Mengenal Profesi Aktuaris

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Pada umumnya masyarakat luas masih belum begitu mengenal Ilmu Aktuaria (Actuarial Science). Apa itu ilmu aktuaria? Secara umum dapat didefinisikan sebagai bidang keilmuan yang mengombinasikan beberapa disiplin ilmu seperti matematika, probabilitas & statistika, ekonomi-keuangan, dan komputasi untuk mengukur risiko keuangan dan bisnis. Jenis ilmu aktuaria ini tentu sangat diperlukan oleh perusahaan-perusahaan atau industri yang kerap menghadapi berbagai jenis risiko dalam operasionalnya seperti perusahaan Asuransi, Pengelola Dana Pensiun, Manajemen Investasi, Sekuritas, Perbankan dan Institusi Keuangan lainnya. Selain itu, ilmu aktuaria ini juga bermanfaat bagi perusahaan umum yang menerapkan manajemen risiko dalam menjalankan bisnisnya. Karena aktuaria sangat erat dengan risiko bisnis maka ilmu ini menggunakan tag: “Risk is Opportunity”.

Para praktisi ilmu aktuaria biasa disebut dengan Aktuaris (Actuary). Aktuaris adalah seorang profesional jasa keuangan yang memberikan nasihat manajemen terkait risiko finansial di masa depan yang tidak dapat ditentukan dengan pasti (uncertainty). Profesi aktuaris pada umumnya tergabung dalam wadah asosiasi profesi seperti Society of Actuary, Casualty of Actuarial Society, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries dan lainnya. Di Indonesia wadah profesi aktuaris dikenal dengan Persatuan Aktuaris Indonesia (PAI) atau Society of Actuary Indonesia. Tentu untuk menjadi anggota PAI bukanlah hal mudah. Calon anggota harus melalui dua tahapan ujian (examination) yaitu: (1) Associate dan (2) Fellow. Jika lulus tahap pertama akan diberi gelar profesi ajun aktuaris atau Associate of Society of Actuary Indonesia (ASAI) dan jika lulus tahap kedua diberi gelar aktuaris penuh atau Fellow of Society of Actuary Indonesia (FSAI).

Dalam program studi ilmu aktuaria pada umumnya mempelajari Financial Mathematics, Life Insurance Mathematics, Probability & Statistics for Actuarial,  Stochastic for Actuarial, Casualty & Health Insurance, General Insurance, Credibility Theory, Survival Model, Retirement Income System, Risk Theory, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Asset & Liabilities, Financial Accounting, Corporate Finance, Economics, Investment & Portfolio Analysis and Business Management. Semua courses di atas tersebut pada umumnya memerlukan keterampilan kuantitatif yang kuat sehingga para aktuaris pada umumnya berlatar belakang sarjana matematika, statistika, teknik, sains, ekonomi keuangan dan bisnis.

Pada umumnya (sekitar 70%) para aktuaris melayani atau bekerja di industri asuransi seperti life insurance, general insurance, retirement/pension funds, and reinsurance company serta actuarial and risk consultants. Dengan kata lain, tanpa aktuaris maka perusahaan asuransi tidak dapat berfungsi. Dengan perkembangan industri keuangan dan investasi yang semakin kompleks saat ini, banyak para aktuaris yang melayani dan berkarir di industri keuangan lainnya seperti investment & assets management, commercial banking, investment banking, risk management, accounting & financial consultants, government/regulator dan akademisi & peneliti. Trend ini menunjukkan bahwa profesi aktuaris semakin diperlukan oleh berbagai bidang bisnis keuangan bahkan ada yang menyebut sebagai “A Career without Boundaries”.

Hal ini dapat dipahami karena kompleksitas bisnis dan ketidakpastian keuangan yang semakin tinggi akan menciptakan risiko keuangan dan bisnis yang semakin besar pula maka profesi aktuaris semakin diperlukan. Dapat dikatakan bahwa dimana ada risiko bisnis, di situ pula aktuaris diperlukan. Di Indonesia sendiri jumlah aktuaris masih sangat minim sehingga peluang berkarir di bidang ini masih terbuka lebar dan tentunya dengan ekspektasi pendapatan yang menjanjikan. Menurut Wall Street Journal (2010) profesi aktuaris adalah jenis pekerjaan yang paling dicari peringkat 1 di USA (Top Ranked Job).

