Q2 here contained a lot of calculations that had been supplied by a "junior actuary".
However, unlike past exam questions where we were told that we could assume that all supplied data was correct, there was no such reassurance in this exam. I did check thoroughly for this.
Now, in the office I would normally check calculations that had been passed to me. However, in the exam there wasn't the time to do this: I didn't check the supplied calculations and still only managed to finish about 30 seconds before the end of the exam.
My question is: should we be generally assuming the validity of pre-completed calculations that are supplied to us in the CA3 exam, when there is no explicit indication by the examiners that they are correct? It seems more professional to me to check the supplied calculations, but I am disinclined to do this in the exam given the time pressure.
Of course, fingers crossed, I've hopefully passed which will make this question somewhat academic from my point of view. I'm not hopeful, however, given the very poor historical pass rates in this subject.
[ One other point: there seems to be a preponderance of pensions-related questions in the CA3 examinations. Does anyone else share this viewpoint? As an actuary working in general insurance, I would have liked to see some GI questions here. We are just as likely to face communication-related demands in this field as those working in the fields of pensions and investment. ]
Last edited by a moderator: Apr 9, 2008
