ACTUARIAL SCIENCE, ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING EFFECTIVENESS AMONG PENSION FUND ADMINISTRATORS (PFAs) IN NIGERIA

This study examines the relationship between actuarial science, enterprise risk management (ERM), and strategic decision-making effectiveness among Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) in Nigeria. The study uses an explanatory mixed-method design comprising questionnaire responses from 134 pension risk professionals and semi-structured interviews with 10 senior risk executives. Multiple regression was used to estimate the effects of actuarial science, ERM integration, and actuarial-enabled business intelligence (BI) and artificial intelligence (AI) tools on strategic decision-making effectiveness. The reported model explains 34.2% of the variation in the outcome (R² = .342). Actuarial science has a positive statistically significant coefficient (B = .127, p = .048), while the reported ERM coefficient is positive but statistically insignificant (B = .098, p = .123). Actuarial BI tools (AS-BI) show the largest positive and statistically significant coefficient (B = .247, p < .001), while actuarial AI tools (AS-AI) are also statistically significant (B = .115, p = .032). The findings suggest that actuarial expertise and technology-enabled actuarial analytics are more directly associated with strategic decision-making effectiveness than ERM considered as a standalone construct. The study recommends stronger integration of actuarial, risk, and information-technology functions, improved data governance, and targeted professional development.