Untuk mendapatkan pendidikan formal ilmu aktuaria, anda dapat mencoba di beberapa perguruan tinggi top dunia seperti University of Waterloo, Australian National University, UNSW, University of Melbourne, Macquarie University, Oxford University, Cambridge University, Columbia University, Universiteit van Amsterdam, University of Illinois, University of Kent, Nanyang Technological University dan lainnya. Di Indonesia sendiri terdapat beberapa universitas yang menawarkan program studi aktuaria tingkat sarjana seperti Matematika ITB, Matematika UI, Statsitika IPB dan Statistika UGM. Untuk tingkat S2-Magister Aktuaria ditawarkan oleh Departemen Matematika ITB dan program MM Aktuaria UI yang bekerjasama dengan PAI. Demikian dan semoga bermanfaat….

Perdana Wahyu Santosa

Apa Itu Financial Engineering?

 Dengan semakin kompleks dan canggihnya perkembangan industri keuangan dan financial market, maka pendekatan melalui ilmu ekonomi dan  keuangan  (financial  economics) menjadi semakin kurang efektif lagi. Maka Ilmu ekonomi keuangan memerlukan kolaborasi baru dengan beberapa  displin ilmu lainnya.  Mengapa demikian? Hal  tersebut disebabkan oleh semakin kompleks dan meningkatnya risiko (volatilitas) yang sulit diprediksi  (unpredictable). Industri  finansial masa depan membutuhkan  “pendekatan baru” yang mampu mengimbangi kerumitan, risiko dan kecepatan  transaksi yang  semakin tinggi. Selain  itu instrumen-instrumen keuangan dan investasi  juga  semakin rumit, eksotis disertai pasar finansial global saling  terkait satu dengan lainnya.

Untuk mengatasi hal tersebut diperlukan sebuah teroboson keilmuan baru yaitu melalui pendekatan quantitative atau matematis dalam bidang  corporate finance dan  financial market & institutions. Disiplin ilmu yang saat ini dikembangkan untuk mengatasi permasalahan tersebut adalah Financial  Engineering. Ilmu financial engineering biasa disebut juga dengan quantitative finance, financial mathematics, atau computational finance. Lalu apakah sejatinya financial engineering tersebut? Columbia University (2015) mendefinisikannya sebagai “Ilmu multidsiplin” yang menggabungkan teori ekonomi keuangan, metode matematika, praktik programming (komputasi) dan konsep engineering.

Secara umum financial engineering menggabungkan beberapa konsep keilmuan sekaligus yang mencakup pemodelan pasar finansial dan instrumen seperti proses stokastik, optimisasi, teknik numerik, simulasi Monte Carlo dan analisis data keuangan. Di samping itu, financial engineering juga dibekali dengan teori portofolio dan analisis investasi, keuangan korporasi, market microstructure theory, financing & risk, valuasi aset & derivatif, manajemen aset, fixed income & term structure, algorithmic trading, structured & hybrid product, financial technology dan analisis risiko keuangan.

Praktisi financial engineering kerap disebut sebagai financial engineers atau “the quants” karena kelebihannya dibidang kuantitatif dan komputasi keuangan. Profesi ini semakin diminati oleh financial management, perusahaan sekuritas, industri perbankan, asuransi, kantor konsultan keuangan, investment bankers, hedge funds dan asset management karena kemampuannya menggabungkan konsep asset pricing & derivative, portfolio optimization, corporate economics dan risk management secara efektif. Sejauh ini program master of financial engineering menawarkan konsentrasi (1) Asset Management & Optimization (2) Finance and Economics (3) Derivatives & Risk Management (4) Computation Finance & Programming (5) Computation & Trading Strategy and (6) Financial Technology. Kita dapat memilih konsentrasi sesuai dengan kualifikasi dan minat profesiional.

Beberapa perusahaan MNC yang kerap menggunakan jasa financial engineers adalah Barclays, Goldman Sach, JP Morgan, Citi Group, Black Rock, Credit Suisse, Bloomberg, Standard & Poor’s, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, AXA Equitable, Ernst & Young, PwC, Perry Capital etc. Selain di perusahaan keuangan, anda dapat berkarir di manajemen keuangan dan tresuri serta manajemen risiko untuk perusahaan industri dan manufaktur lainnya.

