Celebrating 15 Years of CERA

On Nov. 13, 2009, more than a dozen actuarial professional bodies signed a treaty creating the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) Global Association (CGA) and the CERA credential. During CERA’s 15^th anniversary month, The Actuary revisits the background and benefits of obtaining a CERA credential, now offered by 24 actuarial organizations in support of more than 7,000 members as a framework for enterprise risk management (ERM).

Kyle O’Donnell, FSA, CERA, credentialed in 2023, shared his CERA experience at ceraglobal.org. “Having worked toward the CERA credential for a long time, I was humbled to be the 7,000^th recipient,” O’Donnell said. “I have always been interested in connecting my actuarial knowledge with strategic work, and the things I learned in achieving CERA [status] have helped me do that. CERA will help me broaden my career experiences to work on corporate strategy, which is my ultimate goal.”

CERA: Global Plus Local

The CERA credential is unique because it is governed globally but managed locally. To illustrate what this means, even though the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the U.K.’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) have different approaches to the CERA education requirements, the CERA credential is the same. This contrasts with the traditional actuarial designations of an FSA from the SOA and the IFoA’s FIA. For individual CERA holders, this brings a level of portability to the credential.

The CGA enables global governance and local management by having a common syllabus and learning objectives that each actuarial organization must assess. The syllabus is updated every few years to reflect current best practices. The most recent update occurred in 2023, and each actuarial organization must implement the updated syllabus by July 1, 2025.

Educational Foundations

A benefit of attaining CERA certification is receiving a comprehensive education that covers current ERM topics. For example, under the latest CGA syllabus, there are 42 learning objectives covering the entire risk spectrum of an organization. The sections of the new syllabus include the following:

ERM Foundations

• Fundamentals of ERM
• The Internal Environment
• The External Environment

Risk Analysis and Evaluation

• Risk Identification
• Risk Assessment

Embedding ERM in Decision-Making

• Making Decisions
• Responding to Risks
• Risk Capital

The education system is designed to benefit someone working at an insurance company, bank, pension fund or even in another industry. Here are two examples:

1. Brett Riley, an actuary in Australia, finished his fellowship exams years earlier but hit the books again in 2011 to earn his CERA credential. He later held the position of CRO for Arch LMI, a startup mortgage insurer.
2. Arthur Els credited the CERA study materials and examination for equipping him with certain ERM skills and tools. He later applied these skills when he was appointed to a CRO’s task team in a major construction firm in South Africa.

Nontraditional fields in which CERAs work include mortgage insurance, data analytics and investment management. Having a background in risk management can provide actuaries with exposure to C-suite executives and lead to roles in senior management.

Global CERA Governance

A treaty signed by the founding actuarial organizations in 2009 governs the CERA credential. When a new actuarial organization wants to offer the CERA certification, it must apply to the CGA to become accredited.

Once accredited, the organization is reviewed annually for several years and triennially after that. In each case, the association must demonstrate that it is testing the required learning objectives at the required cognitive skill level. These reviews are an essential tool in maintaining the quality of the CERA certification worldwide.

The SOA takes its role as a member of the CGA seriously. Kathy Wong, FSA, CERA, MAAA, is completing her term as chair of the CGA board, while Ravi Bhandari, FSA, CFA, CIA, MAAA; Nancy Davis, FSA; and I (Sean Casey, FSA) are external reviewers who assess other actuarial organizations.

Attaining the CERA Credential From the SOA

To receive the CERA credential from the SOA, a candidate must complete most of the ASA requirements, pass the ERM exam and complete the ERM module. The requirements will be similar under the updated FSA curriculum effective in Fall 2025. Candidates will need to pass the CFE 101 ERM exam and complete an ERM module, which will be updated from the current version. Even though most modules are going away under the new curriculum, this one is still needed for the CERA designation, so the SOA can meet the global requirements.¹

CERA: A Global Resource

The CERA is a global certification that benefits the careers of its holders and becomes even more valuable when one takes advantage of the resources the CGA offers.

Copyright © 2024 by the Society of Actuaries, Chicago, Illinois.