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Actuary

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March 29, 2024 Updated May 11, 2025 14 minute read

Navigating the World of Numbers: A Comprehensive Guide to the Actuary Career

An actuary is a business professional who analyzes the financial consequences of risk. Using mathematics, statistics, and financial theory, actuaries assess the risk of potential events and help businesses and clients develop policies that minimize the cost of that risk. Their work is essential to the insurance industry, but their skills are also valuable in other sectors requiring risk assessment and financial forecasting.

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Salaries for Actuary

City
Median
New York
$145,000
San Francisco
$187,000
Seattle
$191,000
See all salaries
City
Median
New York
$145,000
San Francisco
$187,000
Seattle
$191,000
Austin
$160,000
Toronto
$137,000
London
£68,000
Paris
€61,000
Berlin
€86,000
Tel Aviv
₪475,000
Singapore
S$133,000
Beijing
¥152,000
Shanghai
¥190,000
Shenzhen
¥472,000
Bengalaru
₹566,000
Delhi
₹444,000
Bars indicate relevance. All salaries presented are estimates. Completion of this course does not guarantee or imply job placement or career outcomes.

Path to Actuary

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We've curated 24 courses to help you on your path to Actuary. Use these to develop your skills, build background knowledge, and put what you learn to practice.
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Reading list

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This comprehensive guide to financial performance measurement and control provides a framework for developing and implementing a financial performance measurement and control system. The author discusses a range of topics, including key performance indicators, data collection, and reporting. The book is ideal for anyone involved in financial performance measurement and control.
Another widely respected corporate finance textbook that covers the theoretical and practical aspects of financial decision-making. It uses a unifying valuation framework and includes contemporary topics. It's a comprehensive resource for undergraduate and graduate students.
Provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing financial statements to assess a company's performance and value. It's highly relevant for understanding the inputs into financial performance analysis. It is often used as a textbook and is valuable for both students and professionals.
This McKinsey & Company publication leading resource for understanding how to measure and manage company value, a direct outcome of financial performance. It provides practical frameworks and real-world examples, making it highly relevant for professionals. It valuable reference tool.
This textbook provides a comprehensive framework for business analysis and valuation using financial statements, with a focus on IFRS standards. It's highly relevant for understanding global financial reporting and its impact on performance analysis. It is commonly used in academic settings, particularly for international finance courses.
This cookbook provides a collection of recipes for using the SQL CASE statement to solve common data querying problems. It valuable resource for anyone looking to learn how to use the CASE statement effectively.
This comprehensive cookbook includes a recipe for using CASE statements to solve common data manipulation and analysis problems. It offers efficient and practical solutions for a wide range of scenarios.
Examines the relationship between inflation targeting and the Consumer Price Index (CPI). It provides a detailed analysis of the CPI and its role in the Federal Reserve's inflation-targeting framework.
This comprehensive guide to financial performance analysis, covering a range of topics from profitability to solvency. The authors take a practical approach, illustrating the concepts discussed with real examples. The book is ideal for students, analysts, and anyone else interested in understanding financial performance analysis.
Focused specifically on FP&A, this book practical guide for professionals involved in budgeting, forecasting, and performance management. It provides essential techniques and insights directly applicable to improving financial performance. It is considered an essential desk reference for FP&A professionals.
Is crucial for anyone analyzing financial performance, as it details how companies can manipulate financial statements. Understanding these techniques is vital for accurate analysis and preventing misleading conclusions about performance. It's highly relevant for identifying potential risks.
This guide provides practical approaches to managing financial performance within organizations. It covers key performance indicators, reporting, and analysis, directly addressing the core topic. It useful reference for finance professionals responsible for performance management processes.
Covers the theoretical and applied aspects of financial analysis, planning, and forecasting, all critical components of managing financial performance. It comprehensive resource suitable for advanced students and practitioners. It provides in-depth coverage of quantitative techniques.
Considered a classic in value investing, this book provides timeless principles for analyzing companies and their financial health from an investor's perspective. While not solely focused on corporate financial performance internally, it offers crucial insights into how external parties evaluate performance. The revised editions include updated commentary for contemporary markets.
Damodaran explores how combining financial numbers with a compelling narrative leads to better business valuation and understanding of performance. is highly relevant for those who need to communicate financial performance effectively and understand the qualitative factors influencing it. It adds a unique perspective to traditional financial analysis.
A more focused look at interpreting financial statements by the legendary Benjamin Graham. classic that provides fundamental techniques for understanding a company's financial health through its reports. It's a concise yet insightful guide for anyone analyzing financial performance.
Another foundational classic by Benjamin Graham, this book delves deep into the analysis of securities, which requires a thorough understanding of financial statements and performance. It provides a historical perspective on financial analysis techniques. While dense, it's a cornerstone for serious finance professionals and investors.
This guide to financial performance analytics provides a detailed overview of data techniques, modeling, and performance measurement. The author discusses a range of topics, including key performance indicators, data collection, and reporting. The book is ideal for anyone interested in improving financial performance measurement in their organization.
This practical guide focuses on building financial models in Excel, an essential skill for analyzing and forecasting financial performance in a corporate setting. It's highly relevant for those who need to translate financial theory into practical applications. It valuable tool for developing hands-on financial analysis skills.
This comprehensive guide to Oracle SQL includes a section on CASE statements. It covers the basics of CASE statements as well as more advanced topics such as CASE expressions and CASE functions.
Provides a detailed overview of the Performance Management Revolution, a new approach to performance management that integrates strategy and execution. The authors discuss a range of topics, including strategy mapping, key performance indicators, and performance measurement. The book is ideal for anyone interested in improving performance management in their organization.
On SQL antipatterns includes a section on CASE statement antipatterns. It identifies common pitfalls and mistakes when using CASE statements and provides best practices to avoid them.
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