Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pjpqr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-04T05:04:14.840Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Developing an International Accounting Standard for Life Assurance Business

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2011

D.O. Forfar  and
N.B. Masters
D.O. Forfar
Affiliation:
Department of Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, U.K. E-mail: d.o.forfar@ma.hw.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There is currently no international standard for profit reporting in life insurance companies. The paper sets out the issues which an international standard for life companies will need to address, bearing in mind compatibility with existing International Accounting Standards, in particular IAS 32 Financial Instruments: disclosure and presentation, IAS Exposure Draft E62 (now IAS 39); Financial instruments; recognition and measurement and the discussion paper of March 1997 prepared by the Steering Committee on Financial Instruments entitled ‘Accounting for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities’. The paper discusses possible approaches to the issues which arise and comments on each, ending with some final conclusions.

Keywords

AccountingAccounting PrinciplesInternational Accounting StandardsGAAPProfitsLife Insurance
Type
Sessional meetings: papers and abstracts of discussions
Information
British Actuarial Journal , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , 01 October 1999 , pp. 621 - 698
Copyright
Copyright © Institute and Faculty of Actuaries 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

The following lists include, not only the works referred to in the paper, but also details of other publications which might prove helpful as a starting point for further research.

U.K. ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES

Accounting Standards Board. Statements of Standard Accounting Practice 1–25 and Financial Reporting Standards 1–14.Google Scholar
Accounting Standards Board (1995). Statement of principles exposure draft.Google Scholar
Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (1998). Accounting standards and guidance for members.Google Scholar
Pricewaterhousecoopers (1998). The PricewaterhouseCoopers manual of accounting. Accountancy Books.Google Scholar

INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

Abbott, W. M. (1998). Some notes on developments in IASC insurance accounting. Transactions of the 26th International Congress of Actuaries, Birmingham.Google Scholar
Abbott, W.M. (1999). Fair value of life insurance liabilities: an indirect approach. B.A.J. 5, 330–338.Google Scholar
International Accounting Standards Committee. International Accounting Standards Nos. 1–38.Google Scholar
International Accounting Standards Committee (1989). Framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements.Google Scholar
O'Brien, C.D. (1998). A draft of a proposed international standard: life insurance. Transactions of the 26th International Congress of Actuaries, Birmingham.Google Scholar
O'Keeffe, P.J.L. & Sharp, A.C. (1998). International measures of profit for life assurance companies. B.A.J. 5, 297–356.Google Scholar
Pricewaterhousecoopers (1996). Understanding international accounting standards: analysis and interpretation.Google Scholar

U.K. GAAP — MODIFIED STATUTORY

ABI (1998). Statement of recommended practice (SORP) on accounting for insurance business. ABI publication.Google Scholar
Forfar, D. O. (1998). Accounting for deferred acquisition costs. The Actuary, April 1998.Google Scholar
Statutory Instrument (1993). The Companies Act, 1985 (Insurance Companies Accounts) Regulations 1993. H.M. Stationary Office.Google Scholar

E.U. GAAP

Directive 91/674/Eec (1991). Council directive on annual accounts and consolidated accounts of insurance undertakings. E.U. Commission.Google Scholar

U.K. ACHIEVED PROFITS

ABI (1996). ABI guidance on the achieved profits method: latest draft. ABI publication ref. T/701/017.Google Scholar