values - Opportunities (to take advantage of) - Uncertain liabilities - Recently received cashflows - Short-term liabilities
26
When information from a benefit scheme should be disclosed
PRICE - Payment commencement - Request - Intervals - Combination - Entry
27
Problems with industry data
QUERIED - Quantity and credibility - Up-to-date? - Errors - Relevance (heterogeneity) - Incomplete - Exceptions - Detail and format
28
Why financial providers need capital
REG CUSHION - Regulatory requirement to demonstrate solvency - Expenses of launching a new product/starting a new operation - Guarantees can be offered - Cashflow timing management - Unexpected events cushion, e.g., adverse experience - Smooth profits - Help demonstrate financial strength - Investment freedom to mismatch in pursuit of higher returns - Opportunities, e.g., mergers and acquisitions - New business strain financing
29
Reasons for using reinsurance
SAD LIFE - Smooth results - Avoid large losses - Diversification (investment mismatching) - Limit exposure to risk (single event, accumulations) - Increased capacity to accept risk - Financial assistance - Expertise
30
Reasons for underwriting
SAFARI - Suitable approach (increased premiums/reduced sum assured) and special terms - Avoid anti-selection - Financial underwriting against over-insurance - Actual experience in line with expected - Risk classification (risks rated fairly) - Identify substandard health risks
31
Benefits of a good risk management system
SAMOSAS - Stability/quality of business improved - Avoid surprises - Management of capital improved - Opportunities can be exploited for profit - Synergies identified - Arbitrage identified - Stakeholders given confidence
32
Model design: Operational issues
SCARCER FILES - Simple but retains key features - Clear results - Adequately documented - Range of implementation methods - Communicable workings and outputs - Easy to understand - Refinable and developable - Frequency of cashflows (balance accuracy vs practicality) - Independent verification of outputs - Length of run not too long - Expenses not too high - Sensible joint behavior of variables
33
Info to disclose to benefit scheme members
SCRIBE - Strategy for investment - Contribution obligations - Risks involved - Insolvency entitlement - Benefit entitlements - Expense charges
34
Functions of a regulator
SERVICE - Setting sanctions - Enforcing regulations - Reviewing and influencing government policy - Vetting and registering firms and individuals - Investigating breaches - Checking management and conduct of providers - Educating consumers and the public
35
Ways of valuing assets
SHAM FADS - Smoothed market value - Historic book value - Adjusted book value - Market value - Fair value - Arbitrage value - Discounted cashflow - Stochastic modelling
36
Reasons why disclosure is important
SIMMERS - Sponsor is aware of financial significance of benefits - Informed decisions can be made - Mis-selling is avoided - Manages the expectations of members - Encourages take up - Regulatory requirement - Security of scheme improved as sponsor/trustees are made more accountable
37
Factors affecting investment strategy
SOUNDER TRACTORS - Size of the assets (absolute/relative) - Objectives - Uncertainty of the liabilities - Nature of the liabilities - Diversification - Existing portfolio - Return (expected long-term) - Tax treatment of the assets/investor - Restrictions - statutory/legal/voluntary - Accrual of liabilities in the future - Currency of the existing liabilities - Term of the existing liabilities - Other funds' strategies (competition) - Risk appetite - Solvency and accounting requirements
38
Types of selection
STATIC - Spurious - Time - Adverse - Temporary - Initial - Class
39
Investment and risk characteristics of assets
SYSTEM T - Security (default and other risks) - Yield (real or nominal, running yield, expected return, compare with other assets) - Spread (volatility of market values, diversification) - Term - Expenses or exchange rate - Marketability - Tax
40
Regulatory influences on assets held
TECH SCAM - Types of assets that a provider can invest in - Extent to which mismatching is allowed - Currency matching requirement - Hold certain assets, e.g., government bonds - Single counterparty maximum exposure - Custodian of assets - Amount of any one asset used to demonstrate solvency may be restricted - Mismatch reserve
41
Sources of data
TRAINERS - Tables (e.g. actuarial mortality tables) - Reinsurers - Abroad (data from overseas contracts) - Industry data - National statistics - Experience investigations on existing contracts - Regulatory reports and company accounts - Similar contracts
42
Characteristics of investors
TRAITOR - Tax position - Regulation on investor - Assets already held - Income/cashflow requirements - Tastes (liabilities, education) - Other assets - Risk appetites
43
Factors to consider for discontinuance terms
44
Factors to consider when setting assumptions
LUNCH - Legislation/regulation - Use of the assumptions (to be conservative or optimistic) - Needs of the client - Consistency between assumptions - How financially significant is/are the assumptions