Deloitte Ghana has launched a School of Actuarial Excellence to equip professionals and help grow the insurance and financial sectors.
The goal is to give practical experiences to professionals within the insurance industry and national service personnel who want to build their capacity and knowledge in the field about the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS).
Speaking during the launch, the Country Managing Partner, Mr Daniel Kwadwo Owusu, said Actuarial study and practice is crucial to the financial and other sectors of the economy as it focuses on risk management, business strategy and investment and finance, amongst others.
He said in the process of publishing their first set of financial statements, they had identified some gaps in the implementation of the IFRS. “Our aim for setting up the school is to just run those practical training and give the trainees a practical sense of what actuarial means,” he said.
Mr Owusu said Ghana did not have enough qualified actuaries, making it more difficult when implementing the standard, and so in the short to medium term, they intended to train over 200 actuaries.
He said, “As we speak, some of the insurance companies have not been able to publish their financial statements. So it is a real challenge and it is the reason we have to create a platform that generates the knowledge and personnel.”
Mr Owusu said they had been working with the National Insurance Commission (NIC) in terms of drawing a timetable for the implementation of the standard and institutions in the value chain were looking forward to bringing their staff to the school.
The Head, of Reinsurance and Anti-Money Laundering, of NIC, Mrs Esther Armah, said the NIC embraced innovation and creativity as a catalyst for the growth of the insurance industry considering the important role and value of actuaries.
“As the economy expands, individuals and businesses will have a greater capacity to purchase insurance products to protect their assets and mitigate risks. Let’s make good use of these opportunities to grow our market. The insurance industry is evolving. Let’s find the many challenges,” she added.
Mrs Armah said Deloitte’s School of Actuarial Excellence, would help actuarial resource persons to be abreast with the latest regulatory developments and actuarial techniques.
Dr Kwabena Situ, Partner, Assurance Services, said, the practical training will be intensive for three months, equipped with new ways of measuring insurance risks, and would thereafter be attached to the Deloitte School of Actuarial Units across Africa.
The Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kingsley Kwasi Kwabahson, of Ghana Insurers Association, called on industry players to accord actuaries support in their supervisory role, adding that there should be a collaboration among all stakeholders to create a more sanitized actuarial industry.
