What is the Society of Actuaries (SOA)

With roots going back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) boasts more than 27,000 members in North America, the largest professional organization of its kind in the world.

BREAKING DOWN Society of Actuaries (SOA)

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is dedicated to research in actuarial science, professional development and education, and professional standards. Members of SOA are steeped in knowledge of math, statistics and business management across many industries, including life, health and property insurance, banking, investments, government, energy, e-commerce, marketing, employee benefits, product development, enterprise risk management, predictive analytics, consulting and more.

Within these industries, actuaries work to analyze risk, use modeling and data analysis techniques on large data sets to discover predictive patterns and relationships for business use, help set policies and compensation levels and provide broad business and management oversight, among other roles.

The organization’s mission is to “advance actuarial knowledge and to enhance the ability of actuaries to provide expert advice and relevant solutions for financial, business, and societal challenges. The SOA’s vision is for actuaries to be the leading professionals in the measurement and management of risk.

More information can be found at www.soa.org. (For related reading, see: A Day in the Life of an Actuary and Insure Your Future with a Career as an Actuary.)