Implementation of IFRS 17 standards to aid investors make better and informed decisions across industries

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai, 07 November, 2019: Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI), a statutory body established under an Act of Parliament organised a one day conference on IFRS 17 (International Financial Reporting Standards for insurance contracts) in Mumbai. The event was attended by eminent personalities from the Indian and International Actuarial and Finance fraternity to discuss the implementation and significance of IFRS 17.  The implementation of IFRS 17 which is an International Accounting Standard will impact the measurement and reporting of financials not just from an actuarial perspective but also at an overall company and Industry’s perspective.

This seminar, which was fourth among the series of capacity building seminars on IFRS 17 organized by IAI, was aimed to perform a deep dive discussion on reinsurance, discount rate, and the new amendments in the IFRS 17 exposure draft. It encouraged discussion among the participants on these topics such that Indian insurance industry is well prepared for IFRS 17 implementation.

Ms. Sue Llyod – Vice-Chair of International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) made an insightful presentation on the various steps taken by IASB around IFRS 17 implementation globally.

“IFRS 17 will change the way Insurance business is reported for general purpose Financial Statement and managed across the world. The date of implementation of IFRS 17 equivalent in India is yet to be declared.  IAI is geared to transform this challenge into an opportunity and look forward to actively participate in successful implementation of IFRS 17 equivalent in India. It is likely that the RBC frame work and IFRS 17 equivalent may get implemented simultaneously in India,” says Mr. Sunil Sharma, President, Institute of Actuaries of India.

IFRS 17 standard will make the financial statements more comparable across different jurisdiction and will aid the investors for better informed decision making. One of the key highlight of the event was a panel discussion where the need for collaboration between actuarial and accounting community was emphasised as a key factor for the successful implementation of IFRS 17 equivalent in India. Multiple deep dive sessions on topics such as Reinsurance, dealing with onerous contracts, new proposed IFRS 17 amendments, discount rates etc were covered

About Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI) : IAI is a statutory body established under The Actuaries Act 2006 (35 of 2006) for regulation of profession of Actuaries in India. The provisions of the said Act have come into force from 10thday of November 2006, in terms of the notification dated 8th November 2006, issued by the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs. As a consequence of this, the erstwhile Actuarial Society of India was dissolved and all the Assets and Liabilities of the Actuarial Society of India were transferred to, and vested in, the Institute of Actuaries of India constituted under Section 3 of the Actuaries Act, 2006. The erstwhile Actuarial Society of India (ASI) was established in September 1944. Since 1979 the ASI has been a Full Member of International Actuarial Association (an umbrella organizations to all actuarial bodies across the world) and is actively involved in its affairs. In 1982, the ASI was registered under Registration of Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act XXI of 1860 and also under Bombay Public Charitable Trust Act, 1950. In 1989, the ASI started examinations up to Associate level, and in 1991, started conducting Fellowship level examination leading to professional qualification of an actuary, till then the accreditation was based on Institute of Actuaries, London examinations (now Institute and Faculty of Actuaries).