Description: The article “IFRS 17, Economic Volatility, and Reinsurance” (IFRS 17, Economic Volatility, and Reinsurance | SOA) was designated the best article published in Reinsurance News in 2022. It looks at providing industry insights on preparing for the new global accounting standard. The article was submitted by Paul Sauvé (RGA) and it appeared in the June 2022 issue.

Description: Feature article discussing the actuarial response to the global financial crisis and the actuary’s influence on IFRS.

Description: If you’ve been reading my columns for a while, you have no doubt recognized that I tend to be consis- tently optimistic when it comes to the insurance contracts project meeting deadlines. I am constantly disappointed as the International Accounting Standards Board IASB and Financial Accounting Standards Board FASB fail to meet their own deadlines for producing exposure drafts or other papers. But this time is different.

Description: Panelists in session 13PD of the 2005 Valuation Actuary Symposium provide a brief overview of the emerging standards for investment and insurance, followed by a more in-depth discussion of key issues and recent developments.

Description: This session at the SOA 2004 San Antonio Spring Meeting looks at recent developments in international accounting standards for insurance including practical considerations and 'investment contract' accounting.

Description: This article relates the experience of a retired actuary's volunteer's work in a USAID/Farmer to Farmer program. he work was to review the IFRS accounting treatment of a non-profit foundation based in Colombia.

Description: Describes the changes in insurance regulation on both an international and US perspective.

Description: Current developments in IASB

Description: This session at the SOA 2004 Annual Meeting covers the status of recent developments in international accounting standards for insurance, including Phase 1 for insurance companies, the IASB's likely direction for Phase 2, related activities of the International Actuarial Association, and company implementation issues.

Description: The discount rate is one of the most critical topics in IFRS 17, which may have important repercussion on product profitability. Having a low discount rate may indicate a low profitability of a group of contracts, while a realistic expectation may differ. A similar issue was prevalent especially for U.S. companies when discount rates were set using a market consistent framework. The session is intended to help develop a discount rate framework that aligns with the business practices and address the concerns around the market consistent framework. This session will cover practical implementation considerations to set and apply IFRS 17 discount rates. The panelists will discuss alternative approaches to allow for a level of illiquidity premium for business supported by fixed assets with credit risks. Discussions will also cover other implementation considerations including granularity of setting the discount rate, application to new business, implications on asset and liability modeling, and a planning aspect for a successful implementation of the discount rate setting process. The panelists will share case studies to illustrate different approaches of setting the discount rate and their potential financial impacts. At the conclusion of the session, attendees will be able to: understand key requirements of setting discount rates under IFRS 17; understand how to align the discount rate to the actual business practices; understand implications of the discount rate in actuarial modeling; understand potential impacts on financial results; and develop a realistic plan to set discount rates appropriate to the business practices.