GASB 45 - Chapter 4: Getting to know the consultant; establishing a time-line
Now you've chosen the actuarial firm and it's time to move ahead with the project. This is a good time to have a face-to-face meeting with the lead consultant, or if that isn't in the budget, a telephone call can also serve to get the ball rolling. This call can be anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour in length, and the goal is to come away with a meeting of the minds as to how the project is going to proceed from here.
A seasoned consultant can help you at this stage by allaying any concerns or fears you may have about the data gathering process. The next step is the data request, and it's best to speak with the consultant at least briefly before starting to work on the data.
Deciding who does what
You may want to gather your project team together in your office and put the consultant on the speaker phone, so you can introduce everyone and let the consultant know what his points of contact are - for example, if he has a data question, does he call you directly? Or if he has a question about the census data, does he call the individual in Human Resources who generated the census report, while a question about the reserves being held in the trust fund should be directed to an analyst in your Accounting department?
When deciding to what extent to delegate responsibilities here, it's best to expect a reasonable number of detailed questions to come from the consultant, and if you wish to avoid spending too much of your own time on details, bring someone into the team who is comfortable with dealing at the level of detail that an actuary will require for successful completion of the project.
Some pitfalls to look out for
One of the most common bottlenecks in an actuarial valuation is the situation where a busy manager has delegated the responsibility for answering detailed data questions to a subordinate who is unwilling or unable to provide the required data. A positive attitude and a diligent work ethic go a long way towards greasing the project's wheels.
Of course, the consultant needs to be considerate in managing the data request from his or her side, too - too much picking over minute data problems can drive everyone crazy in short order. If everyone does their job and buys into the project, it makes it that much easier to get through with a minimum of stress.
Moving forward ...
Finally, leave this meeting or conference call with a clear idea of who is going to do what, when they're going to do it, and at what point in the project the consultant will touch base with you again with a progress report. If there's any doubt in your mind about any aspect of the project, don't be afraid to ask now. A timely question can avoid lots of wasted work downstream.
