What Is an Asset-Liability Committee?

An asset-liability committee (ALCO), also known as surplus management, is a supervisory group that coordinates the management of assets and liabilities with a goal of earning adequate returns. By managing a company’s assets and liabilities, executives are able to influence net earnings, which may translate into increased stock prices.

Understanding Asset-Liability Committees (ALCO)

An ALCO at the board or management level provides important management information systems (MIS) and oversight for effectively evaluating on- and off-balance-sheet risk for an institution. Members incorporate interest rate risk and liquidity consideration into a bank’s operating model.

One of the ALCO’s goals is ensuring adequate liquidity while managing the bank’s spread between the interest income and interest expense. Members also consider investments and operational risk.

ALCO meetings should be conducted at least quarterly. Member responsibilities typically include managing market risk tolerances, establishing appropriate MIS, and reviewing and approving the bank’s liquidity and funds management policy at least annually.

Members also develop and maintain a contingency funding plan, review immediate funding needs and sources, and determine liquidity risk exposures to adverse scenarios with varying probability and severity.

Special Considerations

An ALCO’s strategies, policies, and procedures should relate to the board’s goals, objectives, and risk tolerances for operating standards. Strategies should articulate liquidity risk tolerances and address the extent to which central elements of funds management are centralized or delegated in the institution.

Strategies should also communicate how much emphasis is placed on using asset liquidity, liabilities, and operating cash flows for meeting daily and contingent funding needs.

Example of an Asset-Liability Committee

Alfa Bank’s ALCO is appointed by a resolution of the bank’s executive board and includes seven or more members with the right to vote for a one-year period. The ALCO is headed by the ALCO chair appointed by the bank’s executive board. ALCO members without the right to vote are appointed upon presentation to the ALCO chair by order of the bank executive board from among bank specialists and managers for a one-year period.

The bank’s ALCO meetings are typically held every two weeks. Additional meetings may be scheduled as needed. The ALCO has the authority to resolve matters submitted for consideration if more than half of the members with the right to vote are present at the committee meeting. A resolution is passed when more than half the members with the right to vote are present and vote in favor of the resolution. ALCO’s resolutions are binding on all bank employees.

What is Accretive?

In both finance and in general lexicon, the term “accretive” is the adjective form of the word “accretion”, which refers to gradual or incremental growth. For example, an acquisition deal may be deemed accretive for the absorbing company, if that deal contributes to an increase in earnings per share.

By definition, in corporate finance, accretive acquisitions of assets or businesses must ultimately add more value to a company, than the expenditures associated with the acquisition. This can be due to the fact that the newly-acquired assets in question are purchased at a discount to their perceived current market value, or if the assets are expected to grow, as a direct result of the transaction.

Key Takeaways
–The term “accretive” is an adjective that refers to business deals that result in gradual or incremental growth in value for a company.
–In corporate finance, accretive acquisitions of assets must add more value to a company, than the costs of acquiring the target entity,
–Accretive deals can occur if acquired assets are purchased at a discount to their perceived current market value.
–In general finance, accretive investments refer to any security that is purchased at a discount. 

Breaking Down Accretive

In general finance, accretion refers to the change in the price of a bond or security. In fixed-income investments, the word accretive may be used to describe the increase in value attributable to interest accrued but not paid. For example, discounted bonds earn interest through accretion, until they reach maturity. In such cases, acquired bonds are acquired at a discount when compared to the current face value of the bond, also known as the par. As the bond matures, the value increases, based on the interest rate that was in effect at the time of issuance.

Determining the Rate of Accretion

The rate of accretion is determined by dividing the discount by the number of years in the term. In the case of zero coupon bonds, the interest acquired is not compounded. While the value of the bond increases based on the agreed-upon interest rate, it must be held for the agreed-upon term, before it can be cashed out.

Examples of Accretion

If a person purchases a bond with a value of $1,000, for the discounted price of $750, with the understanding that it will be held for 10 years, the deal is considered accretive, because the bond pays out the initial investment, plus interest. Depending on the type of bond purchased, interest may be paid out at regular intervals (annually, semi-annually, etc.), or it may be paid in lump sum, upon maturity.

