We recently spoke to Dustin Larson, CAS Education Coordinator, about the newly created Exam 6-International to learn how it’s different from the other Exam 6 offerings and how the creation of this exam helps to increase the CAS’s global reach. Read on for more!
 

Why a new exam?

The idea for Exam 6 International originated in Singapore about three or four years ago when a CAS member was speaking to colleagues and discussing Exam 6-United States and its limitations for actuaries practicing outside the U.S. Actuaries who work for a U.S.-based or international organization benefit from having some understanding of U.S. regulations, but many other actuaries are required to follow numerous other regulations that are not covered in any of the current Exam 6 offerings (these include Exam 6-US, Exam 6-Canada and Exam 6-Taipei). That discussion then turned into a CAS focus group and later a CAS working group that eventually developed a new exam, one that the CAS believes is more relevant for members outside North America.
 

What does Exam 6-International cover?

This new exam encompasses several different regulatory schemes used outside the U.S., including IFRS17, Solvency II, Takaful (Islamic) regulation, Chinese government regulations and others. The goal for the syllabus is to provide actuaries practicing outside of the U.S. and Canada with material that will be useful in their careers, which is reflected in the variety of papers found on the syllabus. The CAS working group found so much useful material that they decided that the exam’s syllabus could not include all of it. So, the Exam 6-International syllabus will be the first one to feature supplemental material. This material will not be tested on the exam but is included in case candidates would like to learn more about regulations that may be relevant to them.
 

Who should take Exam 6-International?

Exam 6-International is intended for those actuaries working outside the U.S. or Canada who need to understand regulatory practices beyond those implemented in the U.S. or Canada. If you are an actuary who wants to write actuarial opinions in the U.S., Exam 6-US is a better fit as passing a U.S. regulation exam is a requirement for writing actuarial opinions. Like other CAS exams, Exam 6-International will be available through Pearson Professional Centers.

The CAS hopes that with this more globally focused exam, international candidates will be able to study material that is more relevant to their career paths and the countries in which they work.

To learn more about Exam 6-International, visit its webpage.