Actuarial concepts in the theory of financing life insurance activities

Abstract

In this paper is presented an attempt by the author to obtain conceptual clarity in the actuarial considerations concerned with financing life insurance schemes, whether private or public, It will, of course, be realized that the author is concerned ultimately with the financing of public or semi-public schemes. However, it is with deliberate intention that the exposition is presented in general terms. As is often the case, abstraction means clarification, thus avoiding a shifting of the meaning of the concepts as one goes from one special situation to another.     

Product price and advice quality: Implications of the commission system in life assurance

The paper examines the implications of the commission system for the price of life assurance products and the quality of advice provided by brokers. The competitive equilibrium is shown to be neither first best nor second best efficient. The sources of the inefficiencies are examined and the effects of policy measures considered.     

Studies in insurance mathematics

Abstract

The question of altering an insurance contract III one or another direction very often occurs to the actuary. There are, however, some points of special interest, connected with this problem, that I should like to emphasize here.     

Studies in insurance mathematics

Abstract

In the new Rules of Calculation of the Life Insurance Co. Framtiden, the old idea of the continuous mode of payment has been realized. In practice, this method only signifies, that the premium is to be restored for the time elapsed after the moment of death. Theoretically, it makes unnecessary the computation of premiums by the aid of (exact or approximate) yearly, half-yearly, quarterly and monthly annuities, continuous annuities being solely needed. It may perhaps be of interest to give a more detailed account of the method employed.     

Sustainability assurance provider participation in standard setting

This paper examines the participation of accounting firms in the development of sustainability standards by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). This study shows that the Big Four accounting firms have an active role in both the submission of comment letters on sustainability to the SEC and participation in the industry working groups (IWG) for the SASB. The SASB participation reveals that individuals located within the US and at international affiliates are participating at earlier career stages. In addition, this paper leverages LinkedIn data, identifying the career path of the individuals subsequent to their participation with the IWG, to determine how large accounting firms are retaining the skills and knowledge necessary for this field. Since the Big Four firms are market leaders in sustainability assurance, the finding that Big Four firms can retain individuals with financial assurance backgrounds differently than individuals with other backgrounds speaks to the unique skill set that financial assurance develops. This suggests that the career opportunities for interested financial assurance individuals within the sustainability sphere remain robust within the Big Four environment.     

Seeking legitimacy for new assurance forms: The case of assurance on sustainability reporting

Based on the development of a more refined conception of legitimacy than has been used in prior audit/assurance and sustainability accounting research, this paper analyses how the legitimation processes adopted by sustainability assurance practitioners in a large professional services firm have co-evolved with and impacted upon their attempts to develop this form of assurance practice - particularly the construction of assurance statements. The analysis reveals a complex and interdependent interplay between attempts at securing pragmatic, moral and cognitive legitimacy with three key constituencies - clients who commission the sustainability assurance services; (socially constructed) non-client users of the assurance statements; and the firm’s internal Risk Department that approves the wording of assurance statements. Securing these types of legitimacy is shown to require the adoption and alignment of varying legitimation strategies according to the constituency practitioners seek to influence. Developing pragmatic legitimacy with clients depends on establishing moral legitimacy with non-client users of assurance statements while securing moral legitimacy with non-client users is contingent on acquiring pragmatic legitimacy with the firm’s internal Risk Department. The practitioners’ legitimation strategies are underpinned by a commitment to opening up dialogue within the assurance process which is evident in their engagement with potential users of assurance and their efforts to expand assurance statement content and encourage user influence over what is assured. This provides a counterpoint to Power’s (1994, 1999) concerns about the tendency for new assurance forms to restrict debate and dialogue and reveals a rare empirical domain where Power’s (2003b) call for more customised and informative narratives in assurance reporting is being heeded.     

网络鉴证业务问题研究

电子商务作为一种新兴的经营方式,给社会生活带来了深层次影响,也引发了对其潜在风险的思考,其中电子商务交易安全性问题尤其突出.为消除这种忧虑,国外采用了注册会计师网络鉴证的方式.由于公众对网络鉴证缺乏认识等人为因素及网络鉴证风险大等网络鉴证自身因素,使得中国顺利实施网络鉴证业务受到影响.本文对这些阻碍因素进行了分析,并就如何促使我国更好地实施网络鉴证业务提出了针对性的建议.     

Quality assurance: The professional's role

How can professionals, especially those in the caring professions, feel confident that the service which they are providing for clients is of an acceptable standard? Any quality assurance programme needs the commitment of professionals.     