Jika berminat menjadi financial engineer, saat ini sudah banyak berbagai universitas kelas dunia yang menyediakan disiplin ilmu ini dengan berbagai nama program seperti financial engineering, quantitative finance, financial mathematics dan computational finance seperti Columbia University, NYU, University of Chicago, UCLA, UC Berkeley, MIT, Standford University, Princeton University, Carnegie-Mellon, Cornel University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, Boston University, University of Washington, National University of Singapore etc. Untuk universitas nasional, Departemen Matematika ITB menawarkan program sarjana Matematika Industri dan Keuangan dan School of Business and Management ITB membuka program magister MSM Finance (Quantitative). Jika anda berlatar belakang matematika, statistika, fisika, teknik, ekonomi keuangan atau menyukai bidang kuantitatif, silakan mencoba tantangan baru ini. Semoga bermanfaat….

Perdana Wahyu Santosa

2009 Ripe for Corporate Buyers

For Corporate Buyers that Pursue a Disciplined Approach – 2009 is the Time to Buy a Company

Corporate executives at middle market companies understand that meeting investor demands for growth is difficult to achieve organically. Therefore, making strategic acquisitions are critical to building scale and growing revenues.

The impetus for pursing an acquisition have become even more compelling in light of the current challenging economic times, which has put downward pressure on valuation multiples. Indeed, a recent Boston Consulting Group report entitled “The Return of the Strategist: Creating Value with M&A in Downturns” underscores why a weak economy is often an ideal time to acquire a company. Key findings of this report include:

Corporate buyers are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the tough economic times, since they possess the cash to complete transactions, whereas the financial private equity buyers have been restrained from borrowing in the wake of the credit crisis.
Acquisitions completed during recessions are twice as likely as upturn deals to produce long-term returns in excess of 50%, and, on average, create 14.5% more value for acquirer shareholders.

The best type of company to buy during a recession is one with strong finances and relatively weak profitability.

Corporate buyers can also increase their returns and likelihood for success by acquiring relatively small targets.

Surprisingly, acquirers can also create value by paying above-average premiums, provided the underlying rationale for the deal makes sense.

Acquirers in difficult economic conditions are better at identifying targets with unrealized potential, probably because of the disciplining power of downturns, when every dollar counts.

Yet, despite the promise of adding value from a discounted acquisition, the reality is still that the majority of acquisitions will fail to result in any cost savings or merger synergies. So, how do the top value creators in downturns pick the best targets? To summarize research in this area, the world of corporate acquirers is divided into those that discipline their acquisition process and, thereby, improve the odds that an acquisition will prove successful, versus those who essentially roll the dice each time they acquire.

Disciplining the acquisition process means employing best practices, implemented at each step of the acquisition process. These steps proceed methodically from clarifying the acquisition strategy, to analyzing financing options, to systematically researching all potential target acquisitions, to evaluating strategic value, to formally valuing targets (using discounted cash-flow analysis, accretion-dilution analysis, and EBITDA market comparables), to negotiating Letter of Intent terms, to conducting both strategic and risk-oriented due diligence, and finally, to negotiating a set of definitive Purchase and Sale Agreement documents.

In short, if you want your corporation to take advantage of quality market opportunities to make an acquisition, you need to honestly assess whether your company already has, or realistically can develop internally, a disciplined acquisition process. Corporate executives who believe that their skills in other financial and operation areas can be quickly applied to acquisitions are often only rolling the dice. They would be better served by engaging a M&A investment banking firm that does such acquisition work for a living. Experienced M&A Professionals know how to implement buy-side “best practices,” and their services can be obtained either on a fully outsourced basis, or more commonly, to complement your in-house Corporate Development team’s efforts.

Yes, the market in the first half of 2009 will be ripe for corporate buyers. However, only those corporate buyers that pursue a disciplined acquisition process will improve the probability that a strategic acquisition will actually result in anticipated value synergies.

http://www.corporatefinanceassociates.com/blog/corporate-buyers/#more-53

Why Business Plans Get Rejected

With all the news about the difficulties the Big Three auto executives had in securing financing from the U.S. government, it is good to know that middle-market business owners do not need an Act of Congress to get funded. However, you can be assured if you are looking for financing in today’s market — every aspect of your business will be examined in detail, including your business plan.

