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Quality Assurance Scheme Committee: terms of reference

Read about the Quality Assurance Scheme Committee’s purpose, key responsibilities, membership, and procedural rules.

 

Purpose

Acts on behalf of the Regulatory Board to determine applications for accreditation under the IFoA’s Quality Assurance Scheme (QAS) and to monitor those accreditations once awarded.

Key responsibilities 

  1. Determines applications for QAS accreditation (including renewals).
  2. Determines applications for appointment, replacement and removal of Senior Quality Assurance Representatives (SQARs).
  3. Reviews and notes the Annual Returns provided by Organisations and determines if any further action is necessary.
  4. Reviews reported issues relevant to QAS accreditation raised by accredited firms (or others) to decide what action if any is required.
  5. Exercises powers of discretion in relation to QAS accreditations, as set out in the QAS Handbook, including powers of suspension, renewal and withdrawal.
  6. Requests additional interim assessments to be carried out by the QAS assessment team, as required.
  7. Provides feedback to the IFoA Executive on the work of the QAS assessment team.
  8. Makes recommendations to Regulatory Board for changes to APS QA1, the QAS Handbook and QAS processes, as appropriate.
  9. Monitors regulatory issues arising in its work on the QAS and raises those with the IFoA Executive and Regulatory Board, as necessary.
  10. Raises with the IFoA Executive and/or Regulatory Board, as appropriate, any suggestions or concerns identified in relation to the operation of the QAS.
  11. Reports to Regulatory Board annually on activities of the Committee including current issues and proposed future developments.
  12. Inputs into the content, frequency and format of SQAR Forums.
  13. Ensures conflicts of interest of Committee members are managed effectively.
  14. Makes recommendations to the IFoA Executive and Chair of the Committee as to the suitable skill sets required within the Committee so that it can have regard to diversity, equity and inclusion and meet its key responsibilities.
  15. Ensures that matters of particular commercial sensitivity are considered by the Lay Members only with a suitable recommendation being made to the rest of the Committee.
  16. Complies with the Governance Manual.
  17. The Committee may delegate to the Executive any matter which it deems appropriate.

Membership 

Chair: Victor Olowe 
 
Executive Support: Members of General Counsel Directorate

The Committee shall comprise up to 10 members:

  1. Lay Chair
  2. Up to 4 lay members
  3. Up to 5 volunteer Members

Specific procedural rules

Where matters arise that are deemed by the Chair to involve issues of particular commercial sensitivity for applicants or accredited organisations, the lay members of the Committee (including the Chair) will consider the issue and make a recommendation to the rest of the Committee without disclosing details of the issue. 

A quorum is 4 of the members of the committee, including at least one lay member and one volunteer Member. It is recognised that the QAS is an international scheme and therefore it is desirable that a member with relevant international experience will be included in the make up of the Committee. 

About the terms of reference

Definitions used in this terms of reference are from the IFoA’s Volunteer Information Pack (PDF, 1.4MB)

Version: October 2021