With zero coupon bonds, there is no interest accrual. Instead, it is purchased at a discount, such as the initial $750 investment for a bond with a face value of $1,000. The bond pays the original face value, also known as the accreted value, of $1,000, in a lump sum upon maturity.

In corporate finance acquisition deals are often accretive. First, let’s assume that the earnings per share of Corporation X is listed as $100, and earnings per share of Corporation Y is listed as $50. When Corporation X acquires Corporation Y, Corporations X’s earnings per share increase to $150–rendering this a 50% accretive deal.

[Important: The antonym to “accretive” is “dilutive”, which describes any deal which causes a corporation’s earnings per share value to drop.]

What Is Accounts Receivable Aging?

Accounts receivable aging is a periodic report that categorizes a company’s accounts receivable according to the length of time an invoice has been outstanding. It is used as a gauge to determine the financial health and reliability of a company’s customers.

If the accounts receivable aging shows a company’s receivables are being collected much more slowly than normal, this is a warning sign that business may be slowing down or that the company is taking greater credit risk in its sales practices.

How Accounts Receivable Aging Works

Accounts receivable aging, as a management tool, can indicate that certain customers are becoming credit risks, and may reveal whether the company should keep doing business with customers that are chronically late payers. 

Accounts receivable aging has columns that are typically broken into date ranges of 30 days each and shows the total receivables that are currently due, as well as those that are past due for each 30-day time period.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts receivable aging is useful in determining the allowance for doubtful accounts. When estimating the amount of bad debt to report on a company’s financial statements, the accounts receivable aging report is useful to estimate the total amount to be written off.

The primary useful feature is the aggregation of receivables based on the length of time the invoice has been past due. Accounts that are more than six months old are unlikely to be collected, except through collections or a court judgment.

Companies apply a fixed percentage of default to each date range. Invoices that have been past due for longer periods of time are given a higher percentage due to increasing default risk and decreasing collectibility. The sum of the products from each outstanding date range provides an estimate regarding the total of uncollectible receivables.

Aged Receivables Report

The aged receivables report is a table that provides details of specific receivables based on age. The specific receivables are aggregated at the bottom of the table to display the total receivables of a company, based on the number of days the invoice is past due.

The typical column headers include 30-day windows of time, and the rows represent the receivables of each customer. Here’s an example of an accounts receivable aging report.

What Is Actuarial Science?

Actuarial science is a discipline that assesses financial risks in the insurance and finance fields, using mathematical and statistical methods. Actuarial science applies the mathematics of probability and statistics to define, analyze, and solve the financial implications of uncertain future events. Traditional actuarial science largely revolves around the analysis of mortality and the production of life tables, and the application of compound interest.

Understanding Actuarial Science

Actuarial science attempts to quantify the risk of an event occurring using probability analysis so that its financial impact can be determined. Actuarial science is typically used in the insurance industry by actuaries. Actuaries analyze mathematical models to predict or forecast the reasonableness of an event occurring so that an insurance company can allocate funds to pay out any claims that might result from the event. For example, studying mortality rates of individuals of a certain age would help insurance companies understand the likelihood or timeframe of paying out a life insurance policy.

Actuarial science became a formal mathematical discipline in the late 17th century with the increased demand for long-term insurance coverage. Actuarial science spans several interrelated subjects, including mathematics, probability theory, statistics, finance, economics, and computer science. Historically, actuarial science used deterministic models in the construction of tables and premiums. In the last 30 years, science has undergone revolutionary changes due to the proliferation of high-speed computers and the union of stochastic actuarial models with modern financial theory.

Applications of Actuarial Science

Life insurance and pension plans are the two main applications of actuarial science. However, actuarial science is also applied in the study of financial organizations to analyze their liabilities and improve financial decision-making. Actuaries employ this specialty science to evaluate the financial, economic, and other business applications of future events.

Insurance

In traditional life insurance, actuarial science focuses on the analysis of mortality, the production of life tables, and the application of compound interest, which is the accumulated interest from previous periods plus the interest on the principal investment. As a result, actuarial science can help develop policies for financial products such as annuities, which are investments that pay a fixed income stream. Actuarial science is also used to determine the various financial outcomes for investable assets held by non-profit corporations as a result of endowments. 

