I wondered whether the tutors think its likely there will be a significant update to the course notes for the 2013 exams? I'm planning to take in April 2013 but wondered whether it would be worth starting study for it in this session. Thanks
There's always a number of changes each year to the SA2 course to reflect the changing regulatory environment. However, the changes for 2013 are not particularly big by SA2 standards (and certainly much less than for 2012). We will produce a full CMP upgrade which will give details of the changes (and replacement pages wherever the changes are more substantial), so you'll be able to update the 2012 notes to the 2013 version. This will be available free of charge on the ActEd website. Given the amount of reading to do for SA2, its worth starting early, so I'd recommend getting the 2012 course notes. The biggest changes will be in the company taxation chapters (as new tax rules come in next year), so I'd leave these chapters out until you get the upgrade. Many of the other chapters will have additions/deletions here and there, but the majority is unchanged. Best wishes Mark
Are the notes for April 2012 applicable for Oct 2012 or will an upgrade be required? Will the Profession be testing people on pre-Solvency 2 regime in Sept 2012- if so, why? (Exam results out in December 2012, S2 regime implemented Jan2013?)
Notes are only changed once a year, at the start of September for the following 2 sittings. So your notes from April will still be the same for the October sitting. Also, Solvency 2 has been delayed, it now won't be implemented until at least 1/1/2014, so I would imagine you'll still be tested on the current regime next year.
Yes, if you ordered a set of 2012 notes these will be fine for the October 2012 exam. The Core Reading and notes are not updated between April and October. The profession writes the Core Reading and finalised it in May 2011. This Core Reading is then examined in April and October 2012. This does mean that some topics will be out of date by the time the exam is attempted (eg there have been changes to professional guidance and taxation, as well as Solvency II). The examiners have stated that they will give equal credit for descriptions of the current system as for that described in the Core Reading (however, you should make it clear that you are referring to new rules if you want to use them and should be consistent within a question, ie don't state a mixture of old and new rules). We live in an environment of constant change (just think about the number of changes and delays to Solvency II). The profession works hard to keep the course as up to date as possible, but they have to finalise the Core Reading at some point. The alternative would be for new Core Reading to be issued after every regulatory change, but I doubt anyone would like to get a new set of notes to read after they'd started the course. Best wishes Mark
April 2012 had a huge S2 question. Why is the old regime still examinable? Before you respond 'oh still need knowledge of that' aren't you aware that there are Qualified Actuaries working in many places who are ignorant of S2?
