I am in the same boat as you (trying to avoid taking PA). I believe we have to pass all our FSA exams by the Spring 2022 sitting because the results for the Fall 2022 exam administration will come out after the FSA deadline of 1/1/2023.

The following document states that you can register for the DMAC module upon becoming an ASA, but we will need to complete all other FSA requirements within two years of our DMAC credit date. https://www.soa.org/globalassets/assets/files/edu/edu-dmac-change.pdf

So I believe we can register for and submit the DMAC now because it is less than two years until the FSA deadline. The downside of this is if we don’t make the deadline (pass our final exam by Spring 2022), then not only will we have to take PA and figure out all the latest ASA changes and how they affect us, but we will potentially also have to redo the DMAC.

Therefore, I think the ideal timeline is to pass all FSA exams by Spring 2022, receive passing results in July 2022, begin DMAC and submit by August (if you are confident that you will not need more than one attempt) based on FAC #139 timeline, then attend FAC in December just in time to beat the 1/1/2023 deadline. Alternatively, you can start DMAC before receiving passing results in July 2022 (to give you more time to complete it), especially if you were confident that you did well for the exam, or you can even start the DMAC anytime now, just in case you need more than one attempt.

As for 2022 FACs, I believe the desire of the SOA is to move it back to an in-person format with e-Learning to be completed in advance. I doubt there will be a remote option when the presentations go back to being in-person, but I am not entirely sure about that. Hope this helps!

Since the FSA deadline is coming up in less than two years, I feel that we have the right to apply and submit a DMAC at this point. The disadvantage of this is that if we don’t give a deadline (pass the final exam by spring 2022), then we don’t just have to retake the PA and find out if all the recent ASA changes affect us, but also may have to retake the DMAC. If we don’t meet the deadline, then we will have to pass the final exam by spring 2022.

Because of this, I believe the most optimal sequence of events would be to pass all FSA exams by spring 2022, get pass results by July 2022, start DMAC and submit by August (if you are). make sure you don’t need to take the exam more than once) based on the FAC #139 timeline, and then attend the FAC in December, just in time to pass the January 1, 2023 deadline. you can start with cuphead before you get your pass in July 2022 (this will allow you more time to complete it), especially if you are sure you did well on the test investigation; alternatively, you can start DMAC at any time, just in case you need it more than once.