In health insurance, including employer-provided plans and social insurance, actuarial science includes analyzing rates of

• Disability in the population or the risk of a certain group of people becoming disabled
• Morbidity or the frequency and the extent to which a disease occurs in a population
• Mortality or mortality rate, which measures the number of deaths in a population that result from a specific disease or event
• Fertility or fertility rate, which measures the number of children born

For example, disability rates are determined for veterans that may have been wounded in the line of duty. Certain percentages are assigned to the extent of the disability to determine the payout from disability insurance.

Actuarial science is also applied to property, casualty, liability, and general insurance–instances in which coverage is generally provided on a renewable period, (such as yearly). Coverage can be canceled at the end of the period by either party.

Pensions

In the pension industry, actuarial science compares the costs of alternative strategies with regard to the design, funding, accounting, administration, and maintenance or redesign of pension plans. A pension plan is a defined-benefit plan, which is a type of retirement plan involving contributions from the employer to be set aside and paid out to the employees upon retirement.

Short-term and long-term bond rates greatly influence pension plans and their investment strategies. Bonds are debt instruments issued by governments and corporations that typically pay a periodic interest rate. For example, in a low-interest-rate environment, a pension plan might have difficulty earning income from the bonds that it has invested in, which increases the probability that the pension plan could run out of money.

Other factors impacting a pension plan’s viability include benefit arrangements, collective bargaining, the employer’s competitors, and changing demographics of the workforce. Tax laws and the policies of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding the calculation of pension surpluses also impact the finances of a pension plan. Additionally, economic conditions and trends in the financial markets can impact the probability of a pension plan remaining funded.

Universities and Professional Certifications

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of actuaries employed is expected to grow 21% from 2021 to 2031. For this reason, many universities offer educational degrees and courses on actuarial science. In addition, there are professional designations for those interested in pursuing the field.

Universities

The Society of Actuaries identifies and reports colleges that meet one of three levels of recognition:

• UCAP-Introduction Curriculum: Universities that maintain course requirements for two professional actuarial exams in addition to having met other approved course requirements.
• UCAP-Advanced Curriculum: Universities that maintain course requirements for four professional exams in addition to having met other approved course requirements.
• Center of Actuarial Excellence: Universities that maintain eight specific requirements in connection with a variety of matters. This is the highest tier of competency identified by the SOA for a university.

As of December 2022, there are roughly 25 Center of Actuarial Excellence schools across the United States, Canda, Australia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and China. Within the U.S., these schools include but are not limited to Brigham Young, Georgia State, Purdue, Connecticut, and Michigan.

Professional Designations and Credentials

There are a number of different professional designations an actuary can pursue to further gain credibility and proficiency in their field. The Casualty Actuarial Society offers the Associate (ACAS) and Fellow (FCAS) membership levels, each of the two with escalating requirements. For example, the ACAS credential can be achieved after passing six exams, while the FCAS is earned after nine exams. Areas of focus for the FCAS exam include:

• Probability
• Financial Mathematics
• Financial Economics
• Modern Actuarial Statistics
• Basic Techniques for Ratemaking and Estimating Claim Liabilities
• Regulation & Financial Reporting
• Policy Liabilities, Insurance Company Valuation, and Enterprise Risk Management
• Advanced Ratemaking

The Society of Actuaries promotes several different actuarial exams to demonstrate competency in the field.

• An Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) demonstrates knowledge of fundamental concepts of modeling and managing risk. The examination requirements are changing as of Spring 2023, and the list of required examinations includes topics on predictive analysis, economics, probabilities, and financial markets.
• A Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) specializes in having knowledge in identifying, measuring, and managing risk in risk-bearing enterprises. Similar to the ASA requirements, the CERA requirements include a professional course covering code of conduct.
• A Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) demonstrates knowledge of financial decisions involving pensions, life insurance, health insurance, and investments. FSAs also must demonstrate in-depth knowledge and the application of appropriate techniques to these various areas.

The Bottom Line

Actuarial science is the study of mathematically predicting the probability of something happening in the future and assigning that outcome a financial value. Companies, pension funds, and insurance agencies rely on actuaries to develop models to assess areas of risk and devise policies to mitigate potential future challenges.