The QAS Committee is responsible for the IFoA’s Quality Assurance Scheme accreditations.
The committee acts on behalf of the IFoA’s Regulatory Board to determine applications for QAS accreditation and to monitor those accreditations once awarded. Its full responsibilities are set out in the QAS Committee’s terms of reference. Minutes of the meetings are published on a quarterly basis.
QAS Committee members include lay people and a balanced representation of volunteer members from the different industries and countries where the QAS operates. The committee meets quarterly and has a lay chair.
The committee members are (see their biographies below):
The executive is comprised of:
Find out more about each member of the committee below.
Victor Olowe is a governance consultant and a former chief executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. He has expertise in professional regulation, consumer protection, risk management, and governance issues.
He is currently a non-executive director or member in a number of organisations including:
Helen has a non-executive portfolio which builds on her 29-year career as a senior executive in the insurance industry at AIG and Accenture, with international operating experience and deep expertise in strategy, transformation, and governance.
She is a collaborative problem solver with an academic background in philosophy. Her interests include the intersection of insurance with geopolitics, the effect of change on people with special reference to cultural differences and organisational values, and the social, economic, and ethical impact of data.
She has been a Non-Executive Director of the Lloyd’s Managing Agent RenaissanceRe since April 2021, and Chair of the Audit Committee since April 2023. She joined the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries as a lay member on the QAS Committee in 2019 and the Regulatory Board in 2020.
Alison Carr has a wealth of experience working with professional bodies and in regulation, most recently as a director of a large engineering institution (The Institution of Engineering and Technology) and prior to that as the chief executive of a regulatory body (the Architects Registration Board).
In spanning both regulatory and professional bodies, Alison has been able to promote the value of using professionals and has led and supported campaigns to improve diversity in the professions.
Alison has delivered significant changes in governance and improvements in both compliance and transparency which improve public confidence in professional and charitable bodies and their professional members.
Alongside executive roles, she was a pension fund trustee for 4 years and has held non-executive appointments, contributing to the strategic direction of organisations, supporting practice standards and the development of professionals.
Sophie Dignan has over 15 years’ experience in the actuarial profession, working in the public sector. This includes nearly 10 years focusing on the technical and professional risks in actuarial consultancy.
As Head of Research and Technical at the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD), her role is cross-practice, helping to lead and deliver projects relating to actuarial quality and professional standards.
Prior to her current role, Sophie worked in a range of client-facing teams at GAD, including contributing to advice to the government on pensions policy and advising pension schemes (both funded and unfunded).
Sophie has been heavily involved with GAD’s own QAS accreditation since their application in 2016 and she was appointed a senior quality assurance representative in 2018. Sophie is a CPD coordinator and joined the QAS Committee in October 2021.
John Herbert has over 35 years’ experience in the pensions industry, advising trustee and corporate clients around funding and risk management. He established the Actuarial Practice at Premier Pensions Management in 2007 and was Chief Actuary until its acquisition by Isio in 2022.
He led the Premier application for QAS accreditation in 2016 and was the lead senior quality assurance representative for Premier, developing and implementing the quality assurance programme. He also supported Isio in obtaining QAS accreditation following the acquisition of Premier.
Prior to joining Premier, John has worked in a number of areas helping firms comply with changing legislative requirement and completing remedial work.
Kathryn Wilson has over 10 years’ experience in pensions consultancy. She joined Hymans Robertson in 2013 and her current Pensions Research Consultant role is focussed on the professionalism and quality assurance aspects of actuarial work. She is a member of the firm’s professional, technical, and risk management groups. She is involved in helping lead and deliver firmwide projects such as the rollout of Technical Actuarial Standard 100 Version 2.0.
Prior to her current role, Kathryn supported Local Government Pension Scheme funds on a variety of pension matters, including funding, accounting, and bulk transfers.
Kathryn has been a Senior Quality Assurance Representative for Hymans Robertson since March 2022 and she joined the QAS Committee in September 2023. She is her firm’s Quality Assurance Scheme Delivery Lead and CPD coordinator.
Quality Assurance Scheme
QAS Team, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Level 2 Exchange Crescent, 7 Conference Square, Edinburgh, EH3 8RA