担保事项的会计处理及其审计

担保是指在借贷、买卖、货物运输、加工承揽等经济活动中,债务人或第三人为债权人实现其债权提供保障。担保事项会形成企业潜在的或现时的义务,对企业的财务状况和经营成果可能会产生重大的影响,带来重大风险。而担保事项形成的义务和权利又具有非即时性、间接性和不确定性的特点。因此,对担保事项的会计确认、计量和披露,是会计及审计实务中的一个疑难问题。本文结合《民法通则》《、担保法》和《物权法》等法律规范对此作一探讨。     

ETL开发实施中质量保证的关键步骤

数据仓库项目实施成败的关键因素之一就是数据抽取过程中数据的质量问题。在数据仓库建设过程中，我们不得不在原有的数据中“艰难跋涉”，这些数据来自原有数据库、原有磁带机以及远程的数据源，它们中的大部分都凌乱不堪，并且难以获取。我们要对这些数据进行大量处理，并且还要通过ETL（Extract，Transform Band Load）程序来寻找其中的有用信息。这就要求开发人员必须花费足够的时间来充分研究这些数据，将凌乱的数据规则化，并尽力设计和实现强壮的数据采集和转换过程。如果没有对源数据进行整理和数据标准化等基础工作，很可能造成数据仓库项目的基础不牢。     

Implications of Web assurance services on e-commerce

The ongoing rapid growth in the popularity of the Internet is having a revolutionary impact on the way companies do business. Doing business online has become a necessity, not an option. However, some consumers are not completely comfortable using the Internet for transacting business because of concerns regarding security of their transactions. For these situations, consumer trust and confidence can be enhanced by a Web assurance service such as AICPA Trust Services. Building on prior studies, the study provides comprehensive information on current reporting requirements, differences among Web assurance services, and results of a recent consumer survey to obtain perceptions of Web assurance services. The theoretical foundation of the current study is based on the Assurance Gaps Model [Burke, K. G., Kovar, S. E., & Prenshaw, P. J. (2004). Unraveling the Expectations Gap: An Assurance Gaps Model and illustrative application. Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research, 7, 169–193]. E-business consumers (users of Web assurance services) can be dichotomized into older consumers and younger consumers, who have different expectations based on information asymmetries. Findings indicate that consumers value Web Assurance services, but younger consumers place greater value on these services than older consumers.     

Risk-aversion concepts in expected- and non-expected-utility models

The non-expected-utility theories of decision under risk have favored the appearance of new notions of increasing risk like monotone increasing risk (based on the notion of comonotonic random variables) or new notions of risk aversion like aversion to monotone increasing risk, in better agreement with these new theories. After a survey of all the possible notions of increasing risk and of risk aversion and their intrinsic definitions, we show that contrary to expected-utility theory where all the notions of risk aversion have the same characterization (u concave), in the framework of rank-dependent expected utility (one of the most well known of the non-expectedutility models), the characterizations of all these notions of risk aversion are different. Moreover, we show that, even in the expected-utility framework, the new notion of monotone increasing risk can give better answers to some problems of comparative statics such as in portfolio choice or in partial insurance. This new notion also can suggest more intuitive approaches to inequalities measurement.     

The construction of auditability: MBA rankings and assurance in practice

For much of the past decade, the audit profession has been enjoined to enter new and novel fields of assurance services. This call implies the importation of constructs from traditional attest financial audits into new domains to provide elevated levels of assurance for information-users and decision-makers. Little is presently known about the process by which audit scope, practices and communications about the work done are developed in these new fields. This paper attempts to shed light on these issues through an in-depth field study of KPMG’s “audit” of the Financial Times MBA rankings. The audit project is argued to import legitimacy to data provided by International Business Schools as well as imbue a derived legitimacy to the Financial Times rankings. At an operational level, audit planning, procedures and communicated written conclusions emerge as a much more negotiated and adaptive practice than rhetoric might suggest.     

网站认证——一种新兴的鉴证服务

从20世纪70年代起步的计算机网络技术,在20世纪末已经进入了高速发展的阶段,给人类的生活带来了翻天覆地的变化.在美国,1998年互联网产业的收入已达3,014亿美元,对经济的影响力可与汽车制造业匹敌,对其他行业的影响更是无法估量的.     

鉴证业务扩张的国际研究及思考

一、围绕鉴证业务扩张的国际研究动向 国际会计师联合会下属的国际审计实务委员会曾于1997年8月以"关于信息的可靠性"为题发表一份征求意见稿,提出了建立注册会计师鉴证业务(assurance sercices)的概念框架和鉴证业务原则的提案.1999年3月又以"鉴证业务合同"为题发表了再征求意见稿.     

基层建设短波

工行沧州盐山支行精打细算“瘦身”费用开支一是“瘦身”办公费用。该行下发了《关于节约用电、用纸、用水的规定》,严格控制电脑、饮水机、空调、节约霓虹灯、射灯及灯箱用电;一般类通知、文件能不复印的不再复印,利用内部网传递,需要复印的用废纸或者正反两面用纸;对于饮用水、自来水的使用也作了严格限制,节约能源,降低消耗。