Even with a great product or service and a long list of customers your business may not receive the desired funding. Prospective investors receive so many business plans each year that weeding through them with only a cursory review has become a standard practice. In order to ensure your business plan gets read by investors, it will need to stand out. From the investor’s point of view, some of the more common problems with a business plan include the following:

Unrealistic Claims About Competition or Risk

Everyone has competitors, so to claim that you have no competition will almost certainly cause investors to conclude that you do not have a firm grasp of the market. The “Competition” section of your business plan is your opportunity to list your strengths as compared to that of your competitors. Identify the ways that you can compete and accentuate your competitive advantages.

Do not try to claim that your business has no risk. Instead, try to emphasize how you plan to minimize or mitigate risk. Be able to back up your claims by showing the research that you have done on both the competition and risk.

Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammatical Errors

A poorly written business plan is a reflection on the leaders of the company. When investors see a business plan with spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors they immediately wonder if the managers are really qualified to run the company. In the minds of investors, this carelessness in writing a business plan could also mean the managers are careless in other areas, such as operating the business.

Content and Formatting Errors

Your business plan should be written in the proper format with headings, the required sections and the appendix. Both content and presentation should be error free. Charts, tables, or graphs should not contain missing labels, incorrect units, or the wrong terminology. If investors can not easily locate a section such as “Management,” they may decide to reject your plan and move on to another one.

Incomplete or Vague Information

Your business plan should include information for all areas that are standard to your industry. These areas include customers, products and services, operations, marketing and sales, the management team, and the competition. The plan should also include information about industry trends. Finally, your plan must include detailed financial forecasts, cash flow and income statements, as well as annual balance sheets.

Writing a business plan is hard work. Even if you have a great idea to start or expand your business, you’ll need to do the research and investigate everything you can before you even start writing the plan. Investors look at business plans as a form of “road map” for the business. If they see that you can not put together this road map for them, then it is likely that your business plan will be rejected.

Sourcing capital for business acquisition, recapitalization or simply growing the business will be a challenge for the next 12 to 24 months. A bullet proof business plan is just one component in securing capital resources. Adding an investment banker to your advisory team will help smooth out the wrinkles inherent in structuring a financing package that meets your needs for 2009.
Dec 20, 2008

http://www.corporatefinanceassociates.com/blog/business-plans-rejected/

2009 – Year of Opportunity for Smart Business Owners

As of January 2009, many banks and non-bank lenders are caught in a ‘liquidity trap’ where they must fix their own balance sheets before they can resume lending to customers. Getting buyout financing is harder than ever and new loans are secured by both cash flow and hard assets. On Wall Street, there’s a big slowdown in mergers & acquisitions.

Wall Street’s train wreck is Main Street’s opportunity. Smart business owners and their advisors will certainly use these changes to their advantage. Here are some ideas for owners considering a capital transaction in 2009:

Cash is king. Instead of an illiquid investment in a private company, this is probably a good year to have cash. Consider a buyout or recap if you have another use for money. There are many opportunities in financial investments and real estate, for example.
Debt is cheap. For borrowers that qualify, interest rates are as low as they have been in a lifetime. If you have good credit and debt-free assets, consider recapitalizing with low-cost debt. Ask for an estimate of your secured debt capacity.
Taxes are low. Regardless of your political persuasion, it looks like taxes will go up – maybe as early as this year. We certainly don’t know the outcome, but if the tax on gains goes back to the old rate, then a deal now is worth 18% more than a deal later. After taxes, you could keep more today than you might get by waiting for a better market someday.

Owner financing is back. Owner financing was risky back in the days of over-leveraged buyouts. In today’s under-leveraged buyouts, the owner can take the place of last year’s bank loan. Instead of getting taxable cash and then buying an annuity, a tax-deferred note can more than double your retirement income.

Value is relative. Even in a down market, there are always investors looking to invest in good companies. These well-capitalized buyers do deals in good times and bad. If your business is flat when everyone else is down, you might be the most attractive company in your industry.

Get paid twice. Don’t sell it all when the market is down. Sell up to 80% and keep the rest. As the business grows and pays down debt, the part you keep can be worth as much as the part you sell. Ask an advisor about this ’second bite of the apple’ transaction.

In summary, there’s no such thing as a bad time to do good business. Now more than ever, it’s important to talk with an experienced firm – one that has done many transactions in both good and bad times. Consult your advisor to discuss these and other ideas for a successful capital transaction in 2009.

By Larry http://www.corporatefinanceassociates.com/blog/