Description: This is a discussion about the Opinion No. 8 Bulletin on accounting for the cost of pension plans that was recently issued by the Accounting Principles Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the effect this bulletin will have on the preparation of actuarial valuations of pension plans. Also discussed is the use of level-premium life insurance in connection with employee benefit plans and the underwriting, actuarial and other problems encountered in the design and marketing of such plans. Finally, the discussion moves to the marketing, underwriting and administration of vision care and prescription drug benefits, and the advantages and disadvantages of providing survivor benefits in group life and qualified pension plans. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1967, Vol. 19 Pt. 2, No. 53.

Description: This article delves into how pension costs for work performed under a government contract are reimbursed. This is an expansion of related issues discussed in an article by Bernard Sacks in the April 1989 issue of The Actuary. Article from The Actuary, Volume 24, Issue 4

Description: The International Accounting Standards Committee’s IASC mandate to produce internationally recognized standards for employee benefits gave the International Forum of Actuarial Organizations IFAA an early opportunity to show its importance in representing actuarial interests internationally.

Description: Traditional pension mathematics assumes that mortality rates are fixed at a valuation date. If mortality rates reduce after a valuation date, the liabilities of a defined benefit plans 'DB plans' increase, leading to deficits. Such deficits are somewhat unpredictable, because the evolution of mortality rates is a random process. This problem, which is often called longevity risk, makes the maintenance of DB plans difficult. The International Accounting Standards Board 'IASB' has plans to tackle the arduous problem of how to disclose longevity risk on financial statements. The IASB was established in 2001 to create universal accounting standards, called International Accounting Reporting Standards 'IFRSs'. A primary objective of this paper is to propose a number of methods that can help actuaries and plan sponsors quantify and disclose longevity risk.

Description: The association between disclosed financial accounting data and firm value is examined, while incorporating the effect of managerial discretion in reporting those data. Assumptions used to compute a firm's pension liability are addressed. These findings suggest that analysts recognize managers' use of unjustified assumptions and the disclosed accounting numbers are appropriately discounted.

Description: This paper calls for a reconsideration of ASOP 27 in the wake of the scandals that began with Enron and have rocked the world of finance. The paper argues for a tighter standard, perhaps based on the different approach taken in ASOP 35. From Current Pension Actuarial Practice in Light of Financial Economics Symposium, M-RS04-1.

Description: The authors discuss perceptions by actuaries, investors, regulators and accountants of the various reported pension plan liabilities. Comments included focus on how current disclosures are interpreted and how liabilities might better be determined.

Description: This meeting session, which occurred at the June 1980 SOA meeting in San Deigo, covered issues related to Financial Accounting Standards Board FASB disclosure, accounting and reporting for pension plans. From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 6, No. 3.

Description: This 1981 session concerned public issues that involve both actuaries and accountants, such as pension plan funding and reporting, GAAP for mutual life companies and independence in auditing. From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 7, No. 2.

Description: 1993 SOA Annual Meeting, New York. This session is about the various FASB statements with which the retirement benefit actuary must deal. Emphasis was on current developments. Topics included: 1. What the FASB is all about and what its objectives have been in issuing accounting standards that deal with various employee benefit plans. 2. The practical realities of dealing with clients and some of the problems that exist in dealing with these FASB statements. 3. The utilization and implementation of these FASB statements.